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A way of writing where the subject does the action ('you saved the file') rather than receiving it ('the file was saved'). It makes interface text shorter and clearer.

The word or short phrase on a button. Clear button labels name the action they perform — like 'save changes' — instead of vague words like 'OK'.

A systematic review of all the text already in a product to find what's outdated, unclear, duplicated, or inconsistent so it can be fixed.

The discipline of deciding what words, structure, and information a screen needs so people can do what they came to do. It treats content as part of the design, not decoration added at the end.

The planning behind what words and information an interface shows — deciding what to say, where, and in what voice so content stays useful and consistent.

A rulebook for how an interface should write things — its tone, wording, capitalization, and preferred terms — so every screen sounds like the same voice.

Writing an interface's words so using it feels like a natural back-and-forth conversation, especially in chatbots, voice assistants, and guided flows.

Putting the most important, meaningful words at the start of a heading, link, or sentence, where eyes land first. It helps people scanning a page grasp the point without reading to the end.

The clickable words of a hyperlink. Good link text describes where the link goes instead of saying 'click here', which also helps screen-reader users.

Scrambled, Latin-like placeholder text designers drop into a layout before the real words exist, so they can judge look and spacing without being distracted by meaning.

The tiny bits of text scattered through an interface — button labels, field hints, error notes, tooltips — that guide people through what to do next. Small in size but often decisive for whether a screen feels clear or confusing.

The words that greet and guide brand-new users — welcome screens, setup steps, tips, and first-run prompts — helping them understand the product and reach an early win quickly.

Writing that ordinary readers can understand the first time through — short sentences, everyday words, and no needless jargon. The goal is clarity for the reader, not dumbing the content down.

How easy a piece of text is to read and understand, shaped by sentence length, word choice, and layout. It's often estimated with formulas that map text to a school grade level.

How hard the words in an interface are to read, often scored by grade. A lower reading level means more people can understand the text quickly.

How easily people can skim a screen and pick out what they need without reading every word. It comes from clear headings, short chunks, bulleted lists, and bold key phrases.

A single piece of text that appears in an interface — a label, message, or button word — treated as an editable unit that writers and developers can change.

Voice is the consistent personality a product's writing has, say friendly and plainspoken; tone is how that voice flexes to fit the moment — gentler in an error, more upbeat in a success message. Together they keep an app sounding like itself while still reading the room.