Have you ever seen one of those Web pages so crammed with “stuff” that you can’t find the navigation panel, much less the meat of the site?
I saw one once, and it wasn’t pretty. In fact, it darn near gave me a headache, what with all the blinking ads, scrolling text, gosh-awful color combinations, and useless doo-dads.
Don’t make that same mistake. Reading on a computer is hard enough, without adding to your visitors’ eyestrain.
As Kahil Gibran wrote, “But let there be spaces in your togetherness…”
You don’t need to fill every inch of your Web page. The Internet is a different medium than print, and it shouldn’t look like the classified ads in your local newspaper.
Besides, chances are, you’re not paying by the square inch!
“Creative use of white space” gives your page an opportunity to breathe. It gives your readers’ eyes a chance to rest. And it gives your design an open, airy feel — unlike being boxed-in in an elevator, for example.
White space allows a designer to kind of lead visitors around a page, gently moving them from one section to another. It also helps convey balance, whether symmetrical or asymmetrical.
The purpose behind most Web pages is communication. No, white space doesn’t communicate, per se; still, its void speaks volumes. It helps focus your readers’ eyes where you want them focused — on your message, on your products, on your service.
And isn’t that your ultimate goal?
Next time: Staying on schedule.
