Design & UX21 categories
Pick the right words for this button
When the options are "OK / Cancel" and nobody is sure what OK does.
Help me label the actions in this dialogue or form. 1. State in one sentence what happens when each action is taken, including anything irreversible. 2. Propose three label options per action. 3. Recommend one, and say why. Rules I want applied: - The label names the outcome, not the mechanism. "Delete project" beats "OK". - A user should be able to read the button alone, with the surrounding text covered, and still predict what it does. - Never pair a verb with a vague opposite. "Save" against "Cancel" is fine, "Yes" against "No" on a destructive action is not. - The safe action is the one a distracted person should be able to hit by mistake. Flag any place where the button wording is fine and the surrounding sentence is the real problem. Dialogue or form:
Making it yours
- Paste your own material where the prompt asks for it. Everything above that line is instruction, not content.
- Delete any rule that does not apply to you. A shorter prompt that fits beats a thorough one that does not.
- If the answer comes back vague, add a line saying what you do not want. Constraints work better than encouragement.
Interface copy. Every word inside the product: button labels, error messages, empty states and what things are called.
Related prompts
Rewrite the microcopy on this screenBefore shipping a screen where the words started as placeholders you never revisited.Design the empty state for this screenThe screen looks great with data and blank the first time anyone opens it.Rewrite these error messages for humansYour UI says "An error occurred" and support is fielding the fallout.Name this thing in the interfaceNaming a feature, tab, or object that users will have to learn and repeat.A better label for this buttonWhen the options are "OK" and "Cancel" and nobody is sure what OK does.Halve the words on this screenInterface copy that grew one clause at a time through review.
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