Microcopy: the small words beside your homepage buttons

Key takeaways

Microcopy is the small text beside a button or form that answers the last worry before a click: what happens next, how fast you reply and whether it commits the visitor to anything. A line like 'Free, no obligation, reply within 2 working hours' under a homepage button often does more than changing the button itself.

• Answer the last worry: what next, how fast, any cost?
• Keep it to one short line under the button.
• Only promise reply times your team keeps on a bad week.
• Use it on forms too: why you ask for a phone number.

What is microcopy?

Microcopy is the short text on and around interface elements: button labels, the line under a button, form hints and error messages. On a homepage, the most valuable microcopy sits beside the main action and removes the small doubts that stop a ready visitor from clicking.

• Why your homepage is not converting visitors into customers
• One primary call to action on your homepage

What should microcopy beside a button say?

Pick the one or two worries your buyers have most often.

• Speed: 'We reply within 2 working hours.'
• Commitment: 'No obligation, no sales calls.'
• Cost: 'Free survey, fixed price before we start.'
• Effort: 'Takes about 1 minute.'
• Who: 'You will speak to a qualified engineer.'

• Promise a reply time on your website, then keep it
• Free quote, visit or call: the offer behind the button

Where else does microcopy matter on a homepage?

On forms, short hints explain why you ask for details ('so we can text you the time'), and clear labels beat placeholder text that disappears. In the header, a line like 'Open today until 6pm' next to the phone number answers a quick question. Error messages should say how to fix the problem.

• Form error messages that help visitors finish
• Form labels vs placeholder text: which should you use?

How do you test microcopy?

Change one line at a time and watch button clicks and form completions over four weeks, keeping a note of the change. Microcopy is cheap to test because it does not change the design. Ask the people who answer enquiries whether questions change too.

• Change one thing at a time: a homepage change log
• Track homepage button clicks in GA4

When can microcopy hurt?

It hurts when it promises what you cannot deliver, such as a one-hour reply on a busy Saturday, or when it adds pressure ('Only 2 slots left!') that is not true. It also hurts when there is so much of it that the button is lost. One line is usually enough.

• Dark patterns: conversion tricks that break UK law

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a 'Get a quote' button with nothing around it, on a site where the sales calls start with 'I was worried you'd send someone round'. One line, 'Most quotes by email, no visit needed', addresses the worry right where the decision is made.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Microcopy checklist

• List the top two worries before clicking.
• Write one line under the main button answering them.
• Use labels, not placeholders, on forms.
• Explain why you ask for a phone number.
• Only promise times you keep on a bad week.
• Log each change and review after four weeks.

• A next step for homepage visitors not ready to buy
• Newsletter sign-ups on a homepage: do they help?

Next step

Ask whoever handles enquiries what new customers worry about before getting in touch. Turn the top answer into one line under your main button.