There are many thousands of books written on the subjects of UX writing and UX design, and among those there are hundreds that are well-known, well-respected, and worth reading. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it collects several solid entries in each of the following categories.
Happy reading!
Content Strategy
The books in this section focus on how and why good content gets results. With case studies and examples, these books explore everything from broad, product-wide approaches to small, micro-level copy decisions that can set you and your content on the path to success or failure.
Strategic Writing for UX: Drive Engagement, Conversion, and Retention with Every Word
UX writing is the art of getting users to successfully perform a task. In this (sometimes) uphill battle, “…well-placed words are most effective. But how do you choose the right words? And how do you know if they work?” Podmajersky has worked to tackle that very problem for clients like Google, Microsoft, and OfferUp. Whether you are someone who writes UX text sometimes, a manager of writers, or a future UX-writer-to-be, this book has something to offer anyone who wants their products to succeed and their customers to be happy.
Published: 2019
Pages: 194
Reviews: 4.7/5
Why You Need a Content Team and How to Build One
If you’re convinced that content is important to the user experience, your next thought might be: “OK, but where can I find some of this magic?” McConnell’s book takes up the task of guiding a budding teambuilder through the process of creating a quality squad of content creators.
Published: 2018
Pages: 115
Reviews: 4.2/5
Microcopy: Discover How Tiny Bits of Text Make Tasty Apps and Websites
The macro-level importance of microcopy takes center stage in Microcopy: Discover How Tiny Bits of Text Make Tasty Apps and Websites. Can changing one word increase revenues? Can one sentence prevent billing headaches? De Leon would say yes, and her micro-book sets out to explain why and demonstrate how you can put microcopy to work for you.
Published: 2017
Pages: 102
Reviews: 4.8/5
The Content Strategy Toolkit: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Right
If you’ve ever struggled to tell your boss or client that their content needs work, or if you’ve ever had to fight tooth and nail for budget or cat-herd a group of stakeholders, this might be the book for you. Trainer, speaker, and lead content strategist at Brain Traffic, Casey is well-positioned to guide you to getting content right.
Published: 2015
Pages: 272
Reviews: 4.4/5
Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content
From the marketing side of the coin comes Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content, by Ann Handley. Dubbed the world’s first “Chief Content Officer,” Handley co-founded ClickZ.com and is an in-demand speaker at events around the globe. “Our writing can make us look smart or it can make us look stupid,” says Handley, and her book promises to steer your content closer to the former.
Published: 2014
Pages: 320
Reviews: 4.6/5
Content Strategy for the Web
Regulars at content design and marketing conferences around the world, the powerhouse team of Kristina Halvorson (founder and CEO of Brain Traffic) and Melissa Rach (partner and co-founder of Dialog Studios), collaborated to pen Content Strategy for the Web, the “go-to content strategy handbook.” The book tackles the basic concepts of content strategy, explores what makes a strategy successful, and reveals how to implement your strategy and make a winning business case. “By far the most comprehensive and accessible book on content strategy available. Required reading for our entire team,” said Lucie Hyde, Director of Content, eBay Europe.
Published: 2012
Pages: 216
Reviews: 4.4/5
Copywriting: Successful Writing for Design, Advertising and Marketing
With 25 years experience in copywriting and roles such as the founder of Jupiter Design and president of Liquid Agency Europe, Mark Shaw could be expected to know a thing or two about his topic. Copywriting: Successful Writing for Design, Advertising and Marketing, offers straightforward advice, interviews, case studies, and more.
Published: 2012 (2nd edition)
Pages: 240
Reviews: 4.4/5
Los Angeles based content strategist Oz Chen has compiled a list of booklists compiled by sites such as Brain Traffic and Goodreads, and also offers a list of his top 30 recommended books, with descriptions.
The Craft of UX Writing
For those new to UX writing or new to writing professionally, or those for whom writing is not the reason they were hired, these books introduce the reader to best practices, guide the development of a writing style, and provide insights into important UX niches like writing for small.
In Search of Good Practices in UX Writing (in Portuguese and Spanish)
Bruno Rodrigues, one of the main Brazilian researchers on the behavior of information in the digital media, presents his fourth book, In Search of Good Practices in UX Writing. It is a fundamental work for those who want to enter the fascinating and challenging world of User Experience. The book is the result of the author´s master’s degree in Creation and Production of Digital Content, and was considered by its evaluation board as a “work of excellent relevance for studies in the field of Digital Communication.”
Use cases are critical to product development. A good set of same can “make a meaningful contribution to the success of the project, clarifying goals, avoiding misunderstandings, clearing away a lot of possible defects, reducing life cycle cost, and increasing speed to market.” Ok, great, but how do you write a good use case? Reeve-Price offers a detailed guide to the process in a book he makes clear is “not aimed at project leads, scrum masters, or managers. I’m writing for writers.”
Published: 2020
Pages: 232
Reviews: 5/5
Microcopy: The Complete Guide
The brain of microcopy writing expert Kinneret Yifrah and the work of Nemala, Israel’s leading microcopy studio, gave birth to “the only guide you’ll need to write smart, effective microcopy.”
Published: 2019 (2nd edition)
Pages: 272 pages
Reviews: None
Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose
No less a luminary than Kristina Halvorson touts this book as “the best book I’ve read on the art and craft of writing.” The book includes sections on marketing copy, finding your writing voice, and creating a simple style guide.
Published: 2014
Pages: 192
Reviews: 4.2/5
Information Design
The topic of information design–presenting information in a useful and understandable way–is at the center of the UX discipline. The following books explore the many ways in which thoughtful information design can enhance products and services, and also offer helpful warnings against practices and habits that can lead to trouble.
Writing Is Designing: Words and the User Experience
“Words make software human-centered, and require just as much thought as the branding and code.” With this statement, Metts and Welfle plant their flag on the importance of written content. “Writing is Design [sic] provides a warm welcome into the world of UX writing,” said Torrey Podmajersky.
Published: 2020
Pages: 200
Reviews: 4.6/5
Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works
As anyone who has been awake in the past 20 years knows, writing for the web is different than writing for print. Redish, “a world renowned expert on information design,” helps us take the next step, explaining exactly how good web layout and design must live symbiotically with (and can help us create) quality content.
Published: 2012 (2nd edition)
Pages: 368
Reviews: 4.5/5
The thrust of the book is captured in the title–this is a book for those whose writing skills are not necessarily what got them hired. “Learn to scope and articulate writing assignments, build a repeatable workflow, and develop methods for productive editing, collaboration, version control, and delivery. Don’t struggle with writing—get the writing done.”
Published: N/A
Pages: N/A
Reviews: N/A
Conversational Design
“How do we make digital systems feel less robotic and more real?” That is the question Erika Hall seeks to answer in her book, Conversational Design. A research and information design expert and cofounder of the Mule Design Studio, Hall’s book investigates “what makes an interaction truly conversational and how to get more comfortable using language in design.”
Published: 2018
Pages: 130
Reviews: 5/5
Content Design
Credited by some with inventing the term and field of “content design,” Sarah Richards overhauled government websites in the U.K. before founding her own content design consultancy in London. Wisdom from her years of work is distilled in Content Design. “A great practical guide to get you started in creating content that truly puts people first,” said reviewer Gerry McGovern.
Published: 2017
Pages: 234
Reviews: 4.5/5
Information Architecture: For the Web and Beyond
Information architecture underpins all the content you want to create. You may write well, your content may be best-of-the-Web, but without the right foundation, no-one will be able to find or navigate it. From the Amazon writeup: “This popular guide—now in its fourth edition—provides essential concepts, methods, and techniques for digital design that have withstood the test of time.”
Published: 2015 (4th edition)
Pages: 486
Reviews: 4.4/5
