User interface text
In the same way that it’s best to work with a professional graphical designer on the icons and images in your app, it’s best to work with a professional writer on your app’s user-visible text. A skilled writer can help you develop a style of expression that reflects your app’s design, and can apply that style consistently throughout your app.
— Apple macOS Human Interface Guidelines
UI copy
Text appears in the user interface (or “UI”) in button names, menu labels, application settings, and dialogs as well as the “microcopy” in notification banners, headings and small print, navigation, feedback and error messages.
The care we take in crafting every bit of text in the app should reflect the level of detail invested in the design and user experience that sets Wire apart.
Rather than re-invent the wheel or get “creative” in ways that confuse users, we defer to existing platform conventions wherever possible.
The sections below provide resources for each platform we support.
Desktop
On desktop systems, Wire uses a cross-platform web application to provide a uniform experience on all supported operating systems. For platform-specific terminology and conventions, refer to the following resources.
Mac
When writing for the Mac desktop user interface, use the conventions that Apple has established in the macOS Human Interface Guidelines.
The following sections are particularly useful:
NOTE: Apple recently renamed their desktop operating system from “OS X” to “macOS” beginning with Version 10.12 (Sierra).
All copy scheduled for publication after the official release of macOS Sierra on September 20, 2016 should be updated to use the new macOS name.
Windows
When writing for the Windows desktop user interface, refer to the Microsoft Writing Style Guide.
iOS
When writing for iOS, refer to the iOS Human Interface Guidelines, especially:
Android
For guidance on writing conventions for Android, see Android Writing Style.