4 min read
Design the empty state first
The screen people see before they have any data decides whether they ever add some.
Most products are designed full. The mockups have twelve projects, a busy calendar and a chart that goes up. Then a real person signs up and sees none of it.
The first screen is the real onboarding
Before anyone adds data, the empty screen has one job: show what the product is for and make the first step obvious. A good empty state names the thing, shows a small example and offers one action. Not three.
On Kettle, the empty home said "Add the account you get paid into". Nothing else. Activation went up more from that line than from the whole welcome tour.
How I work now
I draw the empty version of every screen before the full one. If it looks broken, the full one is hiding a problem too.
