The use of white space in web design is essential to a good design. It is is exactly what it sounds like - spaces on the page without any words or graphics. Why is it important to use white space when designing a website? Read on.
Readability
What do you do when you see a big block of text, not broken up with white space or headings? If you are like me, you probably click off the page. I don't know if it's intimidating or just boring, but I do not want to take the time to wade through all those words. I want to be able to scroll down the page and read the parts I am interested in. I cannot do that easily when there is a sea of words not broken up by white space. So, readability is number one on my list of the benefits of using white space when designing a website.
Using white space makes text much more readable. Look at the examples below. Which one is more readable?
Example 1
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat. In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis. Tempus leo eu aenean sed diam urna tempor.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat. In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis. Tempus leo eu aenean sed diam urna tempor.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat. In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis. Tempus leo eu aenean sed diam urna tempor.
Example 2
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat. In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis. Tempus leo eu aenean sed diam urna tempor. Pulvinar vivamus fringilla lacus nec metus bibendum egestas. Iaculis massa nisl malesuada lacinia integer nunc posuere. Ut hendrerit semper vel class aptent taciti sociosqu. Ad litora torquent per conubia nostra inceptos himenaeos. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut hendrerit semper vel class aptent taciti sociosqu. Ad litora torquent per conubia nostra inceptos himenaeos. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut hendrerit semper vel class aptent taciti sociosqu. Ad litora torquent per conubia nostra inceptos himenaeos. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit.
Interesting and Professional
The use of well placed white space and headings makes your page much more interesting and professional looking. These elements give your content a more organized feel, which creates a sense of trust and professionalism. If your goal is to gain new clients or customers, a professional website is key. It gives your visitors a first impression of who you are, so you want to make it a good one.
Images also make your page or article more interesting, like the one to the left. As you can see, there is still white space around the image, and it helps to break up the words in your post. White space avoids giving a cluttered look, which is undesirable in a website. Images also help to illustrate the ideas in the content.
Think about what makes it interesting and readable when you are consuming content, and give that to your readers. This will encourage them to return, looking for more.
Draws Attention
Using white space on a page can help draw your reader's attention to the areas you want them to pay special attention to. If your call-to-action is buried in a paragraph of words, they are likely to miss it if they are scanning the page. However, if it is offset by white space around it and highlighted with bold text or a colored section, it will draw the reader's eye right to it.
This takes a little practice. When I first started writing blog posts, I wrote the entire post with a lot of words but not a lot of visual appeal. It looked very boring! Try using white space and different elements like color, bold text and headings to make your content come alive.
Better User Experience
White space, headings and images will all contribute to a better experience for your visitors. And a better user experience will lead to people spending more time on your website. If they like reading one of your blog posts, they will more than likely click around to other posts or other sections of your website. And the more time someone spends on your site, the more they get to know you and trust you. And that leads to customers!
Do not underestimate the importance of putting the time and effort into making your content visually appealing and easily digested. That goes a long way in your visitor's overall experience. Of course, you want to give them accurate and helpful information, but the way it is presented plays a big role in making their overall experience a good one.
Hopefully, you see how important the use of white space in web design is. Make sure you incorporate it into your website for its many helpful benefits.