---
name: Empty state
category: Structure
keywords:
  - EmptyState
  - lander
  - welcome
  - explain features
  - describe features
  - educate about features
  - merchant education
  - educational opportunity
  - educational opportunities
  - illustration on pages
  - empty layouts
  - empty states
  - starting pages
  - starting layouts
  - educating
  - teaching
  - landing pages
  - landing layouts
---

# Empty state

Empty states are an opportunity to explain a feature that a merchant hasn’t
tried yet, and provide encouragement and support to help merchants progress.

---

## Purpose

Put the merchant first by identifying the problem they face and the component that helps them solve it.

### Problem

When a merchant first encounters a new product or feature, they need to
understand what it is and be encouraged to try it.

### Solution

Empty states are an opportunity to provide explanation about the purpose and
benefit of a feature, while gently encouraging merchants to give it a try.

---

## Best Practices

Empty states should:

* Orient merchants by clearly explaining the benefit and utility of a product
or feature
* Simplify a complicated experience by focusing on a few key features and
benefits
* Use simple and clear language that empowers merchants to move their business
forward
* Be encouraging and never make merchants feel unsuccessful or guilty because
they haven’t used a product or feature
* Explain the steps a merchant needs to take to activate a product or feature
* Use illustrations thoughtfully as outlined in our [illustration guidelines](/visuals/illustrations)
* Use only one primary call-to-action button

---

## Content guidelines

### Title

* Descriptive: help merchants understand the feature or product related to the
empty state
* Concise and scannable:
  * Use simple, clear language that can be read at-a-glance
  * Keep titles to single sentence and avoid using punctuation such as periods,
  commas, or semicolons
  * Written in sentence case (the first word capitalized, the rest lowercase)
  * Action-oriented: encourage the merchant to take the step required to
  activate the product or feature

<!-- usagelist -->
#### Do
Create orders and send invoices

#### Don’t
Orders and invoices
<!-- end -->

### Subtitle

Empty state subtitles act like body content. They should:

* Describe or explain what’s in the empty state title or item title
* Be conversational: include articles such as the, a, and an

### Primary action

Buttons are used for the most important actions you want a merchant to take.
They should be:

* Clear and predictable: merchants should be able to anticipate what will
happen when they click a button. Never deceive a merchant by using misleading
titles.

<!-- usagelist -->
#### Do
- Create order
- Buy shipping label

#### Don’t
- New order
- Buy
<!-- end -->

* Action-led: buttons should always lead with a strong verb that encourages
action. To provide enough context to merchants use the {verb}+{noun} format on
buttons except in the case of common actions like Save, Close, Cancel, or OK.

<!-- usagelist -->
#### Do
- Activate Apple Pay
- View shipping settings

#### Don’t
- Try Apple Pay
- View your settings
<!-- end -->

* Scannable: avoid unnecessary words and articles such as the, an, or a.

<!-- usagelist -->
#### Do
Add menu item

#### Don’t
Add a menu item
<!-- end -->

### Secondary action
Secondary actions are used for less important actions such as “Learn more” or
“Close” buttons. They should follow all the other content rules outlined for
primary buttons.

## Examples

### Default empty state

Use to explain a single feature before a merchant has used it.

```jsx
<EmptyState
  heading="Manage your inventory transfers"
  action={{content: 'Add transfer'}}
  secondaryAction={{content: 'Learn more', url: 'https://help.shopify.com'}}
  image="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0757/9955/files/empty-state.svg"
>
  <p>Track and receive your incoming inventory from suppliers.</p>
</EmptyState>
```

---

## Related components

* To learn more about illustrations for empty states, [read the illustration guidelines](/visuals/illustrations)
* To create page-level layout, [use the layout component](/components/structure/layout)
* To highlight a Shopify feature, [use the callout card component](/components/structure/callout-card)