Writing UI copy
Enma's voice is calm and precise, like its visuals. Short words, real numbers, no drama.
The rules
- Sentence case everywhere: buttons, titles, tabs, menu items. "Start workout", not "Start Workout".
- Verbs first on actions: "New invoice", "Export", "Send money".
- Say the outcome: "Invoice sent", "Saved", "3 tabs closed". Never "successfully", "please" or exclamation marks.
- Errors say what happened and what to do, in one sentence: "The card was declined. Try another."
- Numbers carry units and context: "+12.4% this month", "4 × 8 · 80 kg", "1,284 files".
- Placeholders are real examples: "Acme Labs", "manish@example.com". Not "e.g." and not the label again.
- Status is a word, never color alone: "Paid", "Overdue", "Draft".
Before and after
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Submit | Create workspace |
| Your invoice has been successfully sent! | Invoice sent |
| Oops! Something went wrong. | We couldn't load invoices. Retry. |
| Please enter a valid email | Enter a full email address. |
| e.g. John Doe | Priya Shah |
| No Data | Log your first workout |
| Are you sure? | Delete "Q3 report"? This can't be undone. |
| 12480kg | 12,480 kg |
| Click here to learn more | Read the pricing guide |
Empty states
Name the space and invite the next step. "Log your first workout" with one line of why and a primary button. Never "Nothing here yet :(".
Confirmations
Ask only when an action destroys something. Name the thing and the consequence, and label the buttons with verbs: "Delete workspace" and "Keep it", never "OK" and "Cancel".
Numbers
- Format with
Intland the user's locale. For Indian users,en-INgives "12,48,000". - Keep decimals only where they matter: "1.9%" churn, "$48.2k" MRR, "12,480 kg" volume.
- Units sit outside the number, separated by a space, in the meta color.