Don’t be afraid of white (or “negative”) space.

It is not evil. It will not hurt you. Resist the temptation to fill up every pixel on the screen. Keep your site clean. Give your content and graphics some breathing room.

People often equate white space with wasted space. They see it as room for one more call to action, or one more gratuitous photo of people shaking hands. In the print world it has been said that the difference between desktop publishing and graphic design is white space. It gives the eye a place to rest. It gives power to the other elements on the page. In fact, if you want to emphasize something, surround it with white space. It can help you direct your viewers where you want them to go.

It takes a combination of artistic talent and marketing savvy to know when to say when with regards to adding items to your page. If you’re are not a designer, then I would challenge you to have enough white where it begins to make you uncomfortable—you’ll probably be close to the right amount.

Site entropy can work it’s way in to a site even before it is launched. The process of creating a web site involves a variety of skillsets. More often than not, this means a variety of people—designers, developers, coders and so on—each with their own take on web site creation theory. That unique font the designer spent hours selecting turns into Arial, because the developer thinks all text should be readable by search engines or screen readers. The developer has to make layout changes because the layout the designer created, would cause the project to go over budget.

Some sites seem to be built solely for search engines and search egines have never been know for their good visual taste. Others, soley for those with the latest computers and a T1 line plugged right into it. Often project requirements are added, causing some degradation in the overall site design.

This can be the ultimate clash of left brain vs. right brain.

What can be done to prevent this pre-launch erosion? Here’s a few things…

1. Choose a designer that specializes in web site design. Find a person or company that has experience with the various aspects of creating a web site such as interactive design, usability, information architecture, programming, and project management.
2. Make sure the scope of the project is as accurate and as complete as possible before the initial concepts are laid out. Nothing throws a wrench in design like trying to cram things into a layout at the last minute. If scalability is important, it should be in the scope of the project.
3. Have a clear purpose statement for your site. Not the generic, “I want to make money,” or “I want people to find it,” but a well thought out, realistic purpose. Once you have that purpose, test everything on your site against it. If it doesn’t not meet that purpose directly or at least indirectly, get rid of it. This will keep out disjointed items and things that can get in the way of reaching your goals.
4. Remember that your site is not for you. It is for your audience. Think in terms of how they will see it, and use it.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines entropy as “a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder.” It’s the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

It happens all around us. It happens in nature when things decay, rust or corrode. It happens to our cars when they spew smoke and won’t start. It even happens to and in our homes—especially in the kid’s room. And, yes, it even happens to Web sites. You’ll have to figure out how to stop it in your home on your own, but to keep it from happening on your Web site, read on.

This Web site degradation— or “site entropy”—happens when your Web site deteriorates from what it once was—that great-looking, well organized and cohesive site—to a confusing mess of pixels. Just like other forms of entropy, this doesn’t happen overnight. And, most likely, there is not any one person to blame. There are several sites in my own portfolio to which I no longer link, because they have suffered severe entropy.

From time to time I will be posting entries that identify the causes of site entropy and how to avoid it. By the way, if you have any tips for home entropy—please share!