Firefox for iOS

Writing clear microcopy can sometimes take a surprising amount of time.

The small bits of copy you see sprinkled throughout apps and websites are called microcopy. As content designers, we think deeply about what each word communicates.

Microcopy is the tidiest of UI copy types. But do not let its crisp, contained presentation fool you: the process to get to those final, perfect words can be messy. Very messy. Multiple drafts messy, mired with business and technical constraints.

If you’ve ever wondered what all goes into writing microcopy, pour yourself a micro-cup of espresso or a micro-brew and read the full case study over on Medium.

Before writing the microcopy for iOS widgets, I needed first to understand the component and how it worked.

Engineering tried variations of copy length for the descriptions in a testing environment. This helped us understand surprising behavior in the template itself.

Firefox for iOS

Writing clear microcopy can sometimes take a surprising amount of time.

Before writing the microcopy for iOS widgets, I needed first to understand the component and how it worked.

Engineering tried variations of copy length for the descriptions in a testing environment. This helped us understand surprising behavior in the template itself.

I wrote several iterations of the description for this widget to maximize the limited space and make the microcopy as useful as possible.