HTML is a markup language that allows you to create and format web pages. However, HTML has some rules and limitations when it comes to adding blank space between words, lines, or elements. In this content, we will explore some of the ways you can insert invisible spaces in HTML and achieve the desired layout for your web page.
Why Adding Space in HTML is Different
Unlike in word processors or text editors, where you can simply press the spacebar multiple times to create extra space, HTML treats whitespace differently. HTML will collapse any consecutive spaces into a single space, and will also ignore any spaces at the beginning or end of a line, or outside of an element.
This is because HTML is designed to focus on the structure and content of a web page, rather than the presentation. The presentation, or the appearance and style of a web page, is usually controlled by CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
However, there are situations where you may want to add some space in HTML for clarity, readability, or aesthetic purposes. For example, you may want to create some indentation for a paragraph, or separate two words that should not be split across lines. In these cases, you can use some of the methods below to insert spaces in HTML.
How to Add Space in HTML
There are several ways to add space in HTML, depending on the type and amount of space you want to create. Here are some of the most common methods:
How to Add Space in HTML Using Our Website
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to add space in HTML, you can also use the blank space copy and paste method. This method involves copying a blank space character from a website, such as [blankspacecopyandpaste.com], and pasting it where you want to insert a space in HTML.
The blank space character is invisible, but it is still recognized by HTML as a valid character, so it will not be collapsed or ignored.
To use the blank space copy and paste method, you simply follow these steps:
- Go to [blankspacecopyandpaste.com] and copy the blank space character by clicking the “Copy” button.
- Go to your HTML code and paste the blank space character where you want to insert a space.
- Repeat step 2 as many times as you want to create more spaces.
Here is an example of how the blank space copy and paste method can be used in HTML:
<p>This is a sentence with blank space characters between some words.</p>
This is how it will look in the browser:
This is a sentence with blank space characters between some words.
Non-Breaking Space ( )
The non-breaking space entity, written as or  , is one of the simplest ways to add a space in HTML. It creates a space that is equivalent to a normal space, but it will not break to a new line.
This means that two words or elements separated by a non-breaking space will always appear on the same line, even if the browser window is resized or the text is wrapped. This is useful if you want to prevent splitting words or phrases that should stay together, such as dates, names, or units.
To use a non-breaking space, you simply type where you want to insert a space. You can also type it multiple times to create more than one space, as HTML will not collapse non-breaking spaces.
For example, if you want to create three spaces between two words, you can type word1 word2.
Here is an example of how non-breaking spaces can be used in HTML:
<p>This is a normal sentence with normal spaces.</p>
<p>This is a sentence with non-breaking spaces between some words.</p>
<p>This is a date that should not be split: 9 January 2024.</p>
This is how it will look in the browser:
This is a normal sentence with normal spaces.
This is a sentence with non-breaking spaces between some words.
This is a date that should not be split: 9 January 2024.
Preformatted Text (<pre>)
The <pre> tag is another way to add space in HTML. It stands for preformatted text, and it preserves the exact formatting of the text as it is written in the HTML code.
This means that any spaces, tabs, or line breaks that you type or paste inside the <pre> tag will be displayed on the web page, without being collapsed or ignored by HTML. This is useful if you want to display text that has a specific layout, such as code, poetry, or ASCII art.
To use the <pre> tag, you simply enclose the text you want to keep preformatted between the opening and closing tags: <pre>text</pre>. For example, if you want to display a poem with four spaces of indentation for each line, you can type:
<pre>
This is a poem
With four spaces of indentation
For each line
Using the pre tag
</pre>
This is how it will look in the browser:
This is a poem
With four spaces of indentation
For each line
Using the pre tag
Break (<br>)
The <br> tag is another way to add space in HTML. It stands for break, and it creates a line break in the text. This means that the text after the <br> tag will start on a new line, below the text before the tag.
This is useful if you want to create some vertical space between lines or paragraphs of text, or push text down lower on the page.
To use the <br> tag, you simply type <br> where you want to insert a line break. You can also type it multiple times to create more than one line break. For example, if you want to create two line breaks between two sentences, you can type:
<p>This is the first sentence.<br><br>This is the second sentence.</p>
This is how it will look in the browser:
This is the first sentence.
This is the second sentence.
How to Add Space in HTML Using CSS
As mentioned earlier, HTML is mainly used for the structure and content of a web page, while CSS is used for the presentation and style. Therefore, if you want to add space in HTML for aesthetic purposes, such as creating margins, padding, or alignment, you should use CSS instead of HTML.
CSS offers more flexibility and control over the appearance and layout of a web page, and it also helps to separate the content from the style, making your code more organized and maintainable.
There are many CSS properties that can help you add space in HTML, such as margin, padding, text-indent, text-align, line-height, and letter-spacing. You can learn more about these properties and how to use them in our CSS tutorial.
Conclusion
In this article, we have learned some of the ways you can add space in HTML, such as using non-breaking space entities, preformatted text tags, break tags, paragraph tags, CSS properties, and blank space copy and paste.
We have also learned why adding space in HTML is different from adding space in other applications, and how HTML handles whitespace. We hope this article has helped you understand how to insert spaces in HTML and achieve the desired layout for your web page.