How do I edit a Collection list empty state in Webflow?

Open the empty state in the Designer

A Collection list is a wrapper around the repeating items, plus a separate empty state for the moment when nothing qualifies. The wrapper can also hold pagination when you turn that on. The empty state is easy to miss because the Designer prefers to show items once a Collection is connected.

Select the Collection list. The reliable click is in the Navigator, on the list rather than on a heading inside one item. Open Element settings, then Collection list settings. Find UI state and switch from the items state to the empty state.

That switch is how you design the empty block. Webflow's Collection list article is explicit that it does not change the live site. The published list is empty only when its items say so. When you are done with the message, switch UI state back to items so you can see the posts again while you edit.

Example: a Guides list is a Collection list filtered to one category. When every guide is still a draft, visitors would otherwise see a gray box that says No items found. The empty state is where that sentence becomes something useful.

Replace the default message

The default empty state has a gray background and a text block that reads No items found. You can replace that text, and you can add other elements. Click the text and write the line you want people to read, such as No guides are published yet. Check back next week.

Keep the sentence specific to this list. A homepage that mixes a blog list and a jobs list should not share one vague line if the classes differ. Style the text on the empty state, not by editing a Collection item, because this block is not an item.

Add a button if there is a sensible next step, such as a link to the contact page for a jobs list that is empty. Set that link in Link settings the same way as any other button. Do not bind the button to a Collection field. There is no current item to bind to while this state is showing.

Style the empty block

The gray background is just the default. Select the empty state element and change the background, the padding, and the type so it matches the section around the list. Styles you set on a real Collection item do not automatically restyle this block. It is a sibling of the list, not another item.

If the empty box is narrower than the posts, check the list layout. Webflow recommends leaving the Collection list layout on full width when you want flex or grid, because the columns layout can leave gaps at the sides of the parent. The empty state sits in the same wrapper, so a layout quirk on the list can make the empty box look disconnected.

You do not need a fake CMS item to preview the message. UI state already shows it. Adding a blank Collection item just to fill the list will publish that blank item if you are not careful. Use the design switch, then delete any test item you created before you publish.

Know when the live site shows it

On the published site, the empty state replaces the list when there are no items to display. Webflow names two cases: the Collection has no items, and the items are filtered out. A filter that asks for category Guides will show the empty state when no published item has that category, even if the blog has dozens of other posts.

Publishing the Designer while UI state is set to empty does not lock the live page in that state. After publish, open a list that still has items. The posts should show. Then use a real empty case to judge the message.

A limit, a sort, and pagination change which items appear and in what order. They are not a substitute for the empty message. If the filter removes everything, visitors get the empty state whether or not pagination is on. If the filter is wrong, fix the filter. Do not rewrite the empty message to explain a mistake in the rules.

Curated lists are different from dynamic ones. Dynamic lists show the Collection and then apply filters, sort, pagination, and limits. A curated list shows the items you picked. Either way, design the empty state on that list. A second list on the page has its own empty state.

Publish a list that has nothing to show

Publish the site. Open the Guides page while no guide is published, or while the filter matches nothing. You should see your sentence, not No items found, and not a blank gap where the list used to be.

Publish one guide that matches the filter and reload. The empty state should leave, and the item should show. If the gray default remains, you edited a different list, or the text change was on a Collection item instead of the empty state. Select the list in the Navigator, switch UI state to empty, and read the text block there. Fix that block, publish, and reload the empty case once more.