# What to write in a feedback form's message field

> Give the message field a visible label that names the goal, and use a placeholder that shows one concrete example. Change the prompt for each feedback type: bugs ask what happened, ideas ask what problem the change solves, and praise asks what worked.

Source: https://escutaproduto.com/resources/feedback-message-field-copy
Last updated: 2026-10-11

## What should the message label say?

The label should name the job of the box in plain words. "Message" is accurate but says nothing about what to write, so people write a sentence or two and stop. A better label names the goal, such as "What happened?" for a bug or "What would you like to see?" for an idea. Keep it under about eight words so it fits on a phone without wrapping awkwardly.

Put the label above the field, not inside it. A visible label stays on screen while the person types, which matters for people who forget what the box is for, and for people using a screen reader, who need the name to be attached to the field. A placeholder can help, but it should never be the only prompt.

## What belongs in the placeholder and what belongs in the label?

Use the label for the question and the placeholder for a concrete example. A placeholder disappears as soon as someone types, so keep anything essential out of it. For example, a label of "What happened?" can pair with a placeholder of "The export button did nothing after I picked a date range." That placeholder shows the level of detail you want without giving the person a sentence to copy.

Two rules help. Keep the placeholder shorter than two lines on a phone. Write it as a real example from your product, not a generic phrase like "Enter your feedback here", which gives nothing to imitate.

## What copy works for bug reports?

Bug reports need three things: what the person did, what they expected, and what happened instead. A label that asks for all three in one line tends to get a short answer, so split the prompt into a question and a hint. The copy below works for most products.

| Element | Suggested copy |
| --- | --- |
| Type button | Bug |
| Label | What went wrong? |
| Placeholder | I clicked Export on the March report and the file was empty. |
| Hint under the field | Include the steps and what you expected to see. |

If your product has a fixed set of screens, add a short question about the screen, such as "Which page were you on?", so the message does not depend on the page URL alone.

## What copy works for ideas and praise?

Ideas and praise need different prompts. An idea gets better when the person names the problem it solves, because the same feature request can come from a dozen different needs. Praise is most useful when it names the thing that worked, so the team knows what to protect.

| Type | Label | Placeholder |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Idea | What would make this easier for you? | I track invoices in a spreadsheet, and I want them to sync from my accounting tool. |
| Praise | What worked well for you? | The new onboarding checklist helped me send my first invoice in one afternoon. |
| Other | What would you like us to know? | I am evaluating the product for my team and have a question about data export. |

For a Portuguese form, the same structure works with local wording. A bug label such as "O que deu errado?" matches the question, and a placeholder such as "Cliquei em Exportar e o arquivo saiu vazio." gives the same kind of example.

## How do you write prompts that get specific answers?

A specific prompt asks for a fact, not an opinion. "Tell us what you think" invites a vague reply. "What did you try before you contacted us?" invites a sequence of steps, which is what you need to reproduce a problem. Work through these rules when you write a prompt:

1. Ask for a moment, such as "When did it happen?", rather than a feeling.
2. Ask for a thing the person can name, such as the page, the setting or the file.
3. Ask one question per field. Two questions in one label get one answer, usually to the easier question.
4. Mention the outcome you want, such as "so we can fix it" or "so we can plan it", so the person knows why the detail matters.

Test each prompt with someone who did not write it. If they hesitate, the prompt is too broad.

## How do you keep copy short in other languages?

Translated labels grow longer, and a placeholder that fits in English can wrap onto three lines in another language. Write the English version first, then translate it with the same number of ideas, not the same number of words. Read the translated version on a phone width, and cut any hint that repeats the label.

Escuta Produto's widget ships with English and Portuguese wording built in, so the form copy is already localized for those two languages. For forms you build yourself, plan for the longest version of each label.

## Setting the copy up with Escuta Produto

The widget's own labels and placeholders come with the product and are not set through an attribute, so use this article as a guide for the copy you control. That includes the text on your own buttons, the hint text on your site and the form you build with the REST API, which accepts `kind`, `message` and `metadata`. The API fields are listed in the [API docs](/docs/api). For the labels on the buttons that open the form, see [what a feedback button should say](/resources/feedback-button-copy), and for how a visitor reports a problem with a specific page, [feedback on error pages](/resources/feedback-on-error-pages) shows the context to ask for.

## Frequently asked questions

### What should the label of a feedback message field say?

Name the goal in plain words, such as What happened? for a bug or What would you like to see? for an idea. Put the label above the field, because a placeholder disappears once someone types.

### Should the placeholder show an example?

Yes, one concrete example from your product works well. It shows the level of detail you want without giving the person a sentence to copy. Keep it short enough to read on a phone.

### How do I get more specific feedback from customers?

Ask for facts instead of opinions. Ask when it happened, what they tried and which page or setting they used. Ask one question per field, and say why the detail matters so people know what to include.