UX Writing case study: Increasing new account sign-ups for ScreenPal

Overview

As part of a UX writing certification course at the University of Washington, I created a user journey and voice analysis for ScreenPal (formerly Screencast-O-Matic).

For this project, I took a look at their mobile sign-up flow. I noticed three clear issues:

  1. The existing flow felt out-of-order, which made the experience confusing.

  2. It wasn’t clear what would happen after each step, or at the end of the flow.

  3. The copy felt overly colloquial, sacrificing usability for brand voice. They needed a happy medium.

To solve these problems, I rewrote the copy to feel more on-brand and have a natural, conversational flow.

Scope

My role

Since this was a mock project, I worked solo to conduct my research, set goals, and complete the rewrite. ScreenPal was a former client of mine, so I was already deeply familiar with their brand voice, style, and goals.

Goals

  1. Re-order the screens so the sequence of events feels natural and logical.

  2. Make it clear what will happen each time the user clicks a button or completes a step.

  3. Write copy that is on-brand, simple, and intuitive.

The process

Requirements
Aside from the main goals for this project, there were three core requirements to work within:

  • Localization-friendly: ScreenPal has a global user base, so the copy needed to be free of colloquialisms and easy to localize for all audiences.

  • Copy-focused changes: ScreenPal has a small team and limited resources, so these changes needed to be limited mostly to copy rather than a full redesign.

  • Personalized to relevant verticals: ScreenPal serves three customer bases — education, business, and individual. This flow needed to feel personally relevant to each of them.

Research

I was a content writer for ScreenPal for 3 years, so I had already done a competitor analysis and customer interviews while working for them. This got me off to a great start because I knew how they position themselves in the screencasting industry, and that their primary focus is making screencasting easy and accessible for all.

To familiarize myself with the signup flow, I made a new account and went through the process of creating an account several times. I noted points where directions were unclear, or where users might jump ship.

Analysis

Next, I did a thorough voice analysis and a usability study to ensure my edits would meet ScreenPal’s needs. See the full analyses in the Appendix.

The UX writing part 1: Updating the copy

The UX writing part of this project involved two components: updating the copy on each screen, and reordering the screens into a flow that felt logical. For presentation purposes, let’s start by looking at the updates to the copy itself (with the screens in their original order). Below is a before and after of each individual screen, including notes about why I made each decision. Click through the slideshow to see the project.

The UX writing part 2: Putting it all in order

You may have noticed that in the original user flow above, the screens jump from inputting basic personal info, to answering questions about how you’ll use ScreenPal, then back to inputting personal info, and finally back to another question about how you’ll use ScreenPal. This jumping back and forth creates confusion and may result in users abandoning the form.

That’s why I updated the flow to feel natural and conversational. In the final updated version below, we start by welcoming users and letting them know what to expect. Then we collect basic info like name and email, followed by a few guided questions about how the user will use ScreenPal. Along the way, I let them know where they are in the process, and how close they are to the end goal. This way, they’re less likely to feel frustrated about when they can move on to actually using ScreenPal.

See the final screens below.

Appendix

Here you’ll find full walkthroughs of my usability and voice analyses for this project.

  • Accessible. The site and apps support 8 languages and content is kept to a 10th-grade reading level.

  • Purposeful. This flow of screens feels disjointed. It’s hard to predict what will happen from one screen to the next, which could prevent users from completing the sign-up process. It almost seems like it might ask a lot of questions and take up too much time for what should be a simple task.

  • Conversational. The language is simple and relatable, but the flow of the conversation feels out of order. Questions about how the users will use Screencast-O-Matic shouldn’t be separated by email verification because it’s jarring.

  • Concise. There’s more text than necessary on pages with forms.

  • Clear. Some of the terms are more marketing-focused than clear about what the user is really getting.

Usability analysis

  • Accessible: Leave as-is.

  • Purposeful: Set up an intuitive flow where questions are grouped together, separately from email verification. Make it clear that the process will be brief.

  • Conversational: Keep the conversational tone, just make the above adjustments to the flow for a more purposeful and conversational experience.

  • Concise: Replace colloquialisms with direct, action-oriented language that will translate easily. Change “New around here?” to “Create an account”

  • Clear: Use specific language. Instead of “Use video to get the job done,” describe the actual use case so it’s clear we’re talking about business users.

Usability recommendations

Voice Analysis

Voice Recommendations

  • Replace body text with: “Please answer a couple quick questions so we can create the perfect video creation experience for you.

  • Replace caption under Business with: “Promote and demo products with video.”