Words are integral to the product design process. The positivity of the user experience depends on the intuitiveness and effectiveness of the interaction with the product. For the entire interaction – broken down into flows, screens, buttons, and text – to adhere to the laws of UX, visual and text based elements need to work together synchronously. Listed below are a few of these laws that have a bearing on the written word.

Credit: All the laws have been listed from www.lawsofux.com.

Doherty Threshold

"Productivity soars when a computer and its users interact at a pace (<400ms) that ensures that neither has to wait on the other."

What it means for UX Writing: 

1. UX content must be easy to understand. The user should not have to spend a millisecond more than they absolutely must, to take action. Example:

   1. Don't: This email address does not exist in our database

   2. Do: Enter the email address you registered with

2. Develop a loading system to help users keep track of the progress made on their request. This system may or may not feature words.

   1. Example for a cab booking service that uses words to convey perceived performance: 

      1. Looking for cabs near you

      2. 5 cabs found close by

      3. Finalizing a cab

Fitt's Law

"The time to acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target."

What it means for UX Writing:

1. The size of a target helps the user discern what it is. Words, instead of size, can also play the same role.

2. This is helpful when there are multiple touch targets on a single screen. Each button is likely to require supporting text to help the user differentiate between them and make a choice quickly.

Hick's Law

"The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices."

What it means for UX Writing:

1. Reduce complexity by structuring the content into smaller modules. For instance, the AirBnB onboarding experience for hosts breaks down the process into easy to understand steps, shared one screen at a time

2. Reduce complexity through plain language. AirBnB uses the conversational approach for the onboarding experience. The questions are directed at 'you'. The answer options use 'I'.

Jacob's Law

"Users spend most of their time on other sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know."

What it means for UX Writing:

Use popular terms for associated functions. Examples:

1. Use 'Save' instead of 'Store'

2. Use 'Settings' instead of 'Preferences'

3. Use 'Compose' instead of 'Write'

Law of Similarity

"The human eye tends to perceive similar elements in a design as a complete picture, shape, or group, even if those elements are separated."

What it means for UX Writing:

Templates create patterns. Patterns, if used correctly, help users understand what to expect; thus simplifying a task. This pattern is especially useful in case studies, whitepapers, FAQs, help content etc.

Miller's Law

"The average person can only keep 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their working memory."

What it means for UX Writing

1. When creating a list, structure it to limit the items from 5 to 9

2. If the number of items is more than 9, consider breaking down the content piece into smaller pieces.

Pareto Principle

"The Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes."

What it means for UX Writing:

Collaborate with designers and product managers to identify the most frequently used components of the product, and focus on them first. 

Peak End Rule

"People judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak and at its end, rather than the total sum or average of every moment of the experience."

What it means for UX Writing:

1. Focus on refining the peak and end experiences.

   1. For a food delivery app, the peak experience would be receiving the delivery. The end experience would be leaving a review.

   2. For a job seeker using a jobs portal for the very first time, the peak experience would be successfully creating their profile. The end experience would be ending the job search for that day. 

2. Make people feel especially good about themselves after completing a function successfully.

3. Minimise the user's frustration after encountering an error.

4. Help the user cope with less than ideal results.

Postel's Law

"Be liberal in what you accept, and conservative in what you send."

What it means for UX Writing:

Empathize with the user. 

1. Employ user research to discover the myriad ways in which a user might interpret a message. Example: cancel vs close.

2. While crafting messages, choose to be conservative instead of radical in your choice of words. Opt for commonly used terms for functions common across other products.

3. Caveat: If the product is meant for a highly specific audience, it might make sense to address that audience using vocabulary they expect for that product. Examples:

   1. For an Astronomy app, use 'zoom in' instead of 'see more' to focus on a particular area in the night sky

   2. For an electrical guitar tryout app, use 'strum' instead of 'listen' to digitally try out different guitars

Serial Position Effect

"Users have a propensity to best remember the first and last items in a series."

What it means for UX Writing:

1. When creating a listicle, place the points that you want to highlight at the top and the bottom.

2. Caveat: Do this only if the order of the items listed does not matter. For example, this approach will not work in a DIY article that lists steps to accomplish a task.

Tesler's Law

Tesler's Law, also known as The Law of Conservation of Complexity, states that for any system there is a certain amount of complexity which cannot be reduced.

What it means for UX Writing:

Accept that you cannot simplify a subject beyond a certain point while adhering to UI and UX constraints. :) This is especially relevant for highly technical content. In such cases, accept the user as an individual who has a certain level of knowledge, and speak to that user.

Zeigarnik Effect

"People remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks."

What it means for UX Writing:

When a user leaves a form or a process incomplete:

1. Remind the user to complete the task by displaying appropriate in-app messages or sending emails

2. Demonstrate the value of a completed task through numbers such percentage completion, or the benefits of completing the task sooner rather than later