# CMS Empty State not showing

**URL:** <https://forum.finsweet.com/t/cms-empty-state-not-showing/6810>\
**Category:** Attributes\
**Created:** [January 29, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://forum.finsweet.com/t/cms-empty-state-not-showing/6810 "2026-01-29T14:41:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kevin1](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forum.finsweet.com/kevin1/32/4864_2.png) [@kevin1](https://forum.finsweet.com/u/kevin1)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://forum.finsweet.com/t/cms-empty-state-not-showing/6810/1 "2026-01-29T14:41:15Z")

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Hello all, wondering why my CMS empty state isn’t showing? I am using the same setup for 4 pages showing different content and the empty state works on those. I have tried adding the div with fs-cmsfilter-element=“empty” but not working.

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**Author:** ![jesse.muiruri](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forum.finsweet.com/jesse.muiruri/32/6611_2.png) [@jesse.muiruri](https://forum.finsweet.com/u/jesse.muiruri)\
**Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://forum.finsweet.com/t/cms-empty-state-not-showing/6810/2 "2026-01-29T16:31:16Z")

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Hey @kevin1!

Based on our experience, there are two ways to fix this CMS empty state issue:

**Option 1: Using Collection List’s Empty State Element**

1. Select your Collection List in the Designer
2. Enable the “Empty State” in the Settings tab
3. Add `fs-list-element="empty"` to the Empty State element (not the Collection List wrapper)
4. Make sure pagination is enabled on your Collection List - Webflow’s native empty state needs pagination to work properly

**Option 2: External Wrapper Approach**  
If option 1 doesn’t work for you:

1. Create a new div outside your Collection List
2. Add `fs-list-element="empty"` to this external div
3. Style it as your empty state message
4. This external element will show when there are no filtered results

Could you share your actual page HTML or staging URL so we can see your current setup? That would help us confirm which approach works best for your structure.