UX Writing Guide — Vallejo 1.1.1

Section 2.1

Voice & tone charter

Copart's voice is consistent across every touchpoint. Tone adapts to context — but the voice never changes.

Brand voice

Professional

We respect the member's time and money. No fluff, no filler.

"Your bid of $4,500 has been placed."
not "Awesome! You just bid!"

Straightforward

Say exactly what's happening. No jargon unless the audience expects it.

"This lot has a clean title."
not "This vehicle's documentation status is clear."

Confident

We know our platform. Statements, not hedging.

"Bidding closes at 2:30 PM EST."
not "Bidding should close around 2:30 PM EST."

Helpful

Every message moves the member toward their goal.

"Enter your VIN to check eligibility."
not "VIN required."

Vault triad mapping: Professional + Straightforward = Precision (the warmth of competence). Confident = Institutional Confidence (we don't hedge or over-explain). Helpful = Vitality (every message moves the member forward).

Tone spectrum

Context	Tone	Example
Informational	Neutral, factual	This lot is located in Dallas, TX.
Encouraging	Warm, supportive	You're all set — your watchlist will notify you when bidding opens.
Urgent	Direct, clear	Bidding closes in 2 minutes. Place your bid now.
Error	Calm, solution-focused	Payment failed — update your payment method to continue.

Rule: Never use humor, sarcasm, or playful language in error states. Members may be frustrated or anxious — meet them with clarity, not cleverness.

Section 2.2

Capitalization & punctuation

Sentence case everywhere. Capitalize the first word and proper nouns only.

Sentence case examples

Element	Correct	Incorrect
Page headings	My saved vehicles	My Saved Vehicles
Button labels	Place bid	Place Bid
Nav items	Find vehicles	Find Vehicles
Tab labels	Bid history	Bid History
Table headers	Sale date	Sale Date
Menu items	Account settings	Account Settings

Exceptions — always capitalize: Copart, CrashedToys, Copart Dealer Services (CDS), Copart Wholesale Auction, Copart Alliance Gateway, VIN, CDV, NMVTIS, and product names used as proper nouns.

Punctuation rules

Rule	Example
No periods on buttons, labels, table headers, nav items, badges	Place bid not Place bid.
Periods on full sentences in descriptions, helper text, tooltips	Enter the 17-character VIN found on the vehicle dashboard.
Serial (Oxford) comma required	Year, make, and model not Year, make and model
Em dash (—) for interruption or clause joining	Payment failed — update your payment method.
En dash (–) for ranges	$1,200–$3,500 or Mon–Fri
No exclamation marks in UI copy	Bid placed successfully not Bid placed!

Section 2.3

Grammar & tense conventions

Active voice always. Second person for the member. Contractions are fine — but not all of them.

Active voice always

Correct (active)	Incorrect (passive)
We saved your bid.	Your bid has been saved.
Enter your lot number.	The lot number should be entered.
Copart charges a buyer fee.	A buyer fee is charged.

Tense rules

Context	Tense	Example
Current state	Present	3 items in your watchlist
Completed action	Past	Bid placed successfully
Instruction	Imperative	Enter your VIN
Future event	Future	Bidding opens tomorrow at 10:00 AM EST

Person & pronouns

Use

Second person ("you/your") for addressing the member. First person plural ("we") when Copart is the subject.

"We'll notify you when bidding opens."

Contractions

Allowed: don't, won't, can't, it's, you'll, we'll, you're, we're, that's
Avoid: ain't, y'all, would've, could've

Section 2.4

Terminology glossary

Use these terms consistently. Never alternate between synonyms within the same flow or page.

Preferred term	Never use	Notes
Lot	Listing, item, product	Copart's canonical term for an auctioned vehicle
Vehicle	Car, automobile, unit	The physical object, not the auction entity
Bid	Offer, price, amount	For both the action and the value
Place bid	Submit bid, make bid, enter bid	Canonical CTA verb
Watchlist	Favorites, saved items, bookmarks	Single canonical term
Member	User, customer, client	For all Copart users
Sign in / Sign out	Log in, login, log out	Two words as verb; one word as adjective ("sign-in page")
Register	Sign up, create account, join	Canonical onboarding term
VIN	Vehicle identification number (in UI)	Always abbreviation in interface
Clean title	Non-salvage, clear title	Industry-standard term
Salvage	Damaged, wrecked, total loss	Legal/industry classification
Pre-bid	Preliminary bid, early bid	Canonical short form everywhere
Live auction	Real-time auction, active auction	"Live" is the canonical modifier
Buy it now	Instant purchase, direct buy	Capitalize first word only: "Buy it now"
Buyer fee	Service fee, transaction fee	Copart-specific term
Sale date	Auction date, event date	Canonical field label
Location	Yard (internal only), facility	Public-facing term for Copart sites. "Yard" is internal only.
Item number	Run number, lane number	For auction ordering
Title type	Title status, title category	Field label
Damage type	Damage category, loss type	Field label
Odometer	Mileage, miles	Field label; "miles" in conversational copy
Highlights	Features, specs, details	Vehicle summary section
Condition	Quality, grade	Vehicle state descriptor
Seller	Consigner, provider, vendor	Entity listing the vehicle
Storage fees	Yard fees, holding fees	Canonical term
Copart Alliance Gateway	Lounge, Copart Lounge	Official name for on-site member facilities
Wholesale / Copart Wholesale	Select, Copart Select, Wholecar	Current brand. Full product name: "Copart Wholesale Auction"

Rule: If a term is not in this glossary, choose the simplest, most common word and use it consistently. Add new terms to the glossary when they appear in more than one flow.

Section 2.5

Copy length guidelines

Every UI element has a character budget. These limits maintain scannability and prevent layout breakage.

Element	Word count	Max characters	Example
Button label	1–3 words	20 chars	Place bid
Field label	1–4 words	30 chars	Lot number
Placeholder text	2–5 words	30 chars	e.g., 12345678
Helper text	1 sentence	80 chars	8-digit number found on the vehicle page.
Error message	1–2 sentences	120 chars	Enter a valid lot number (8 digits).
Toast message	1 sentence	60 chars	Lot added to watchlist.
Empty state heading	3–8 words	40 chars	No saved lots yet
Empty state body	1–2 sentences	120 chars	Search for vehicles and save them here.
Modal title	3–8 words	50 chars	Confirm your bid
Table header	1–3 words	20 chars	Sale date
Badge / tag	1–2 words	15 chars	Clean title
Tooltip	1–2 sentences	100 chars	Your maximum bid. Copart bids on your behalf up to this amount.
Nav item	1–2 words	15 chars	My bids

Rule: If copy exceeds the character budget, rewrite — don't just truncate. Truncation is a last resort for dynamic content only.

Section 2.6

Component microcopy patterns

Specific copy patterns for every component type. These are rules, not suggestions.

Buttons

Start with a verb. The label describes the action: Place bid, Save to watchlist, Remove lot
Be specific. Place bid beats Submit. Remove from watchlist beats Delete.
No numerical values in buttons. Never put pricing, amounts, or counts inside button labels. Display values elsewhere in the UI. Buttons are for actions only.
Never use: Click here, Submit, OK, Yes, No
Destructive: State what will be destroyed — Remove from watchlist
Loading state: Present participle — Placing bid…, Saving…

Text fields

Labels describe what to enter: Lot number — not Enter lot number here
Placeholders show example format only: e.g., 12345678 — never repeat the label
Helper text adds context the label can't: 8-digit number found on the vehicle page.
Error messages say what went wrong AND how to fix it: Enter a valid lot number (8 digits). — not Invalid input

Alerts & banners

Lead with what happened, then what to do.
Success: Bid placed — you'll receive a confirmation email.
Warning: Your session expires in 5 minutes — save your work.
Error: Payment failed — update your payment method to continue.
Never use: Oops, Uh oh, Whoops, Something went wrong
Never blame the member: We couldn't process your payment — not You entered an invalid card

Toasts & snackbars

Confirmation of the action just taken. Past tense, one sentence.
Lot added to watchlist. / Bid placed successfully. / Settings saved.
Include undo where reversible: Lot removed from watchlist. Undo
Auto-dismiss after 5 seconds. No exclamation marks.

Modals & dialogs

Title = what this modal is about: Confirm your bid, Remove lot from watchlist
Body = what the member needs to know. 1–3 sentences.
Primary button = specific action: Place bid, Confirm purchase — never OK or Yes. No pricing in buttons — display amounts in the modal body.
Secondary button = Cancel — not No, Go back, Dismiss
Destructive: Repeat the consequence — This will permanently remove the lot from your watchlist.

Empty states

Heading: Describe what's missing — No saved lots yet
Body: Explain how to fill it — Search for vehicles and tap the heart icon to save them here.
CTA: Action to resolve — Browse vehicles
Never say: No data, Nothing to show, Empty

Tables

Headers: Short noun or noun phrase — Sale date, Current bid, Damage type
No verbs in table headers
Null values: Em dash "—" — never N/A, null, none, or blank
Monospace for VIN, lot numbers, bid amounts, timestamps

Badges & tags

1–2 words maximum
Status badges: Past participle or adjective — Sold, Awarded, Active, Upcoming
Category tags: Nouns — Clean title, Salvage, Flood damage
Count badges: Numerals only — 3, 12, 99+

Navigation

Top-level items: 1–2 word nouns — Vehicles, My bids, Dashboard
Never use verbs in primary navigation items
Breadcrumbs match the page title exactly — no abbreviations or rewording

Section 2.7

Inclusive language

Copart serves a global audience. Write for everyone.

Gender & identity

Gender-neutral by default: "they/them" for unknown members
Member — not he or she, his/her
Salesperson — not salesman/saleswoman

Jargon & accessibility

If a term needs explanation, add a tooltip or inline definition
Reading level: Aim for grade 8 (Flesch-Kincaid)
No idioms, colloquialisms, or cultural references
Person-first language: "members who use screen readers"

Section 2.8

Dynamic & adaptive copy

Rules for formatting dates, times, numbers, and handling pluralization and truncation.

Numbers & formats

Rule	Example
Spell out 1–9 in body copy	three vehicles
Numerals for 10+	42 results
Always numerals for prices, bids, lot numbers, counts in UI	$1,200 · Lot 78901234
Currency: commas, no cents unless partial	$12,500 · $0.50

Date & time formatting

Format	Example	Usage
Abbreviated date	Feb 22, 2026	Default for all dates in UI
Relative date	Today, Yesterday, 3 days ago	Use within 7 days; absolute after that
Time	2:30 PM EST	12-hour clock, full timezone abbreviation (EST, CST, PST)
Date range	Feb 22–28, 2026	En dash, no spaces around dash

Pluralization

Always handle three states: zero, one, and many.

Count	Copy
0	No results or No saved lots
1	1 result or 1 saved lot
2+	24 results or 8 saved lots

Rule: Never show "0 results" — use the zero-state phrasing instead.

Number formatting

Type	Format	Example
Currency	$X,XXX	$4,500
Large numbers	Comma-separated	1,234,567
Percentages	No decimal unless needed	85% or 99.5%
Lot numbers	Monospace, no separators	78901234
VIN	Monospace, uppercase	1HGCM82633A004352

Truncation rules

Ellipsis (…) after the last full word — never mid-word
Minimum 3 visible words before truncation
Always provide the full text via tooltip on hover
Vehicle titles: truncate after year + make + model — 2024 Toyota Cam…

Don't

"Find vehicles" / "View my bids" / "Go to dashboard"

Navigation items are nouns (destinations), not verbs (actions). Members click to go somewhere, not to do something.

Status communication

Do

"Bidding closes Feb 22 at 2:30 PM EST" / "Lot sold — final bid: $12,400"

Don't

"Auction ending soon!" / "This item has been sold."

Specific status copy includes the data the member needs. Vague status creates anxiety and follow-up questions.