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Ask HN: Should I use “My” or “Your” at all in web app verbiage?
Should possessive adjectives be used at all in web app UI elements?
I consider it a given that helpful copy should use “you” when relevant: “Drag the image into your browser,” “Don’t [you] reload during this process.”
But what about UI elements like tabs and buttons? Should they use “My,” “Your,” or neither?
“My Account,” “My Profile.”
“Your Account,” “Edit your profile.”
“Account,” “Profile.”
I know there’s been research done in this area, but a couple Google, DuckDuckGo, and SearchYC searches came up empty. Does anyone have this advice bookmarked?
- michael_dorfman 16y agoSounds like you should be able to A/B test this.
- alanh 16y agoMaybe we could. We don’t necessarily have the resources right now, though.
- znt 16y agoWell Facebook uses "My Profile" etc. I guess they may know a thing or two about this, by looking at the number of their users. Gmail uses none, just "Contacts", "Inbox" etc. Twitter uses "Create your account" but when signed in turns into non possesive nouns. I guess using possesives while calling to an action is an efficent practice.
- Clarko 16y agoI try to avoid them altogether. Gun to my head, I'd go with "Your". See also: http://weblog.muledesign.com/2010/06/unsuck_it_special_byebye_my.php http://weblog.muledesign.com/2010/06/unsuck_it_special_byeby...