It’s what the user sees where no data is available to the user yet. A “Good empty” state turns a moment of nothing into something.
Empty states:
* Encourage users to engage with our product
* Help them get comfortable by setting expectations for what’ll happen.
* Provide an obvious way to move forward.
For example, the first page that users see after signing up for Instagram is empty. Other profiles have photos, likes, and comments, but a first-time user’s account doesn’t have any information— 0 posts, 0 followers, 0 following.
To make the activation easier, Instagram has turned this “empty state” into learning & encouraging opportunity: where you would normally see your photos, it says “No Posts Yet — Tap on the camera to share your first photo or video” with an arrow pointing to the camera option.
Time to Value
It’s about optimizing the first mile of your users’ product experience towards achieving their moment of value.