Writing style
The rules for every text in Iris, from a button label to a page of these docs.
- Say less. Cut every word that does not help. If a description only repeats the label or the title, delete it.
- Use the glossary terms. One term for one thing, and no internal words (see below).
- Use sentence case: “Copy page”, not “Copy Page”.
- Name the action on a button: “Save topic”, not “OK” or “Submit”.
- Say what to do in an error: “Enter a name.”, not “Request failed”.
- Use the same punctuation everywhere. No full stop on toasts, labels, buttons or titles: “Link copied”. Sentence text ends with a full stop.
| Use | Not |
|---|---|
| contact | visitor, user (for the person in the widget) |
| identity token | user hash, session token, widget token |
| identity secret | API key, app secret, HMAC key |
| contact attribute | metadata, custom data, traits |
| page context | context (alone), metadata |
| launcher | bubble, chat button |
| launcher offset | padding, margin |
| workspace | tenant, account, project |
App ID (in text), appId (in code) |
app id, widget id |
“Your user” is the signed-in user of your product. When that user writes in the widget, Iris calls them a contact.