Empty States: Designing for Zero Data

October 24, 2025

When someone signs up for a new product, they often land on... nothing. No data. No projects. Just blank screens staring back at them. These empty states can either spark engagement or send users running.

It's kind of surprising how little attention empty state design gets, considering it's frequently the very first thing users see after signup. Bad empty states confuse people and drive early churn. Good ones help users take action.

This guide walks through how to turn those blank screens into moments that actually get users moving.

What Are Empty States?

Empty states show up whenever there's nothing to display in a part of your product. Think of them as blank canvases that users see before they've created anything, added any data, or generated content.

Types of Empty States

First-Use Empty States:
User hasn't created any content yet.

First time seeing a dashboard
Empty project list
Blank activity feed

User-Cleared Empty States:
User deleted all their content.

All items archived or deleted
Filters showing no results
Completed and cleared items

No-Results Empty States:
Search or filter returned nothing.

Search with no matches
Filter criteria too narrow
Category with no items

Error Empty States:
Content can't be loaded.

Connection failed
Permission denied
Resource unavailable

Why Empty States Matter

First Impressions:
They're frequently what users see right after signing up.

Activation Opportunity:
A perfect moment to nudge someone toward their first action.

Conversion Impact:
Poorly designed empty states lead to higher early dropout rates.

Value Perception:
A blank screen can make your whole product feel incomplete.

The Problem with Blank Screens

What Happens Without Good Empty States

Confusion:
People have no idea what to do next.

Abandonment:
They leave and never come back.

Support Burden:
You get tickets asking "Is this thing broken?"

Negative Perception:
The product comes across as unfinished or buggy.

The User's Perspective

When someone hits a blank screen, questions start popping up:

What's supposed to be here?
What am I supposed to do now?
Did something break?
How do I even start?

Well-designed empty states answer these questions upfront. Bad ones just leave people confused.

Anatomy of a Good Empty State

Essential Components

Visual Element:
An illustration, icon, or graphic that gives users context about where they are.

Clear Heading:
Something that explains what this section is actually for.

Helpful Description:
A quick explanation of why it's empty and what users should do about it.

Primary Action:
An obvious CTA that helps users create their first piece of content.

Secondary Resources:
Links to help docs, examples, or more information for those who need it.

Optional Enhancements

Example Data:
Sample content that shows users what things will look like once they add something.

Quick Start Options:
Templates or presets that speed things up for people who want to jump in fast.

Progress Context:
Some indication of how this fits into the bigger onboarding picture.

Empty State Design Patterns

Pattern 1: Action-Focused

This pattern puts all the emphasis on one clear action that resolves the empty state.

Structure:

[Illustration]

"No projects yet"

Create your first project to start organizing
your work and collaborating with your team.

[Create Project Button]

When to Use:

Simple, clear next action
Core feature areas
Most first-use empty states

Pattern 2: Educational

This one takes a moment to explain what the feature does and why users should care.

Structure:

[Illustration]

"Your analytics dashboard"

Once you start using [Product], you'll see
performance metrics, user activity, and
insights here.

Here's what you'll be able to track:
• Active users over time
• Feature adoption rates
• Engagement trends

[Connect Your Data]

Learn more about analytics →

When to Use:

Complex features
Areas requiring setup first
When value needs explanation

Pattern 3: Template Gallery

Gives users pre-built starting points so they don't have to begin from scratch.

Structure:

[Illustration]

"Start with a template"

Choose a template to get started quickly,
or create a blank project from scratch.

[Template 1] [Template 2] [Template 3]

[Browse All Templates]    [Start From Scratch]

When to Use:

Products with use case variety
When templates genuinely help
Complex creation processes

Pattern 4: Import-Focused

Helps users bring in data they already have from somewhere else.

Structure:

[Illustration]

"Import your existing work"

Bring your projects from other tools to
get started immediately.

[Import from Asana]
[Import from Trello]
[Upload CSV]

Or [Create from scratch]

When to Use:

Users likely have existing data
Switching from competitors
Data-heavy products

Pattern 5: Celebration

Recognizes when users have accomplished something or finished a task.

Structure:

[Celebration illustration]

"All caught up!"

You've completed all your tasks for today.
Nice work!

[Add a new task] or [Take a break] 👋

When to Use:

User-cleared empty states
Completion moments
Inbox-zero scenarios

Writing Empty State Copy

Headlines

Be Specific:
Bad: "Nothing here"
Good: "No projects yet"

Avoid Negative Framing:
Bad: "You have no data"
Good: "Your dashboard is ready"

Be Contextual:
Bad: "Empty"
Good: "Your team workspace is waiting"

Description Copy

Explain Why It's Empty:
"You haven't created any campaigns yet."

Show What Becomes Possible:
"Once you create campaigns, you'll see performance data here."

Guide the Next Step:
"Start by creating your first campaign to reach your audience."

CTA Copy

Action-Oriented Options:

"Create Your First Project"
"Add Your First Contact"
"Import Your Data"

Benefit-Focused Options:

"Get Started"
"Start Organizing"
"Begin Tracking"

Avoid Vague CTAs:

"Click Here"
"Submit"
"Continue"

Tone Considerations

Friendly, Not Cutesy:
Keep it warm but professional. Don't try too hard to be clever.

Helpful, Not Pushy:
Guide users without making them feel pressured.

Brief, Not Sparse:
Give enough information without overwhelming people.

Visual Design for Empty States

Illustrations

Purpose:

Add visual interest to an otherwise blank area
Make things feel less "broken"
Reinforce your brand personality
Give users context about where they are

Guidelines:

Keep them relevant to the feature
Maintain consistent style across the product
Don't make them too large or distracting
Make sure they work at different screen sizes

Layout

Centered:
The most common approach. Content sits in the middle of the available space.

Inline:
Works for smaller components that might be empty, like lists or cards.

Full Page:
Best for main views and dashboards.

Spacing

Room to Breathe:
Empty states should feel calm and spacious, not cramped.

Visual Hierarchy:
Create clear priority flowing from illustration to headline to description to CTA.

Color

Brand Consistency:
Stick to your design system.

Accessibility:
Make sure there's enough contrast for text readability.

Emotional Tone:
Light, approachable colors tend to work well here.

Empty States by Context

Dashboard Empty States

For many users, this is the very first thing they see after signing up.

Best Practices:

Give users a preview of what the populated dashboard will look like
Make it obvious what action will generate data
Consider offering sample or demo data
Link to setup steps if there's additional configuration needed

Example:

[Dashboard illustration with sample data preview]

"Your dashboard will come to life"

Complete your setup to start seeing:
- [x] Performance metrics
- [x] Team activity
- [x] Project progress

[Complete Setup →]

Or explore with sample data →

List Empty States

Things like empty project lists, contact lists, and similar views.

Best Practices:

Make it obvious how to add the first item
Offer template or import options where they make sense
Keep the design simple

Example:

[Illustration]

"No projects yet"

Create your first project to start
organizing your work.

[Create Project]

Import from another tool →

Search Empty States

What happens when a search returns nothing.

Best Practices:

Acknowledge what the user searched for
Suggest alternatives or next steps
Never leave users at a dead end

Example:

[Search illustration]

No results for "quarterly report"

Try:
• Check your spelling
• Use fewer keywords
• Search in a different category

[Browse all reports]    [Create new report]

Error Empty States

What to show when something breaks.

Best Practices:

Explain what happened in plain language
Give users an action they can take to fix it
Include a way to get support if the problem persists

Example:

[Connection illustration]

"Couldn't load your data"

This usually means a connection issue.
Try refreshing the page.

[Refresh Page]

Still not working? Contact support →

Empty States and Onboarding

Integration Points

Onboarding Checklist:
Empty states can reference where users are in their checklist progress.

Product Tours:
You can launch contextual tours directly from empty states.

Help Content:
Link to relevant documentation for users who want more detail.

First-Time vs Returning Users

First-Time Users:
Give them more education and guidance. They need context.

Returning Users (empty again):
Less explanation, faster path to action. They already know the basics.

Personalization

Based on User Type:
Show admins admin-relevant empty states. Show regular users something different.

Based on Progress:
Reference what they've already done and suggest logical next steps.

Measuring Empty State Effectiveness

Key Metrics

Conversion Rate:
What percentage of users take the primary action from your empty state?

Time on Empty State:
How long do users spend there before taking action or leaving?

Bounce Rate:
What percentage leave the product entirely from the empty state?

Help Seeking:
Are users filing support tickets or accessing help content from there?

Optimization

A/B Test:
Try different copy, CTAs, and visuals to see what performs better.

Heatmaps:
See where users are actually looking and clicking.

User Testing:
Watch real people encounter your empty states and note where they get stuck.

Common Empty State Mistakes

Mistake 1: Truly Empty

Problem: Just blank white space with zero guidance.
Result: Users get confused and leave.
Fix: Always provide some context and a clear action.

Mistake 2: Generic Content

Problem: Using the exact same empty state everywhere.
Result: You miss the chance to give contextual help.
Fix: Customize empty states for each feature area.

Mistake 3: No Clear Action

Problem: Explanation but no CTA.
Result: Users understand the situation but don't know what to do about it.
Fix: Include a primary action button.

Mistake 4: Too Much Information

Problem: A wall of text explaining everything.
Result: Cognitive overload. Nobody reads it.
Fix: Keep copy brief and scannable.

Mistake 5: Negative Framing

Problem: Copy like "You have nothing" or "No data found"
Result: Users feel like they've failed or the product is empty.
Fix: Frame things positively and forward-looking.

Mistake 6: Missing Help Options

Problem: Only offering one possible path.
Result: Users who need help get stuck.
Fix: Include secondary help resources for those who need them.

Empty State Checklist

Run through this for each empty state in your product:

Tools and Implementation

Design Systems

Make sure your design system covers empty states:

Component templates
Copy guidelines
Illustration library
Interaction patterns

Development Considerations

Handle empty states at the component level
Make sure you distinguish between loading states and truly empty states
Use skeleton screens before confirming something is empty
Build in graceful fallbacks

Content Management

Keep copy in a central place for consistency
Make updates easy without requiring code changes
Support localization if you have international users

The Bottom Line

Empty states aren't edge cases. They're central to how people experience your product during onboarding. Every single user encounters them, and how you handle these moments determines whether they take that first meaningful action or leave feeling confused.

Key Principles:

Never leave screens completely blank
Provide clear, specific context
Make the next action obvious
Offer alternative paths for different user needs
Frame things positively and helpfully
Design for the experience, not just the data

The best empty states don't feel empty at all. They feel like invitations to get started.

Continue learning: First-Time User Experience and Onboarding Checklist Design.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should an empty state include in UX design?

A good empty state includes a visual element (illustration or icon), a clear heading explaining what the area is for, helpful description of why it's empty and what to do, a primary action CTA, and secondary resources like help links or examples.

Why do empty states matter for user onboarding?

Empty states are often the first thing users see after signup. Poor empty state design causes confusion, abandonment, and negative perception that the product is broken or incomplete. Well-designed empty states guide users to their first meaningful action.

What are the main types of empty state patterns?

Common patterns include action-focused (emphasizing the single action to create content), educational (explaining feature value), template gallery (offering pre-built starting points), import-focused (helping migrate existing data), and celebration (acknowledging completion).

How do I write effective empty state copy?

Use specific headlines like 'No projects yet' instead of generic 'Nothing here', avoid negative framing, explain why the area is empty and what's possible once populated, include action-oriented CTAs like 'Create Your First Project', and keep copy brief but helpful.

How do I measure empty state effectiveness?

Track conversion rate (percentage taking primary action), time on empty state before action or abandonment, bounce rate from empty states, and help-seeking behavior. Use A/B testing, heatmaps, and user testing to optimize design and copy.