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Last Edited Time
Jul 2, 2025 04:23 PM
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Platform
Web Design
Category
Design Theory
Topic
Layout and Spacing
AI summary
White space is a crucial design element that enhances readability, guides user attention, and increases perceived value. Proper use of margins and padding, along with avoiding clutter, is essential for effective website design, especially on mobile devices.
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The Power of White Space in Website Design
White space isn't just empty space on your website. It's one of the most important design tools you have, and most people completely mess it up.
What white space actually does
White space (also called negative space) is the breathing room around your content. It's not wasted space or something you need to fill with more stuff. Think of it like pauses in a conversation - without them, everything becomes overwhelming noise.
Here's what proper white space does for your site:
Makes content readable
Your visitors' eyes need places to rest. Pack everything together and people will bounce off your site faster than you can say "conversion rate". Give your text room to breathe and people will actually read it.
Controls where people look
Want someone to click your call-to-action button? Surround it with space. The more isolated something is, the more attention it gets. This isn't theory - it's how human vision works.
Makes your content feel more valuable
Look at any luxury brand website. They use tons of white space because it makes everything feel premium and considered. Cramped layouts scream "budget" even if your product isn't.
Works better on mobile
Small screens need even more white space. Your thumb-friendly buttons need room. Your text needs to be scannable. Tight layouts that might work on desktop become unusable disasters on phones.
How to get white space right
Step back and squint test
Literally step back from your screen and squint at your design. If it looks like a wall of stuff, you need more space.
Use your margins and padding properly
In Squarespace, this means using the spacing controls in your style panels. Don't just accept the defaults - adjust them based on what your content needs.
Less is usually more
That sidebar widget, that extra text block, that additional image - do you really need it? Every element you add makes the important stuff less important.
Give your headlines room
Headlines should feel separated from the content around them. If your heading looks like it's part of the paragraph below, increase the spacing.
Common white space mistakes
Filling every pixel
Just because you have space doesn't mean you need to use it. Empty space has value.
Inconsistent spacing
If you use 20px margins in one place, use 20px margins everywhere similar. Random spacing looks amateur.
Forgetting mobile
What looks spacious on your laptop might be cramped on a phone. Always check your mobile spacing.
Quick reference
White space: The empty areas around and between elements. Not waste - essential design tool.
Margin: Space around the outside of elements, separating them from other content.
Padding: Space inside elements, between the content and the element's edge.
The bottom line
Good white space is invisible. Visitors won't notice it, but they'll feel the difference. Their eyes will flow naturally through your content. They'll find what they're looking for faster. They'll trust your brand more.
Bad white space is also invisible - until people leave your site because it feels cluttered and unprofessional.
Your content deserves room to work. Give it that room.