Designers and business owners don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to white space. While designers have a love affair with the minimalist look that white space offers, business owners want to fill up the white space on their websites to promote their brands, products, and services.

Now more than ever, though, these business owners that have a tendency to load up their websites with offers and information need to embrace the concept of white space. Why? You can blame it on the consumer’s ever-shortening attention span. As you can imagine, a website filled with too much information is not a good thing for someone that can easily be distracted.

As a consumer, think about some websites you have visited that have an overwhelming amount of information on the screen. Not only is it distracting, but all of the imagery, blinking offers, and flood of information probably turned you off from the website entirely. This type of website design does not enhance the user experience and may actually cost you business.

So what are some advantages of embracing white space in website design? Here are 4 benefits that your business will realize by making white space a fundamental element of your website’s design:

The content is more legible.
When you’re cramming too much information onto a webpage, it can often be difficult to read the text. If visitors to your website can’t read the text well, the message that you are trying to get across may not be received. White space can do wonders for making the text on your page pop, making it or headlines an attractive focal point.

The content is easier for your audience to digest.
Did you know that incorporating white space in between paragraphs on your webpage can actually increase the comprehension of your content by 20 percent? With the typical consumer having a very brief attention span, your content should be formatted so that it is easy to scan. White space can help you to accomplish this.

It can help you to be effective in captivating your audience.
Is there a certain element of your website design that you want to draw your audience towards? If you really want to make something stand out, surrounding it with white space is a very effective way to do this. Doing so will prevent visitors from being distracted which can ultimately lead to a increase in conversions.

White space can establish a professional tone.
Your website’s design should be a reflection of your business, and bringing white space into the design can communicate an elegance, openness, and freshness–all good things that your brand likely wants to portray.

When searching the web, it can be easy to find some great examples of white space being embraced. For me, Snowbird is one website that immediately comes to mind. This site is directed at anyone that is interested in having the ultimate ski experience by staying at The Cliff Lodge. The design itself is simple and definitely celebrates the use of white space. Upon arriving at the website’s homepage, your eyes are immediately drawn to an incredible image of snowcapped mountains and the current weather conditions at The Cliff Lodge. The website is also visually appealing and easy to navigate through.

Lapka is another example of a company that has embraced white space in its website design. This unique company that re-designs medical devices so that they are attractive and stylish to wear (a glucose monitor, for example) uses white space on its website to showcase these designs. Upon arriving at the website and seeing the stunning and captivating graphics that pop out, you can’t help but want to know more about this company.

Hopefully, after reading this article, you can see that the benefits of making the most of white space are obvious. As you design your website, embrace white space as it will not only enhance the user experience, but can drive conversions as well.