What happens when you go to a house party that is filled with too many people? You try to find a breathing space and want to leave as soon as you can. You may not have a choice here! In case the house party is of a close friend, you will have no excuse to leave. Now imagine this – you enter a website and find cluttered information. Your mind thinks, ”Where do I find the information that I really need?”
This is where white space comes into effect. There are quite a few benefits of using white space in web design. As per web designers, applying the web design psychology principles could help you increase the readability and retain the visitors.
Let us cut to the chase and find out the benefits of using white space in web design.
The Benefits
Don’t think of white space as an empty space. As per expert designers, the use of white space can attract the visitors. Your eyes require a breathing space. We are talking about the visual breathing space. This is possible when there is negative space between the graphics, lines, figures and columns.
These are easy on the eyes as compared to the cluttered and complex websites. When there is too much happening on the site, the reader gets confused and slightly distracted.
Now let us take a look at the benefits/advantages:
- Too much of white space could mean you have a lack of content. Cluttered website means there is too much going on! Separate the long paragraphs and give a visual breathing space to the readers. Add images and some space between the content and the image. There should be a balance! If there is balance and you are making good use of white space, there are high chances of getting more traffic.
- Using whitespace the right way is important. It does not make your site look too simplistic. On second thoughts, simple is the way to go! People are not looking for complex designs. It is not their goal to visit your website and give their criticism about the design and layout. They want information which is precise and SPOT-ON. Simply use whitespace and give them the information they need without making the site a cluttered place.
- It makes the content readable! Reading a long paragraph without a break could hurt the eyes and readers may get distracted. Add few images and white space so that the readers get precise information. They will keep reading because it will not hurt their eyes.
Using White Space On Your Website
Website owners want to fill the white space but the designers seem to love it! Keep it simple and focus on giving quality content to the readers. Do not focus on fancy designs or too much of information on the website. In today’s world, people have less patience and they want quick information.
Make sure you use white space judiciously and take the help of expert designers!