Consistent Language

When writing microcopy, like CTAs or product content, we want to use consistent terms so our customers don’t get confused. 

Some terms, like ​“add” and ​“create,” are appropriate in different situations. Here are a few guidelines to help you decide when you should use each word.

“Add” comes into play when putting a new element into a larger system that already exists. Think of athletes on a roster, events on a schedule, data in the breakdown columns. Add is for the individual part.

“Create” applies when building a larger system to which other elements will be added, like installs, seasons, groups and reports. They all house additional pieces and information.

“Delete” means the element will no longer exist. It doesn’t live anywhere else within Hudl. It’s tied directly to the system a user is currently viewing, and choosing to delete will destroy it entirely.

“Remove” works when separating an element from the system in which it’s currently being viewed. Removing an athlete from the roster doesn’t ​“destroy” the athlete entirely. They’re simply no longer associated with that team.

Use ​“edit” to directly change the physical attributes of an element so it ultimately looks different in the end. 

When users ​“manage” something, changes aren’t physical so much as contextual, like where an element lives or who’s allowed to see it.

Note: We never want to swap in ​“modify.” It could mean either edit or manage, which causes a ton of confusion without con­tribut­ing anything to the larger vocab.

“Send” applies when the content has a final destination, at which point no other action can be taken. It’s a quick one-and-done interaction for all parties. (Never use ​“submit” in place of ​“send” — it means the same thing, but it’s more formal.)

“Shared” content remains open and available for further interaction by both the sender and their recipient(s). This is usually the case with highlights, playlists and other video.

This one’s simple: we only ever use ​“save.” The two words mean essentially the same thing, so it’s best just to stick with one. 

We recommend only ever using ​“view.” It’s user-focused, clear, and more widely used than ​“see” or ​“show.” (“Show” is acceptable when used as an opposite to ​“hide,” though. This convention may apply when we have collapsible content in an interface.)

When in doubt, use ​“video.” It’s the word we use in our backend code, the word we use in product, and the word we use most when speaking with our customers. 

“Film” is a valid alternative in marketing or educational content when we don’t want to say ​“video” five times in a paragraph, or when it would sound strange to use ​“video” (in American football, for example, ​“film review” or ​“film study” is the more common phrase). 

Terms like ​“film,” ​“footage” or ​“tape” are appropriate in helping users bridge their under­stand­ing from the old world — old tech­nolo­gies and old habits.