← DictionaryMicrocopy
also called UX copy
Small functional text: labels, buttons, hints, errors and confirmations.
The tiny words that tell people what to do.
What It Is
You will find Microcopy in the Content layer, alongside the rest of Craft. What it actually refers to is small functional text: labels, buttons, hints, errors and confirmations.
It is a label with a settled working definition, so the value is in using it the same way every time. Once it is defined that clearly, arguments about it usually stop.
How It's Used
Most of the time Microcopy is used in editorial planning, briefs and the day-to-day work of publishing. It normally appears alongside Button, Form Field and User Experience. The practical test is whether everyone in the room means the same thing by it.
Why It Matters
Ignoring Microcopy rarely fails loudly — it fails slowly. When it is unclear, output goes up and effect goes sideways. Clarity here removes a surprising amount of downstream argument.
Picture a word everyone in the room has agreed to use the same way. The tiny words that tell people what to do.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Professionally, Microcopy carries the narrow meaning: small functional text: labels, buttons, hints, errors and confirmations.
Explained to someone with no marketing background, Microcopy is the tiny words that tell people what to do.
The Bottom Line
If you only keep one thing about Microcopy: the tiny words that tell people what to do. Everything after that is detail.