By Katherine Andes
“The world is in need of white space!”
That’s what I thought the other day when I was trying to negotiate a turn in a store aisle with a loaded shopping cart, while avoiding hitting other shoppers.
The aisle itself was wide enough, but it had been stuffed with displays of merchandise.
I can remember when stores used to brag in their advertising that they had “wide aisles.”
Not any more.
Not since merchandisers discovered they could stick a display case in the middle of an aisle and sell more stuff.
It’s the same with the ubiquitous kiosks in the middle of malls.
And it’s suffocating for many shoppers.
So instead of going shopping in conventional stores, they head for their computers to buy online.
When a shopper finds your site, is she going to find it as jammed as a brick and mortar store? Is every speck of your web page cluttered with stuff?
Or is she going to find “wide aisles” or white space? White space is a term graphic designers use to refer to the parts of the page that are empty.
A clean design with ample white space will help your shopper ponder your offerings and imagine herself owning them without a thousand distractions.
Easy Furniture Web Tip #48: Improve your website by leaving plenty of “white space” on your web pages for a clean and attractive look. It also makes the text easier to read.
Katherine Andes is a consultant who specializes in web content development, including search engine optimization, and landing pages — especially in the home improvement market. You can phone her at 559.589.0379 or email at kathy@andesandassociates.com.