Step 5 · Hours 24–34
Make it explain itself
The shortest explanation possible, then labels, empty states, errors, keyboard, phone and the first thirty seconds.
One sentence at the top
The person arrives from a link. They give you a few seconds. The first line should say what the tool does and for whom, in their words: “Turn a list of dates into a calendar file.” Not the name, not a slogan.
Under it, if needed, one line about what makes it safe or easy: “Works in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.”
Labels that say what happens
Buttons are verbs: “Convert”, “Download the file”, “Copy”. Inputs say what goes in, with an example: “Paste one date per line, like 12 March 2027.”
The empty state and the errors
Before anything is entered, show what a result looks like, or offer a sample: “Try it with an example.” When something goes wrong, say what happened and what to do, in plain words: “This file is not a CSV. Export it from your spreadsheet as CSV and try again.”
Phone and keyboard
Open it on your phone and use it with one thumb. Then use it on a computer without the mouse: tab through it, press Enter. Fix what you cannot do.
The first thirty seconds
Close everything, open the address in a private window, and time yourself from arrival to result. Every pause is a fix. Then stop: polish beyond this is for after people have used it.
Done when
The sentence is there, the empty state and errors are written, and the tool works on a phone and with the keyboard alone.
Step 5 is done when
0 of 4Tick each one once it is true for your project, then move on.
Step 5 done.