Microcopy.

Microcopy covers all text that is used rather than read. It includes the text on a call-to-action button, the label of a form field, a hint below the field ('We only call back if you want us to'), an error message, a success message after submitting, the text in an empty cart, the menu labels and the wording in a cookie banner. Individually they seem insignificant; together they form the conversation between website and person.

Good microcopy answers the question someone is asking at that moment. Before clicking 'Submit': what happens next, and how quickly will someone get in touch? Before entering a phone number: what is it needed for? After an error: what exactly is wrong, and how do I correct it? A button reading 'Request a quote' says more than 'Send', and a hint 'Reply within one working day' says more than nothing, provided the promise holds.

For accessibility, microcopy is not optional but mandatory. WCAG requires permanently visible labels on form fields (placeholder text in the field is not enough because it disappears while typing), error messages that name the affected field and give a correction hint, and unambiguous link text instead of 'click here'. Good microcopy is thus both understandable for everyone and accessible to screen readers.

Microcopy belongs in the design, not at the end. Anyone who designs forms with 'lorem ipsum' placeholders and only adds the text just before launch finds out too late that a hint does not fit in the intended line or a step is incomprehensible without explanation. It makes sense to maintain microcopy like components in the design system: a list of recurring phrasings for errors, confirmations and buttons, so the same situation is named the same way everywhere. Its effect can be checked with A/B tests and in usability testing.