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Empty States
The first thing a user sees before any data exists.
An empty state is what the interface shows when a list, dashboard, or view has no content yet. Good empty states teach the primary action and preview the payoff of using the feature.
Use cases
- New workspaces, projects, or inboxes
- Filtered views that happen to return no matches
- Features gated behind a first setup step
Pros
- Turns dead screens into a strong call to action
- Sets expectations for what the feature will look like once used
- Cheap conversion win compared to redesigning the feature
Cons
- Easy to make cute and useless; illustrations without a next step
- Different for zero-data versus zero-results; conflating them confuses users
- Needs to be maintained as the feature grows
Where it fits in the funnel
This pattern most often shows up at these Studio stages:
OnboardingCore loop
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