Microcopy is the short text inside an interface: button labels, field hints, empty screens, error lines, confirmation notes. It is not a headline campaign. It is the sentence that gets someone through the next tap.
UX writing is the practice. Microcopy is what that practice puts on the control. Copywriting sells. Microcopy guides. Tone of voice is the personality those words share. On an error state or empty state, microcopy is the whole message. A CTA that says “Submit” hides the outcome. “Book my table” names it. Form validation fails in silence when the hint never says what a valid answer looks like. Onboarding is often a sequence of these lines.
A real-life example of microcopy
A Decatur bakery’s order button says Submit. People hesitate. The same button reading “Place my Saturday order” tells them what will happen. Under the date field, “We bake that loaf on Fridays” prevents a Monday disappointment better than a red border after they pay.
Write the next step in the customer’s words. Guides: UX writing and microcopy and why UX writing matters.