Why is White Space So Important for Website Design in 2019?
White
space is a potent website design tool in 2019. Why is this design feature so
important for web design, though? Well, the value of white/negative space is
the visual breathing room it gives to readers, which improves the readability
of business sites, and impacts lead as well as revenue generation. Investing in
effective use of white space is, therefore, essential.
- Striking the Balance
Too
little white space can impact the layout, making it feel busy, crowded and
forced. When efficiently used, white space generates more reader interest.
Moreover, website design in 2019 focuses on making content easier to consume. To this end, white space can foster deeper
interest in other areas. If there is shortage of white space, it can become
taxing for users to know what to focus on, because of the cognitive load. The
main CTA for every page requires adequate spacing, or it would definitely fail
to click with online shoppers. White space serves to create balance, too. To
achieve this, alternating white space as one scrolls down the page with text or
graphics is essential.
- Boosting Responsive Sites
Responsive
sites are vital for businesses looking to tap the growing tribe of smartphone
consumers in 2019. It is also a design feature where ample white space is a
must. If there is a section taking up the entire screen on your smartphone,
there needs to be more room for it on desktops. Responsive layouts should have
room to breathe in their desktop formats, so that they can be cut short for
mobile viewers, without impacting readability and scannability of the presented
information.
- Benefits of White Space
So
the reason why white space is central to effective web design is because it
improves web user focus, makes the purpose of the site clearer, strengthens the
calls to action, puts emphasis on important information, makes the less
important data less visible and facilitates the scanning of pages.
#1 Reinforce Goals
Websites
and webpages within these have their own goals. White space can be used to make
the goals obvious. Consider Big Commerce. The main aim of this website building
platform is to convince the viewer to sign up. This is why their CTA has a lot
of space around it. The focus is on emphasising the headline even more.
CTA
buttons need to be designed keeping this in mind.
#2 Figure Out Things
The
idea here is quite simple. If there are limited sections of content on the page
surrounded by white space, you know where to click and look. This way,
directing the reader’s attention is simple as can be. For a site owner, this is
a crucial step to take for improving content legibility.
#3 Build An Emotional Connect
White
space can also build an emotional connect with the audience. It builds a sense
of confidence in the brand and breathes refinement into website design. This is
exactly what is required for effective brand-building.
Why Filling in the Blanks Does Not Work!
So,
white space has become an integral part of the entire design and development
picture and modern website design, specifically in 2019, for these very
reasons. Not understanding the value of white space can cost businesses a lot
of time, money and effort. At the end of the design process, seeing pages as
real estate waiting to be filled up is not enough. The reader also needs room
to breathe!