UX (User Experience) writing can have a huge impact on your business. Just consider that:
- Every $1 invested in UX results in $100 ROI (Forbes).
- UX writing led to a 71% reduced churn rate (GrooveHQ).
- UX writing increased on-platform sales by 8% (Preply).
That’s why UX writing is crucial to the success of any website, app, SaaS or digital product. What’s more, when companies have to translate their copy for new markets, they’ll require linguists with strong UX localization expertise. Let’s take a closer look at why UX writing is key to your next localization project.
What Is UX Writing?
UX writing is all about making your users’ lives easier through copy that’s clear and helpful for interacting with the product. Typically, this copy prioritizes readability, as well as the target users’ needs and behaviors.
Of course, UX writing isn’t just about staying to-the-point. It also takes into account the visual context and best practices for global English.
Understanding UX Localization
It’s not enough to simply make your product available to new markets worldwide. You must also localize it. This means adapting the copy, so that the user experience is seamless for that specific user group.
UX writing is an important step to achieving a user journey that strikes the right tone for the target language. Typically, UX localization involves recreating key components of this user journey, such as:
- Brand voice (tone, formality, inclusivity, etc.)
- Writing best practices (active voice, no slang, etc.)
- Visuals (colors, layout, graphics, etc.)
- Formatting conventions (numbers, currency, etc.)
How UX Writing is Key to High-Quality Localization
By incorporating UX writing values in translation, your professional linguist can create a compact, user-friendly final text that maximizes outcomes for your digital product, whether a website, app, SaaS or more.
1. User-Friendly at All Times
UX writing is laser-focused on the user experience. That means ensuring that all microcopy across the interface (navigation, CTAs, payment flows, sign-ups, error messages, etc.) is clear and makes sense to the target user.
Let’s say the target market is Swedish internet users. Linguists must know how these types of users click around, including their expectations, common wording, conventions, cultural sensitivities and more.
For example, since most Swedes shop online on their phones, an English-Swedish linguist would know the importance of short strings that appear nicely on a mobile screen.
2. Focus on Clarity
In addition, a professional translator leverages other UX localization best practices, such as prioritizing clarity over exact wording. The goal of UX writing is for users to immediately grasp meaning, leaving no space for ambiguity.
Take for example an app localization project. An English-Swedish linguist with UX experience would know to keep the on-page CTAs short and sweet. Often UX writing makes use of command forms to achieve this:
❌ “You can sign up for our product by clicking here.”
✅ “Sign up for our product here.”
3. Understanding of Deep Context
Of course, clarity doesn’t mean that the copy can’t have personality or nuance. UX localization also involves a close attention to context.
Often context in UX writing is tied to the visual look of the interface. Having screenshots or access to the product can help linguists dig into how users will engage with the copy. In this way, professionals can choose the right brand voice that also fits with its real usability.
This also goes for context that goes beyond visuals, such as cultural clues. For example, Dutch websites are more likely to show opening hours compared to American websites. In the case of Sweden, transparency is a vital part of Swedish culture, so using a super salesy tone wouldn’t be appealing to these users.
4. Eye to Spatial Limitations
UX localization also considers how the copy and the space fit together. To guarantee that copy both reads and looks good, linguists must pay careful attention to spatial limitations.
For example, Swedish to English translation tends to expand about 10%, which means that translators must understand how a longer sentence will fit on-screen. A more concise version or a change in syntax may help keep length compact on the interface.
In short, a Swedish linguist may use UX writing expertise to rephrase headings and strings so that they maintain the brand’s look and feel.
5. Best Practices for Global English
Finally, UX writing goes hand-in-hand with clarity and utilizes best practices for global English. A professional that leverages UX localization will:
- Use active voice
- Avoid slang and culturally-specific phrases
- Clarify ambiguous pronouns
- Define abbreviations and symbols
Doing so makes the writing more comprehensible, user-friendly and high-quality. You can learn more about global English strategies here.
Choose a Swedish Translator With UX Localization Experience
As a seasoned English to Swedish translator with 18+ years of experience, I’m always keen to enhance clarity and user-friendliness in my writing. Recently, I took a Swedish Copywriting Certification to ensure my skills stay fresh. I also have extensive experience localizing online marketing products and software to keep pace with my clients’ digital copy needs.
Check out my full client portfolio to see how UX writing informs my English-Swedish localization work!
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