Be concise

Button text should be concise: 1 or 2 words, no longer than 4 words, with fewer than 20 characters including spaces. Don't use punctuation marks such as periods or exclamation points.

Write labels as verbs

A button represents an action, so its label needs to reflect the action that a user is taking — which is a verb. Labels written as nouns or adjectives tend to be unclear and disorienting.

Clearly state the action

Make sure that a button's label clearly states the outcome of the action. Use the same word or phrase as found elsewhere in the experience.

For example, when designing a form for people to sign up for a trial offer, use "Sign up" as the call to action for completing the form. Phrases like "Start trial" skip the sign up step. Words like "Submit" or "Enter," while technically correct, focus on the action of finishing filling out the form itself, rather than what the user is actually doing by filling it out (signing up for something).

Use sentence case

Button text should always be in sentence case. Never use capitalization to emphasize a specific button.

Be aware of tone

Emoji and exclamation points aren't appropriate for the functional, utilitarian nature of buttons. Keep the label to just text, with no punctuation or extra decoration.