Spacing or “white space” within website design

Spacing or “white space” within website design

Spacing or “white space” within website design

Good website design always incorporates well-distributed and plentiful spacing. This can be achieved in a number of ways to engage to your visitors:

Line Spacing
The space between the lines of text (technical term: leading) directly affects how readable your page appears. In this aspect it is similar to other forms of design. You will have seen small text in newspapers or books which at first sight is very off-putting. It appears blocky and has lost its appeal to read. Too much space can result in your eye finishing one line and then losing track of the next one. A screen is no different and in most cases emphasises these effects due to a screen being pixelated, i.e. unlike printed text which has clean lines and defined serif means that reading on screen is more difficult. So you need to find a happy medium. When we convert your design into a website, this will be taken care of. If your line spacing appears incorrect it can be easily corrected with the adjustment of one item that affects all text of that type.

Padding
Padding is the space between the design & image elements and text. The amount of space present here makes a huge difference. Titles, in particular, should have ample space to emphasise their importance. As a general rule, putting space between text and the rest of the design elements makes it infinitely more readable and pleasant to engage with.

White Space
Although termed “white space” it does not have to be white. The term simply refers to empty space on a page (or negative space as it’s sometimes called). White space is used to give balance, proportion and contrast to your page. A lot of white space brings your designed elements to life, giving them the importance of position to highlight their purpose to transfer key messages. Great examples of white space can be found in well-designed magazines.

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