Simplify Edition 5: White Space in Web Design

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The concept of 'white space'

Relates to: website design, ux, ui design, usability, graphic design, design psychology

When less is more. What is 'white space'? Why is white space so important in web design, how can you add a portion of it to your design?

The concept of 'white space'

Amongst the most important graphic and web design principles, such as alignment, consistency, balance, contrast, or proximity; 'white space' is an important layout technique. Without an adequate amount of white space, text would be unreadable, graphics would lose their emphasis, and there would be no flow, balance and harmony between the elements on a page.

What is 'white space'?

The term 'white space' stems from traditional two-dimensional print design, yet the term is widely used in web design. In very simplistic terms, 'white space' is the portion of a page left empty or unused. White space or sometimes referred to as 'negative space' isn't necessarily white, literally, it is simply space that isn't occupied by text, images, graphics, or other visible page elements.

More specifically, the space between major elements in a composition is referred to as 'macro white space', whereas 'micro white space' is the space between smaller elements such as between a caption and an image, or the space between words and letters.

The importance of white space in web design

White space is vital in design pshychology. By adding more content and cluttering the available real estate on your screen you can rob the page of its purpose. Space is perhaps the most important tool for any visual designer.

White space serves several purposes:

It uncovers and gives importance to specific design elements to make them 'stand out' on a page.

White space provides breathing space for our eyes and enhances readability.

It creates an invisible order, a hierarchy and structure to a design.

It helps us relax and absorb information.

It avoids the feeling of information overload on a web page.

White space guides web visitors moving from one part of a web page to another.

It addresses the psychology of design from the perspectives of purpose, harmony and balance.

How do you add a portion of white space to a design?

Less is more. Information overload is never a good thing. This is where a little white space can save the day and will go a long way to getting your information read. This does not mean you should gut your page, but each content and design element should be positioned with purpose in mind.

Feng-shui and design de-clutter. Clutter gives your website visitors a hard time focusing on the most important elements on a page. Remove any unnecessary items you don't really need to use. If it doesn't need to be there, remove it. White space makes the contents of the page easier to digest, it creates 'space', and draws your website visitor to the 'rich content' and make a site feel less complex.

Part of a web designer's job is to design pages with a predetermined eye flow direction (artistry). Web design is very much about the psychology of applied design, influencing the way that your website visitors approach and consume your web content. Did you know, using whitespace between paragraphs and in the left and right margins can increase comprehension of page content by almost 20%.

'Strategic' white space can create a clean, timeless, calming, balanced, elegant and harmonious design. White space gives a design flow, balance, purpose and visual integrity; it allows design elements to work in harmony. In a world of utter complexity, a little simplicity will go a long way.

Is the white space on your website 'strategically' placed? Do you give your visitors enough breathing space? Do you feel your site could do with a little de-clutter? Is your content structured to guide your visitors to take your desired call to action? Do you want to find out what works and what doesn't on your site? Find out about our website design services, book a website review, or simply get in touch.

About the author

Elke Bretz is the founder and creative director at Simplicity. She strongly believes in simplifying complex matters, and is passionate about web design, website usability, ux, user-interface design and social media. You can follow her on Twitter to keep up to date on anything that's happening in the creative space. More info about Elke on