Handshake

Project background

Project feedback

Research

Handshake user personas

The UX researcher provided me with the following user personas:

Understanding how people talk online

Before I could write any copy, I had to understand the way both freelancers and business owners talk about getting paid and making payment.

I researched competitors and read conversations on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

https://www.reddit.com/r/freelance/ helped me gauge how people talk informally about the problems associated with paying and getting paid.

After spending some time trying to understand the terminology people use, I gathered a glossary of commonly-used terms.

For example:

Hourly rate: People ask for this.

Quote: Not estimate. Quotes are more specific to cost.

Expenses: These are often billable.

Using Google Trends

I used Google Trends to identify whether “bill client” or “invoice client” is more prevalent in the US, as this is the product’s primary market.

As you can see below, “bill client” is more common for web searches.

But this isn’t conclusive. I’d test the terminology on potential users before making the final decision.

Writing the way people speak

To make sure Handshake sounds authentic and human, I identified Plain English terms to use in place of business vocabulary that people rarely use when talking informally:

Instead of: “Assistance” 

Say: “Help” (it’s more informal)

Instead of: “Process invoice”

Say: “Send invoice” (this is what people say)

Instead of: “Employer”

Say: “Client” (freelancers aren’t tied to an employer like a salaried worker is)

Developing tone of voice

After getting an idea of what people wanted to achieve, whether sending or paying a “bill” or “invoice”, I had a better idea of how Handshake should sound.

From there, I was able to develop how a spokesperson for Handshake’s tone of voice might describe it in a style guide:

“Handshake lets freelancers and business owners take control of billing and payments.
Customers come to us to manage their business and to get practical tips that help them do it better. We employ voice, tone, style, and strategy to design the content our customers need to succeed.

Our user interfaces, conversations, help articles, and other content, position us as a positive and empowering helping hand. We help freelancers and business owners manage an aspect of their business they used to have to outsource. In doing so, we empower them to manage their business efficiently.”


Defining voice attributes

The research described above made it easier to get a sense of how Handshake should sound.

Handshake is always:

Empowering, not arrogant

Celebrate the user’s success. Don’t make it about how good the app is.

Optimistic, not unrealistic

Encourage users to do more than they did before, but help them out if it gets to be too much.

• Know the best way forward and back, just in case

• Be realistic about setbacks

• Don’t be that annoying person who’s always “bubbly”

Down-to-earth, not pretentious

• Talk to users in a conversational way

• Avoid jargon or sales speak

• Share practical tips but be realistic about how much time people have to spare

Principles

• Talk with our customers; it’s a human-to-human conversation

• Use everyday words and phrases to earn trust and build confidence

No jargon. No buzzwords. Just clear messaging that helps Handshake users get the job done. So they can carry on with doing what they do best—running their business.

Exploring headline + subhead pairs for the tour screens

The designer asked me to brainstorm some tour screen copy. It's for mobile screens, so text must be useful, concise, and benefit-led.

Editing UI copy

I was provided with mockups and had to add and edit the UI text in each step following UX writing best practices and what I’d learned about how people talk.

What I did

• Edited and added UI copy suggestions (in pink)

• Wrote Calls To Action (CTAs) and titles using parallel construction

• Adopted the appropriate tone for each step (upbeat tone of welcome screen messaging differs to straightforward instructional payment info)

• Reduced cognitive burden by using plain English in titles and form fields

Welcome screen

Welcome screen edits:

- Added an explanation of what Handshake offers

- Replaced ambiguous titles with two clear objectives (open/create a project)

- Removed industry-specific jargon (1099 contractor) to make text universal

- Front-loaded titles towards clear user goals

Business owner setup process

Business owner setup edits:

- Reviewed terminology

- Made punctuation, spelling and grammar recommendations

- Added payment option

- Included focus placeholder text for clarity

- Front-loaded titles towards clear user goals

Freelancer setup process

Freelancer process edits:

- Reviewed terminology to keep it jargon-free and concise

- Made punctuation, spelling and grammar recommendations

- Added payment option

- Included focus placeholder text for clarity

- Front-loaded titles towards clear user goals

Success message

Success message edits:

- Added an OK button so users can move on from this dialog

- Included an interjection to make the success message casual and encourage forward progress

- Celebrated the user’s success and made clear what they achieved

Business Owner ongoing use UI copy edits

Business Owner ongoing use UI suggestions

Test proposals

Preference test

I’d like to test whether people prefer "billing" or "invoicing" in the context of the Handshake experience. I assume this will differ between US and UK English, but I think it's a test worth doing given how important that vocabulary is to Handshake. I’m keen to test my own assumption too.

This could be done by testing the “welcome” and “open an existing project” screens. I would probably use usertesting.com for this as I could do it across different locales for a relatively low cost. Where possible, I’d conduct this test alongside the participants.

Heatmaps

For the success message notification, I’d like to test whether people rely on the X to close the dialog or if OK is sufficient to close it and move on.

Product telemetry

I’d test the section where freelancers are given the opportunity to cancel outstanding invoices against sending the client a reminder. I'm keen to know which option would be more useful to a freelancer.

I’d use a screen and audio platform like Loom to get feedback and hear people thinking out loud during the experience.

Writing across the customer journey

Welcome email