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Presets

Configuration

Tight (-0.5em)Normal (0)Wide (1em)
em

Live Preview

18px
1.6
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog and runs through the forest.

Justified Text Preview

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog and runs through the forest.

Spacing Comparison

Tight
-0.1em
Quick brown fox jumps
Normal
normal
Quick brown fox jumps
Loose
0.1em
Quick brown fox jumps
Wide
0.2em
Quick brown fox jumps
Current
0em
Quick brown fox jumps

Generated CSS

.text {
  word-spacing: 0em;
}

Full Example

View comprehensive word-spacing examples
/* =================================
   CSS Word Spacing Examples
   ================================= */

/* Basic word-spacing values */
.normal-spacing {
  word-spacing: normal;
}

.tight-spacing {
  word-spacing: -0.1em;
}

.loose-spacing {
  word-spacing: 0.2em;
}

/* Heading styles with word-spacing */
h1 {
  font-size: 3rem;
  font-weight: 700;
  word-spacing: 0.1em;
  letter-spacing: -0.02em;
}

h2 {
  font-size: 2rem;
  font-weight: 600;
  word-spacing: 0.05em;
}

/* Body text adjustments */
.body-text {
  word-spacing: normal;
  line-height: 1.7;
}

.article-body {
  word-spacing: 0.02em;
  line-height: 1.8;
  text-align: justify;
}

/* Justified text needs extra word-spacing */
.justified-text {
  text-align: justify;
  word-spacing: 0.05em;
  hyphens: auto;
}

/* Condensed text for tight layouts */
.condensed-text {
  word-spacing: -0.1em;
  letter-spacing: -0.02em;
}

/* Wide heading for dramatic effect */
.wide-heading {
  word-spacing: 0.3em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  letter-spacing: 0.1em;
}

/* Navigation links */
.nav-link {
  word-spacing: 0.05em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  font-size: 0.875rem;
}

/* Button text */
.button {
  word-spacing: 0.05em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  font-weight: 600;
}

/* Blockquote styling */
blockquote {
  word-spacing: 0.1em;
  font-style: italic;
  line-height: 1.8;
}

blockquote cite {
  word-spacing: normal;
  font-style: normal;
}

/* Caption and small text */
.caption {
  font-size: 0.875rem;
  word-spacing: 0.02em;
  color: #6b7280;
}

.small-print {
  font-size: 0.75rem;
  word-spacing: 0.01em;
}

/* Hero section text */
.hero-title {
  font-size: 4rem;
  font-weight: 800;
  word-spacing: 0.15em;
  line-height: 1.1;
}

.hero-subtitle {
  font-size: 1.5rem;
  word-spacing: 0.1em;
  line-height: 1.5;
}

/* Card components */
.card-title {
  font-weight: 600;
  word-spacing: 0.05em;
}

.card-description {
  word-spacing: normal;
  line-height: 1.6;
}

/* Code and monospace */
pre, code {
  font-family: 'Fira Code', monospace;
  word-spacing: normal;
}

/* Logo text */
.logo-text {
  word-spacing: 0.2em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
  font-weight: 700;
}

/* Tagline */
.tagline {
  word-spacing: 0.1em;
  font-style: italic;
  font-size: 1.125rem;
}

/* Lists */
ul li, ol li {
  word-spacing: normal;
  line-height: 1.6;
}

/* Table cells */
table td, table th {
  word-spacing: normal;
}

/* Form labels */
label {
  word-spacing: 0.02em;
  font-weight: 500;
}

/* Error and success messages */
.message {
  word-spacing: 0.02em;
  font-size: 0.875rem;
}

/* Responsive word-spacing */
@media (max-width: 768px) {
  h1 {
    word-spacing: 0.05em;
  }

  .hero-title {
    word-spacing: 0.1em;
  }

  .justified-text {
    text-align: left;
    word-spacing: normal;
  }
}

/* Print styles */
@media print {
  body {
    word-spacing: normal;
  }

  .justified-text {
    word-spacing: 0;
    text-align: left;
  }
}

/* CSS Custom Properties for theming */
:root {
  --word-spacing-tight: -0.1em;
  --word-spacing-normal: 0;
  --word-spacing-loose: 0.1em;
  --word-spacing-wide: 0.2em;
  --word-spacing-widest: 0.5em;
}

.use-word-spacing-tight {
  word-spacing: var(--word-spacing-tight);
}

.use-word-spacing-loose {
  word-spacing: var(--word-spacing-loose);
}

.use-word-spacing-wide {
  word-spacing: var(--word-spacing-wide);
}

/* Combined with letter-spacing */
.typographic-heading {
  word-spacing: 0.1em;
  letter-spacing: 0.05em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
}

/* Animated word-spacing (use sparingly) */
.hover-expand-words {
  word-spacing: normal;
  transition: word-spacing 0.3s ease;
}

.hover-expand-words:hover {
  word-spacing: 0.2em;
}

/* Language-specific adjustments */
:lang(de) {
  /* German has long compound words */
  word-spacing: 0.05em;
}

:lang(ja), :lang(zh) {
  /* CJK languages don't use word-spacing */
  word-spacing: normal;
}

/* Multi-column text */
.multi-column {
  column-count: 2;
  column-gap: 2rem;
  word-spacing: 0.02em;
  text-align: justify;
}

/* Pull quotes */
.pull-quote {
  font-size: 1.5rem;
  font-weight: 500;
  word-spacing: 0.1em;
  line-height: 1.5;
  border-left: 4px solid #8b5cf6;
  padding-left: 1rem;
}

/* Footer text */
.footer-text {
  font-size: 0.875rem;
  word-spacing: 0.01em;
}

.footer-links {
  word-spacing: 0.05em;
}

/* Testimonials */
.testimonial {
  word-spacing: 0.05em;
  font-style: italic;
  line-height: 1.8;
}

.testimonial-author {
  word-spacing: normal;
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 600;
}

/* Call to action */
.cta-text {
  word-spacing: 0.1em;
  font-size: 1.25rem;
  font-weight: 600;
}

Reference

Word Spacing Values

ValueDescription
normalDefault spacing defined by the font (usually the width of a space character)
<length>Additional spacing added to the default word spacing (can be negative)

Common Units

UnitDescriptionUse Case
emRelative to font-sizeBest for scalable, proportional spacing
remRelative to root font-sizeConsistent spacing across components
pxAbsolute pixelsPrecise, fixed spacing
chWidth of "0" characterCharacter-based spacing

Browser Support

word-spacing is supported in all browsers:

  • Chrome 1+
  • Firefox 1+
  • Safari 1+
  • Edge 12+
  • IE 6+

Word Spacing vs Letter Spacing

PropertyAffectsBest For
word-spacingSpace between wordsJustified text, headlines, readability
letter-spacingSpace between charactersUppercase text, logos, tracking

Best Practices

  • Use em units for word-spacing so it scales with font-size
  • Justified text often benefits from slightly increased word-spacing (0.02em to 0.05em)
  • Headlines can use wider word-spacing for dramatic effect (0.1em to 0.3em)
  • Body text usually works best with normal word-spacing
  • Condensed layouts can use negative word-spacing (-0.05em to -0.1em)
  • Test across fonts - Different fonts have different inherent word spacing
  • Combine with letter-spacing for complete typographic control
  • Consider line length - Wider word-spacing affects optimal line length

Typography Guidelines

ElementRecommended Spacing
Body textnormal to 0.02em
Justified text0.02em to 0.05em
Headlines0.05em to 0.2em
Logo/Brand text0.1em to 0.3em
Condensed text-0.05em to -0.15em
Blockquotes0.05em to 0.1em

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