How to Use white-space: pre; in CSS for Styling Spaces Without HTML Entities

Описание: Discover how to replace ` ` in your HTML with the CSS property `white-space: pre;` to maintain spaces without cluttering your code.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/67458249/ asked by the user 'ArekBulski' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2375119/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/67458278/ provided by the user 'Tomalak' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/18771/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: Using nbsp through style and not nbsp in HTML

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Effortlessly Manage Spaces in HTML with CSS

When developing web pages, managing spacing is an essential challenge that developers often face. A common approach to denote multiple spaces in HTML is to use non-breaking spaces, represented as  . However, there are cleaner solutions available, especially when you prefer to keep your HTML tidy.

In this guide, we’ll explore how you can replace   with CSS styling. This technique not only simplifies your HTML but also provides you with more flexibility for future styling needs.

The Problem: Cluttered HTML with Non-Breaking Spaces

Consider the snippet below that uses non-breaking spaces to create gaps between two ‘a’ letters:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

While this works, it makes your HTML messy and less readable. The high use of   can quickly become unwieldy, especially as your project grows.

The Solution: Use CSS to Manage Spaces

The Key CSS Property: white-space

Instead of relying on  , you can achieve the same effect by utilizing the CSS property white-space. Specifically, you can use the value pre, which maintains the space characters in the HTML markup. Here’s how you can implement it:

Step-by-Step Implementation

Adjust HTML
Rewrite your HTML without  :

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Add CSS Property
You can directly add the white-space: pre; style within the <span> tag to preserve spaces just like in a plain text.

How It Works

The white-space: pre; CSS property treats spaces just like they are in the source code. This means whether you type one space or multiple spaces in the HTML, it will display accordingly on the page.

This method is very useful when you're dealing with formatting that requires consistent space, such as creating layouts or ensuring specific text alignment.

Advantages of Using white-space: pre;

Cleaner Code: Reduces the clutter in your HTML, making it easier to read and maintain.

Ease of Updates: If you need to change the spacing, you can do it directly in the CSS rather than adjusting multiple   entries in your HTML.

Responsive Design Friendly: Using CSS gives you better control over how your spaces behave across different devices and screen sizes.

Conclusion

Using white-space: pre; in CSS is an effective way to manage space in your HTML while keeping your code clean and organized. By following this method, you not only improve the readability of your code, but you also increase the maintainability and scalability of your web projects. So next time you're tempted to add multiple non-breaking spaces, consider this simpler CSS approach instead!



Make your HTML code cleaner and more manageable by applying the white-space: pre; style today!