OBSERVATION #058
Published
A "Submit" button promises nothing
The name of an action is the only promise an interface makes before the click.
QVORIX editorial1 min
"Submit" describes the mechanics of data transfer, not the result for a person. After the click a question remains: submitted where, to whom, and what happens now.
Replacing it with a concrete action — "Send the question", "Book a review", "Save draft" — answers that before the click and sets the wording for the success message.
A simple test: if the button label cannot be turned into past tense and shown as a result, it describes the wrong thing.
About the author
QVORIX editorial
Collective author of the studio