There are many dimensions to how language affects user experiences.
Product language that’s not localized (adapted to the local market) sounds off and it may confuse users, leading to lower conversions.
Typos and the negligent use of language affect user trust in the product, which may also lead to users deciding not to purchase an offer or move to the next step.
Using terms inconsistently–different terms for the same thing across channels–may confuse people, resulting in delays in user actions or increased customer service tickets in the lookout for answers.
Through the examples in this article, I’ll share four specific dimensions of how language affects user experiences, so you know how to identify and go about improving them.
- Hierarchy
- Friction
- Tone
- Naming
Hierarchy – Four language dimensions that impact onboarding, retention, and user trust
One of my favorite examples hails from Iceland’s presidential race, where a “Log in” button caused some people to run for president by accident. Presented with a wall of text and an option to log in, at least 10 people added themselves to the list of presidential candidates.
This first dimension is about information hierarchy.
Does the way the information is ordered, sorted, and laid out match user priorities? Is enough design importance assigned to crucial information, and vice versa, are details deprioritized in the hierarchy, available as additional nice-to-know information?
Information hierarchy principles are used to make online information easier and more intuitive to navigate.
Friction – Four language dimensions that impact onboarding, retention, and user trust
But there are also heartbreaking examples like that of Mandie Stevenson, a terminal breast cancer patient, who had to postpone a trip to New York, which was part of her bucket list, because of a form label. She accidentally labelled herself a terrorist on her visa application, then had to attend an embassy meeting in London and miss her flight:
“I live in 12-weekly cycles because I get scanned every 12 weeks.
I book my holidays in very specific times and this New York trip was going to be before I get another set of scan results, so I was really looking forward to it. It was stress that I didn’t need.
I thought because it was a genuine error it would be quite an easy fix but I was quite wrong.”
This second dimension is about friction, the common enemy of good design. When users encounter friction, they may delay or stop their interaction with the product entirely, resulting in a lost sale or lowered conversion, whether that’s downloading, accessing, or submitting information. Before Apple Pay, users had to physically move to go get their bank cards; now, they can purchase their next coffee mug or pilates session without doing that.
However, friction, especially in high-stakes situations such as this one (health and financial information also fit here), is desired and useful. Adding friction to the visa form experience may look like asking users to reconfirm their selection (“Are you sure?”) or type out “Yes, I am a terrorist.” Similar to having to use your fingers to write DELETE if you’re actually trying to remove your entire newsletter audience in Mailchimp (learned it the hard way) or delete a website in EasyWP (screenshot below).
Asking for additional confirmation would have likely made Mandie realize the mistake in the form and not have to miss a bucket list trip.
Tone – Four language dimensions that impact onboarding, retention, and user trust
I prefer writing these articles first thing in the morning when I come to the office without having consumed any outside opinions (emails, Slack, LinkedIn). But today, after my mid-day nap in the treehouse (I work from a pretty great office), my LinkedIn scrolling served as a source for this article section. Specifically, I came across another example of how words can make or break someone’s day through a heartfelt post by Helena Rodemann.
She wrote about the experience of canceling her pet insurance on Lemonade after her pet passed away:
”I said goodbye to my wonderful pet today. And when I went to cancel her pet insurance, holy shit. I was absolutely dreading it.
Selecting “She passed away” as the reason for canceling was absolutely, utterly gut-wrenching.I dreaded the response. Not sure why? Probably because I was expecting robotic, transactional copy. But what a surprise: the writing was warm. Caring and kind, so very, very gentle.
Thank you, dear writers. Thank you for all those writing choices that made me feel seen and supported in such a fucking terrible moment.”
This third dimension is about microcopy tone. Are you adapting product language to different steps of the process, and more importantly, different emotional stages the user may be in? If not, you risk alienating and upsetting your users. There are times to be serious, playful, casual, matter-of-fact, apologetic, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. Two client examples come to mind, one when I was mapping a patient rehabilitation healthcare provider’s product communications, and the other was part of a tone of voice workshop for a consumer app, and in both cases, the clients were surprised and slightly horrified to see the mismatch of what they were trying to transmit and the final copy users saw.
Naming – Four language dimensions that impact onboarding, retention, and user trust
A word never even uttered out loud caused a 10-hour delay for hundreds of passengers. Last week, a flight from Newark to Palma de Mallorca had to turn around because of a Bluetooth device name. There were security concerns around the ‘certain four-letter word’ used, the one that starts with B and ends with -omb.
I’m unsure how to classify this instance. There are multiple Reddit threads from passengers who were live posting during the flight, as well as multiple news articles. Allegedly, a teenager owns the unfortunately named speaker. People online speculated that the four-letter word was the default Bluetooth name, referring to this product, iJoy Beach Bomb IP66 Waterproof Shockproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker.
Even with the limited confirmed information here, I’d say we can all agree that this story is a vivid example of the very real, tangible consequences of word choices.
From hierarchy to intentional friction, evaluating how you perform in these dimensions and mastering the principles behind them is essential for product teams to boost UX, onboarding, retention, and user trust. If you’re looking for additional guides on how to prevent content issues from undermining product growth, check out:
- Did content inconsistencies ruin Star Wars for you?
- How to build a taxonomy that increases conversions (Spreadsheet template)
- Dos and don’ts of building a business glossary (and where to start)
AI Policy: I personally write each draft and final copy on this website. All content reflects my own thinking, ideas, style, and craft. I do not use AI such as ChatGPT to generate articles. Occasionally, I ask AI such as Formalizer or Claude to summarize or restate my own ideas and may restructure sections based on the response.
