White Space

In interface design, white space can separate a heading from surrounding text, create room around a button and make related elements appear visually grouped. The space need not be literally white; it may use any background color or empty region. Designers often distinguish smaller spacing within a component from larger spacing between sections or content groups.

A crowded contact form may become easier to scan when labels, controls, errors and action buttons have consistent separation. Too little spacing can create visual noise, while excessive spacing can force unnecessary scrolling or disconnect related information. Effective spacing depends on content length, screen width, user needs and the visual hierarchy of the page.

White space is different from the WCAG Text Spacing success criterion, which addresses users’ ability to adjust specific text-related spacing without loss of content or functionality. A visually airy page can still fail accessibility tests for contrast, keyboard access or text reflow. Spacing should support usability without being treated as a substitute for accessible implementation.