Avoiding the Void: Empty States are an Opportunity

Throughout my career as a software developer, I have worked with some brilliant designers. The kind of visionaries who could add just a little padding to reveal a gorgeous layout that simply needed that minor effortless adjustment, like Rachel Leigh Cook removing her glasses.

The designs I worked from would depict the ideal state of the app in order to exhibit all of the features and functionality a user might see on the screen. So, lists of records, photo attachments, line items, and other components were always mocked up in visually optimal groups of 3 or 5. Beautiful.

Passing that rendering on to the development team to implement, you always need to plan for the extremes. For any set or collection, you need to know what it looks like when it is empty and when it is overflowing. The empty state case is often overlooked or left to the developer to figure out. A developer’s solution will prevent errors, but probably will not focus on visual cohesion or that pivotal user experience.

Turns out there’s a lot you can do with nothing.

Empty State as a First Impression

When a user is new to an app, or an app is new to the market, there’s not a lot of data to populate the screen. This is your app’s first impression. It’s important to consider how sparse data will make a user feel. Is it confusing? Does it feel unfurnished and sterile? Does a user have to do a lot of prep work to start to feel at home?

Empty State as an Invitation

One way to make a new user feel at home is to furnish the app with some valuable default data. Most note-taking or task apps add a few starter notes or tasks. They use their main feature to guide the user through the function of the app both through the content of the template and through demoing a variety of features the app has to offer. A starter pack is a great way to welcome a new user and get them feeling at home quickly.

Empty State as Inspiration

If sample data isn’t appropriate, you can treat your empty state as an opportunity to inspire the user and promote the value of your platform. I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard rumors that email clients reward you with a clever congratulations if you reach Inbox Zero. A time tracking app I’ve used in the past, Harvest, treats you to an inspirational or light-hearted quote about time if you don’t have any entries for the day, which is usually at the beginning of the day. Something extra to get you started.

Empty State as a Call to Action

Vast expanses of emptiness on a screen usually indicate that the user has a lot more to do to get the most out of the app. It’s really important to pair empty space with a call to action, so the user intuitively knows how to fill the space. Draw the user's attention to a button to create or browse templates.

Even with data, you can communicate through empty space. I’ve felt panic when I return to a screen that I expect to have data, to see a message that there are now no records. After a lightly competitive heart race, I remember to check my filter and find all is well. Better to fill that empty space with a reminder if filters are set, and give the user a quick button to relieve their stress.