Daily UX Writing Challenge- Day 9
Hi there. It’s another week of the Daily UX Writing Challenge. I was super grateful for the weekend break because I needed the brief recap moment. Anyway, thank you for sticking with me so far. Let’s get into it.
In today’s challenge, I wrote an error message pop-up to inform a user about the expiration of the credit card that they want to use to rent a car on an application. In this challenge, I considered many factors, such as the user’s state of mind at that moment, the best way to phrase the tone of the message and how to pass the message without putting all the blame on the user.
Today’s Challenge prompt requires me to write an error message for a user trying to rent a car but has a credit file that has expired on file. So, clearly, the user has rented a car from the application before and is familiar with how the application works. They just have no clue that their credit card has expired. This user is old enough to own a credit card and drive. I’m emphasising familiarity with the app because it means they would already know the product’s voice. So, let’s get into how I solved this problem.
Another thing to note is that as the user has a card on file, there is no need to input credit card details before the error as they would just have to select the credit card they previously saved.
Heading
Considering the feedback that I’ve gotten from my previous entries for the challenge, I knew that the heading had to be straight to the point and not give off too much information, only what is important. So, putting these in mind, I had a couple of iterations. Here are some of them:
Expired card/ Expired Credit card- I know this was very much straight to the point, but it felt like it had zero empathy. It felt too harsh, so I crossed it out.
Your credit card has expired- This felt much less harsh, especially with the personalisation, but it was too long, exceeding the character limit.
We can’t access your card- This felt like an option that took the blame away from the user, but it wasn’t going straight to the point with the problem, so I crossed it out.
Your card has expired- This felt like the best option. It is also very familiar as many apps use this copy format. So, the user will know what is wrong without reading the body text.
Body
The body has a short character requirement, but I expected coming up with options to be easy. All the body has to do is buttress the heading and give a solution. Here are the options I came up with:
Did you forget? Your credit card details have expired. Update your credit card details to rent a car.- First, it exceeded the character limit by two whole times, so it’s a no. The beginning sentence seemed cool in my head, but reading it now, I’m not sure it works.
Update your credit card details- This feels too formal but somehow continues the heading. I’m ticking it off, though.
New card? Enter your details- I like this, but then the user might not have realised that their credit card has expired, so it might not work in all situations.
You can update your credit card details and try again- This seems cool, but it’s too long. Let’s try again.
Update your credit card details and try again- I’m sticking with this. It seems like the best option, as it supports the heading perfectly.
Button
The prompt didn’t request a button, but I believe there should be a button to help users update their credit card details as it is not their first encounter; they can just simply close the pop-up and change the details.
So, for the button copy, I stuck with “Update card details.”
That’s all for today’s challenge. My major takeaway for today’s challenge is considering the flow of the app, although this is a singular challenge. This made it easier for me to consider more situations the user could be in and cross the unlikely ones out.
See you on day 10!
