Empty state text

Empty state text provides guidance and context on screens without content, helping users understand the situation and navigate to the next step effectively.

An empty state is a screen in the product UI that will eventually have content on it after the user populates it. Empty state UI text is the information that a user sees instead of a blank screen.

Follow these guidelines when writing empty state text:

  • Include a brief summary that explains why the page is empty.
  • Write 1 or 2 lines of text that guides the user to the next step.
  • Include a button or a link to the next step.

Example

The following screenshot shows an example of empty state text, where the heading says "No response plan", followed by how the user can remediate the issue: "Add a response plan to this incident to start working through predefined phases and tasks." The + Response button gives the user a chance to add a response directly.
Empty state example with the heading: "No response plan", one line of text: "Add a response plan to this incident to start working through predefined phases and tasks.", and one button: "+ Response".