Empty states are easy to skip because they only show up before there is any data to design around. That is exactly why they matter: for a new user, the empty state is the product for the first few minutes.
A good one does three small things: it explains what will eventually live here, it shows the single action that fills it, and it does not make the person feel like something is broken. “No projects yet” with a clear “Create your first project” beats a blank panel every time.
Treat it as onboarding, not an error screen, and the rest of the first-run experience gets noticeably kinder.
