It would be nice if we have more configuration options for empty grids. For example, we don't want to show column headers, paging, export to excel buttons, select/deselect buttons, etc if the grid is empty. This will create really clean pages and only if there is data in the grid we will show everything.
Only a class on the grid "NoItems" for example would be enough. Then we can just use CSS to hide stuff if this class is present.
Example:
>As soon as there are items to show the columns and paging will appear. Untill then we will not bother our users with this information and keep the UI as clean as possible.