Space: The final frontier of Web Design
There are a number of elements that make up a great dental website design, but one of the most misunderstood and misused is space, whether white or not. The objective of a web site must be to communicate information, with clarity and confidence in an interesting way.
Although, most designs have space, often not enough, or not in the right place. This could be because demanding clients often see space as being ‘empty’, therefore being a waste. In fact space might be one of their most valuable assets. ‘Less is more’ when communicating a message, indeed my lecturer at Art & Design College, once told me (when talking about visual design) “Be brief, however long it takes”.
Space is simply the empty space between and around the elements of a design or page layout, around graphics and images, margins and gutters, space between columns, and even the space between lines of type. By increasing the space between elements in a layout, a design can gain clarity and elegance. Text that is cramped and with minimal line spacing can be very difficult to read.
Web site visitors generally have quite short attention spans. So the information needs to be concise and easy to read, avoid too much ‘scrolling’ on a page. Bullet points are effective, because each one has some space around it.
Paper is seen as a valuable resource and clients will often want to use every inch of it. The same seems apply to a computer screen, which is why being generous with space will speak volumes about your message. It is a way of saying that the content is far more valuable than the area it sits on.
Space gives the reader a chance to breathe and helps to focus on what is being said. It works rather like good punctuation and good use of language, it influences the meaning of text and can give a website greater impact and clarity.
Adrian Adler is “the Wizard” at Dental Focus Web Design.
We’d love to hear from you and have a discussion – please leave a comment and rate us!
And remember to subscribe to our blog by e-mail so you can get all our dental marketing ideas immediately – the Internet Marketing Secrets of “WOW websites that find you and convert you!”
If you would like some free advice, Email Us or call 020 7183 8388.