Evidence review
What to inspect before changing anything
Start with the delivered website and the real user journey. Record the current state so the team can distinguish an observed problem from an assumption and compare the same surface after deployment.
- 01Measure recurring horizontal and vertical gaps
- 02Find one-off values and collapsed relationships
- 03Compare component spacing with page-level rhythm
Implementation
A practical improvement plan
Make the smallest coherent change that solves the observed problem. Keep normal code review, accessibility, security and product checks in the loop instead of optimizing for the scan alone.
- 01Choose a compact spacing scale
- 02Tie smaller gaps to close relationships
- 03Use larger breaks to mark meaningful section changes
Verification
How to verify the result
Verification should test the intended outcome and the most likely regression. Use the production delivery path whenever headers, caching, rendering or third-party services affect the result.
- 01Overlay the spacing tokens in development
- 02Review dense and sparse pages
- 03Check mobile layouts for accidental double spacing
Common pitfall
A shortcut to avoid
Rounding every gap to the nearest token can damage optical alignment or content-specific needs.
Further reading
Primary guidance and references
These sources provide standards, security guidance or the interpretation framework used to keep this guide bounded. Product-specific implementation still requires review in the actual codebase.