Evidence review
What to inspect before changing anything
Start with the delivered website and the real user journey. Record the current state so the team can distinguish an observed problem from an assumption and compare the same surface after deployment.
- 01List first-use, filtered and error-driven empty states
- 02Check whether the reason is clear
- 03Identify the safest next action
Implementation
A practical improvement plan
Make the smallest coherent change that solves the observed problem. Keep normal code review, accessibility, security and product checks in the loop instead of optimizing for the scan alone.
- 01Write state-specific messages
- 02Offer one relevant action or learning path
- 03Keep decorative imagery subordinate
Verification
How to verify the result
Verification should test the intended outcome and the most likely regression. Use the production delivery path whenever headers, caching, rendering or third-party services affect the result.
- 01Trigger each empty state with real data conditions
- 02Verify actions work and preserve context
- 03Check that empty and loading states cannot be confused
Common pitfall
A shortcut to avoid
Using the same cheerful illustration for every empty condition can hide errors and permission problems.
Further reading
Primary guidance and references
These sources provide standards, security guidance or the interpretation framework used to keep this guide bounded. Product-specific implementation still requires review in the actual codebase.