Blank slate (also called Empty state) is a state of a page or a view that users encounter when they first interact with a digital product. It is “blank” because users haven’t engaged with the product by providing any data, or interacted with it in a meaningful way.
In reality, well designed blank slate pages aren’t blank or empty at all. UX designers use blank slate to engage onboarded users and guide them to take next steps.
Blank slate views might not seems as important as happy path, but it is critical to great User Experience, and thus you should consider them carefully. If not designed properly blank slate page might be the first and the last page users see in your application.
Blank slate is relevant not just to the main landing page of your app. It is very common to have multiple blank slate pages throughout the app. Typically you’d want it for every feature that has a dedicated view.
Blank slate ideas and examples
Here are some ideas and examples you can use to improve UX of blank slate page, and make the most out of them.
1. Guide users to take next steps with clear calls to action
Monday app is a time management and collaboration tool that does a great job at guiding newly onboarded users with a very clear call to action:
There is only one thing I can do here, and it is clearly the thing that designers want me to do. Users will never get lost here.
2. Explain the feature and reinforce value proposition
Hotjar, the site analytics and tracking app, does a fine job of explaining the feature and showing a sample report.
Of course, there a clear call to action to engage with the feature, in this case by creating a funnel.
3. Show, don’t tell
Here is another idea. Instead of talking about the value, or showing screenshots of possible results, show what the page might look like by filling in some data.
For example, Basecamp is a popular team collaboration tool. Even though I haven’t provided much detail, Basecamp added some sample teams and projects to help me get started:
This gives me a good idea of what I can do with the app, and reinforcing the value proposition (I can manage teams and projects) by showing an example.
Bootcamp’s designers placed clear calls to action and useful tips right next to the relevant sections. It makes it very easy for new users to start creating their own teams and projects.
Another example, of this strategy is a “blank” project board from Monday. It contains some sample tasks that showcase the functionality of the app. I can either change or remove them and start customizing the board for my own use:
Filling in pages with data is a great way to show some less obvious features. For example, I can see that I can add multiple steps to each project, assign owners to tasks, and change task status, timeline and priorities. It subtly invites me to personalize the tasks and kick start my own project.
You have to be careful with this strategy. Make it easy for users to clear pre-filled data, otherwise it will have negative effect on User Experience.
In summary, well designed blank slate pages are key to great UX, so take extra care thinking through your users needs and use cases to make the most out of it.