What is White space?
Also called: Negative space
The short answer
White space is the empty space around and between elements; it separates ideas, guides the eye and makes a page feel calm and premium.
What people say: “breathing room”, “it feels cluttered”.
White space, explained
It does not have to be white. Adding space is usually the fastest fix for a page that feels cheap or crowded.
Questions people ask about White space
What is White space?
White space is the empty space around and between elements; it separates ideas, guides the eye and makes a page feel calm and premium.
Related terms
Visual hierarchy is arranging elements by size, colour, contrast and position so visitors see the most important thing first and the rest in order.
Grid layoutA layout grid is the invisible system of columns and gutters that aligns everything on a page, giving a design order and rhythm.
Clean and modernClean and modern usually means generous white space, a restrained palette, strong modern type, fewer elements per screen and no dated effects.
UXUX, or user experience, is how it feels to use a website: whether people can find what they came for, understand it and finish what they started without friction.
Part of the Web Encyclopedia by Apex Flow Digital. Definitions are general knowledge, kept current, with no invented statistics.