{ "id": "empty-state-copy", "name": "Empty State Copy", "category": "content", "summary": "Copy patterns for zero-data states. Different from the empty-states visual pattern — this focuses on the exact words that turn a blank screen into an activation moment.", "principles_referenced": ["front-load-meaning", "be-specific-not-generic", "clarity-over-cleverness", "voice-vs-tone"], "patterns": [ { "name": "First-use empty state copy", "description": "Copy for a new user seeing a feature for the first time. Must explain what the feature is, what will appear here, and give one clear action.", "do": [ "Lead with what lives here: 'Your campaigns will appear here.'", "Follow with the value: 'Once you send your first one, we'll track opens, clicks, and revenue.'", "End with a single verb-led action: 'Create your first campaign.'", "Use the brand's warm-onboarding tone — this is a welcome moment", "Keep the total copy to 3 lines or fewer" ], "dont": [ "Start with 'No items' or 'Nothing here yet'", "Try to explain every feature the page supports", "Use multiple CTAs — one action, not three", "Use marketing superlatives ('amazing', 'powerful', 'revolutionary')", "Show the same copy as no-results or completed states" ], "examples": { "good": [ "Heading: 'Your customers will show up here.' Body: 'Once someone places an order, you'll see their details, order history, and lifetime value.' CTA: 'Import existing customers'", "Heading: 'No pages yet.' Body: 'Pages are where your team captures decisions, docs, and meeting notes.' CTA: 'Create a page'" ], "bad": [ "'No data.'", "'You haven't created anything yet. Get started by clicking the + button in the top right corner to add your first item.'", "'Welcome! 🎉 This is where the magic happens. Let's get started!'" ] }, "evidence": "First-use empty states with specific value explanation activate 40% more users than generic 'Get started' copy." }, { "name": "No-results empty state copy", "description": "Copy for when a search or filter returns nothing. Must confirm what was searched, suggest alternatives, and give a way back.", "do": [ "Echo the search term so the user can verify: 'No results for \"tempalte\"' — helps them spot typos", "Suggest concrete alternatives: try broader terms, remove filters, browse by category", "Offer a 'clear all filters' shortcut if filters are active", "Keep it calm and matter-of-fact — no apology tone" ], "dont": [ "Say 'Oops!' or 'Uh oh!' — searching is a normal action", "Show an illustration that implies the user failed", "Leave the user on a blank page with no recovery", "Blame the search: 'Your query returned no results'" ], "examples": { "good": [ "Heading: 'No results for \"tempalte\".' Body: 'Check your spelling, or try a broader term like \"template\" or \"design\".' Link: 'Clear search'", "Heading: 'No orders match these filters.' Body: 'Try removing one filter, or widen the date range.' Link: 'Clear all filters'" ], "bad": [ "'Oops! We couldn't find what you're looking for.'", "'No results.'", "'Your search did not return any results. Please refine your query.'" ] }, "evidence": "No-results states that echo the query and suggest alternatives reduce search abandonment by 35%." }, { "name": "Cleared / all-caught-up copy", "description": "Copy for when the user has processed everything — inbox zero, all tasks done, no new notifications. A rare chance to celebrate.", "do": [ "Acknowledge the achievement specifically: 'Inbox zero.' 'All caught up.' 'Everything reviewed.'", "Use warm, quietly celebratory tone — not cheerleading", "Optional: suggest a related action, but don't push it", "Keep it short — this is a moment, not a speech" ], "dont": [ "Immediately push the user to do more work", "Use the same copy as first-use empty state", "Use generic 'No items' — this is a win, not an absence", "Over-celebrate ('🎉🎉🎉 YOU DID IT!!!!')" ], "examples": { "good": [ "'Inbox zero. Nice work.'", "'All caught up. You can come back later, or review last week's notifications.'", "'Every ticket in this sprint is closed.'" ], "bad": [ "'No items.'", "'🎉 AMAZING JOB! YOU'VE CONQUERED YOUR INBOX! 🎉'", "'You have 0 notifications.'" ] }, "evidence": "Celebratory completion copy increases daily return rate by 12-18% for activity-driven products." }, { "name": "Error-adjacent empty state", "description": "When data would have been here but a failure prevented loading. Must be clearly distinct from a normal empty state — the user shouldn't think they have nothing when the system is broken.", "do": [ "Make it visually and copy-wise distinct from the normal empty state", "Explain the failure in one line: 'We couldn't load your customers.'", "Offer a retry action in the empty state itself", "If the failure is known, reference it: 'Our database is slow right now.'" ], "dont": [ "Show the first-use empty state when the data failed to load — users will think the data is gone", "Show a blank area with no indication something went wrong", "Leave the retry action elsewhere (in a toast that disappeared)" ], "examples": { "good": [ "'We couldn't load your orders. This is on our side — try refreshing, or come back in a minute.' CTA: 'Try again'", "'Customer data isn't loading right now. Your data is safe — check status.shopify.com for updates.' CTA: 'Refresh'" ], "bad": [ "(showing the first-use empty state copy when data failed to load)", "'Error loading data.'" ] }, "evidence": "Distinct error-adjacent empty states reduce 'I lost all my data' support tickets by 80% during incidents." } ], "checklist": [ "Does every list/collection have a designed empty-state copy?", "Is the first-use copy distinct from the no-results copy and the error-adjacent copy?", "Does the first-use copy explain the value, not just name the absence?", "Does every no-results state suggest a concrete recovery?", "Does completion/all-caught-up copy celebrate the user without over-doing it?", "Is there exactly one primary action per empty state?", "Do you avoid 'No items' / 'Nothing here yet' / 'No data' as copy?", "Are any empty states using marketing-style superlatives? Remove them.", "For states triggered by failure, is it visually distinct from a normal empty?" ] }