Write Button Labels and Error Messages for App and Website Screens (UI Text)

## Set a Friendly, Direct Tone for Screen Text Use a professional voice: friendly, empathetic, and never chatty. Address users directly, use active voice, and keep essential details. Use sentence case, numerals for scanning, and punctuation only for multiple sentences. ## Name Buttons with a Verb and Label Input Fields Clearly Start button labels with a verb and name the outcome in one or two words, never more than four. Replace OK and Cancel with specific choices. Front-load field labels; state requirements and limits, mark required fields, and use placeholders only as examples. ## Write Error Messages That Say What Happened and How to Fix It Make errors visible and useful. Lead with a plain-language summary, then explain the cause and corrective action. Avoid blame, drama, apologies, jargon, and raw logs. Place validation beside the affected field and describe severity in terms users understand. ## Ask for Confirmation Only When a Mistake Has a Real Cost Use alerts for failed, risky, informative, or successful outcomes according to severity. Interrupt with confirmation only when mistakes have meaningful cost. Use affirmative verbs, describe the consequences of each option, and include permissions or concrete steps required to continue. ## Keep Tooltips and Headings Short and Easy to Scan Keep tooltips ancillary and generally under 120 characters. Write short headings with the searched-for term first. Prefer complete UI copy before adding links; when needed, use descriptive text at sentence boundaries and point to task-relevant content. For new elements, record purpose, rules, implementation references, and positive and negative examples.