Designing for Zero Data: Boost Retention in Mobile Apps
We design empty screens for mobile apps that turn moments of uncertainty into clear scenarios. An empty state is not a decorative screen. It's the moment when the user hits a dead end: no content, and it's unclear what to do next. Our experience shows that up to 60% of users may leave an app if they see a blank screen without guidance. A properly designed empty screen provides direction. A bad one is just a white screen or the phrase "Nothing found." With over 5 years of work and 50+ projects, we've created dozens of such solutions for iOS, Android, and cross-platform apps. For example, in a flight ticket search app, implementing a set of empty screens increased search conversion by 12%.
Why Empty Screens Are Critical for User Retention?
A user encountering a blank screen feels frustration. If there's no explanation of what happened and how to proceed, they'll likely close the app. An empty screen solves three tasks: it informs, guides, and reassures. Research by Nielsen Norman Group shows that well-designed empty screens can increase conversion to the target action by 20-30%. We implement this through a combination of text, illustration, and a single CTA.
How to Tell a Good Empty Screen from a Bad One: Comparison Table
| Characteristic | Good Empty Screen | Bad Empty Screen |
|---|---|---|
| Title | "Your cart is empty" | "Nothing here" |
| Explanation | "Add items from the catalog" | (missing) |
| CTA | Single button "Go to Catalog" | No button or two buttons |
| Illustration | Matches app style, unobtrusive | Random icon or blank space |
Three Types of Blank States: Classification
It's important to distinguish them because each has a different CTA and tone.
| Type | Cause | Example | CTA |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-time empty | User first enters the screen | Favorites section for a new user | "Go to Catalog", "Add first item" |
| User-generated empty | User performed an action — result is empty | Search with no results | "Clear filters", "Try another query" |
| Error-caused empty | Network or server error | Feed didn't load | "Try again" |
Mixing these three types is a mistake — each requires a different illustration, text, and button. We strictly adhere to this classification.
What an Ideal Empty Screen Looks Like: Component and Content
Component structure:
[Illustration/Icon] [Title — short, what happened] [Subtitle — what to do] [CTA Button — specific action] There should be one button. Two CTAs in an empty screen is a sign of indecision in design, which users perceive as confusion. The component height is not fixed; it should be vertically centered within the available screen area (excluding navigation bar and tab bar).
Illustrations and Animations: Which Format to Choose
For empty screens, vector illustrations or Lottie animations are optimal. Size: no more than 40% of screen height, so they don't dominate the text and button. The illustration style must match the overall design language of the app. In practice: we order a set of illustrations for all key screens at once. It's cheaper than one by one. Use SVG for export to React Native via react-native-svg, or in Flutter via flutter_svg, or PDF vector for native iOS/Android.
How We Design Empty Screens: A Step-by-Step Process
- Analyze user scenarios: Identify all screens where blank states occur (first-time, no results, errors).
- Wireframe in Figma: Design layout and copy for each scenario.
- Create visual assets: Illustrations (SVG/PDF/Lottie) that match app branding.
- Develop components: Code reusable components in SwiftUI, Jetpack Compose, Flutter, or React Native.
- Integrate animations: Add subtle Lottie animations (e.g., bouncing empty cart).
- Test on real devices: Ensure responsiveness and correct behavior across screen sizes.
For example, in a food delivery app, we added an animated empty cart with Lottie — drop-off at the checkout stage decreased by 18%.
Technical implementation details
For iOS we use SwiftUI with the overlay modifier to display empty screens. On Android — Jetpack Compose with AnimatedVisibility. In Flutter — Visibility with appearance animation. It's important to synchronize animation with data loading and handle loading states separately.
What's Included in the Work: Deliverables
- Analysis of all app screens to identify empty screen points (typically 5-10 screens)
- Design mockups (Figma) for each scenario
- Set of vector illustrations (SVG/PDF/Lottie)
- Ready components for iOS, Android, or cross-platform
- Documentation on behavior and copy
- Testing on real devices
Timeline and Cost
Developing a full set of empty screens for 5-10 main screens takes 1-3 days. Cost: $500 – $1500 depending on animation complexity and number of scenarios. We've completed over 50 empty state projects for clients across e-commerce, fintech, and travel industries. Need a custom estimate? Contact us to discuss your project.
We guarantee that every empty screen will comply with App Store Review Guidelines and Human Interface Guidelines. Reduce churn and improve user experience with professional empty screen design — built on 5+ years of expertise.