Empty states
An empty state is not a failure. It’s a moment to orient the user and invite them to act. Every empty state should answer two questions: what is this space for, and what should I do next?
Structure
Empty states have three parts. All three should be present when there’s a meaningful action the user can take; the CTA can be omitted for permission or system error states where the user genuinely has no action available.
A short, specific statement of the current state. Not an apology. Not a question. A clear description of what’s absent or what hasn’t happened yet.
No consultations yet — not “Nothing here” or “Oops, empty!“
One sentence (rarely two) that explains what this space is for, or what the user needs to do. Don’t repeat the headline — add to it.
Create a consultation to start collecting responses from your community or stakeholders.
A button or link that starts the most likely next action. Use the verb + object pattern from the Action labels page. Don’t add a CTA if there’s nothing the user can actually do.
Create consultation
Type 1: First-use
The user has just arrived at a section and hasn’t created anything yet. This is the most inviting empty state — the person is oriented to a new part of the product, so the tone should feel welcoming and forward-looking. Show them what’s possible.
Avoid making this feel like a tutorial prompt. The goal is to give them just enough context to act confidently — not to walk them through every feature.
Consultations list (Open Point)
Do
No consultations yet
Create your first consultation to start collecting structured feedback from your community or stakeholder groups.
Create consultation
Don’t
Nothing here yet!
It looks like you haven’t created any consultations. Get started by clicking the button below to create your first one.
Get started
Stakeholder list
Do
No stakeholders added
Add individuals or organisations to this project so you can track engagement and send invitations.
Add stakeholder
Don’t
Your stakeholder list is empty
You haven’t added any stakeholders yet. Stakeholders are people or organisations that are involved in your project. Add some to get started!
+ New stakeholder
Community survey (Social Point — community-facing)
Do
No responses submitted yet
Be the first to share your views on this project. Your feedback helps shape the outcome.
Share your views
Don’t
No responses found
There are currently no submissions for this consultation. Submit a response using the form.
Submit response
Type 2: No results
The user searched or filtered and got nothing back. This is different from first-use — the data may well exist, but the current query returned nothing. The tone should be helpful and practical. Suggest what to try; don’t imply their search was wrong.
Always include a way to clear the filter or search and get back to the full list. Don’t leave someone stranded with an empty search result and no obvious exit.
Search across consultations
Do
No consultations match “highway”
Try a different keyword, or clear the search to see all your consultations.
Clear search
Don’t
No results
Your search returned no results. Try a different search term.
Filtered stakeholder list
Do
No stakeholders in this category
None of your stakeholders are tagged as “Government agency”. Clear the filter to see all stakeholders.
Clear filter
Don’t
Nothing found
There are no results for this filter. Please try again with different criteria.
Type 3: Error
Something went wrong and the content can’t be displayed. This is different from a standard error message — it’s the empty state when a list or view fails to load. Be honest, be calm, and give a way forward.
Don’t use generic messages like “An error occurred.” That’s not useful. Explain what couldn’t load and offer a specific recovery path.
Do
Couldn’t load your consultations
There may be a temporary connection issue. Refresh the page to try again — your data is safe.
Refresh page
Don’t
Error 500
An unexpected error has occurred. Please try again later or contact support.
Do
Couldn’t load stakeholder responses
We had trouble fetching the data. Try refreshing, or come back in a few minutes.
Try again
Don’t
Something went wrong
Please contact your administrator.
Type 4: Permission
The content exists, but the user doesn’t have access to see it. This requires a careful tone — the user shouldn’t feel like they’ve done something wrong, but they also shouldn’t feel like they’re being stonewalled without explanation.
Be honest about what they can’t see and why (at a high level). Give a clear path to getting access if one exists. If it doesn’t, say so — don’t leave them wondering whether to keep trying.
Do
You don’t have access to this project
Ask your project administrator to give you access if you need to work on this consultation.
Request access
Don’t
Access denied
You are not authorised to view this resource. Contact your system administrator.
Do
Submissions are only visible to project administrators
You can view project details but not the responses submitted by participants. Contact your admin if you need broader access.
Don’t
You don’t have permission to view this
This page is restricted.
Social Point community-facing considerations
When writing empty states for community-facing interfaces in Social Point, apply extra warmth. Community participants may be encountering engagement software for the first time. An impersonal empty state can make someone feel like the consultation process isn’t really for them.
- Use “you” — make it personal
- Acknowledge the context (“this project”, “this consultation”) not just the UI element
- End on an invitation, not an instruction
- Avoid passive constructions — “No responses have been submitted” vs “No one has shared their views yet”
Do — Social Point
No comments on this topic yet
Be the first to share your thoughts. Every response helps the project team understand what matters to this community.
Add your comment
Don’t — Social Point
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