Web design and white space

12/07/10 posted by Annie

You may have read that minimalistic web design is a big trend at the moment. Simple web designs are not only growing in popularity, but people are more conscious about cutting down writing in order to free up white space (the space around the text). So why all the fuss over literally, nothing? White space is often seen as a "waste of space", which might be better filled with more information about the company or services. However, this sort of thinking can destroy the power of your web design.

  
Too much text vs a clear message and plenty of white space.

Firstly, think about your prospective customers. Customers typically just skim through large amounts of text until they find what they want. Often, just the look of too much text is enough to put people off your website. Instead, keep your sales message clear and to the point. Shouting information at customers is no way to earn an informed opinion, and will end up boring them into leaving your website.

From a design point of view, too much text can add a 'busy' or 'stressed' feel to your web design. Modern web design balances beauty with informativeness, but too much text can strain this relationship and cheapen your web design. Your web design is perhaps your strongest marketing tool. You wouldn't expect too much text on a poster or a business card, would you? By the same token, your web design should reflect your company's corporate identity. Too much text simply destroys the aesthetics and the marketing power of beautiful web design.

From an SEO perspective, you definitely don't need all that text. Limit your text to what you want search engines to find. This should be the same information you want your customers to find. Or, try breaking it up with subheadings. This maximises white space, makes the information easier to digest, and also means new places to plant keywords. You could also spread your text over separate pages according to theme. This is good for Google's spiders, and will also gives your customers a more active way of navigating through your content. Customers will happily read all your text if it's in small doses. When it comes to text in web design, less is indeed more.