Of the easiest thing to use on the keyboard, it is the space bar. You can even do it while your eyes are closed. You press the big button at the bottom of your computer keyboard, and space appears. However, it is not as easy as it seems when it comes to HTML code. There are several ways to make the room appear in HTML, one of the ways is &nbsp.

What is nbsp?

Nbsp is initial for non-breaking space. &nbsp is the HTML entity of the non-breaking area. It is a popular entity that means if strings are separated, they will not be in separate lines.

The table below shows an example of a sentence. Its appearance on a big screen and another one of how the sentence appears on a small screen. The one in a small screen, the words in the sentence collapse and are in different lines:

On a large screenOn small screen
Pens in this shop cost $10Pens in this shop cost
$ 10
Or
Pens in this shop cost $
10

saves such a situation by sticking together the characters "$" and the "10" to be on the same line. It helps avoid collapse.

The other use &nbsp is to form multiple spaces. If you use the space bar to create an ample space, the browser will always part it down, but if you use &nbsp coding, the end result of the sentence will be as you wish it to be.

Instances where You Should not use nbsp

The is not easily readable, and what you are trying to create can be a poor design. For this reason, there are instances where you can use a different approach. It is better to be safe than to have your design collapse on the user's end. It may show a lack of professionalism.

The best thing to do is strictly use nbsp for their primary role, keeping the characters together. Otherwise, in responsive pages, another method of design may apply.

Spacing between images

&nbsp may also not be helpful when one is trying to separate pictures in HTML. It functions better with words, and therefore there may not be a significant effect when used in an HTML page to separate images or any form of media.

&nbsp in WordPress

WordPress's editors have made it very easy to insert nbsp. They have a fast way of creating space:

On a mac gadget, dial Option+Space

On Windows, just dial Ctrl+Shift+Space

However, it may not be easy to create pace in the above way if you have the old HTML editor. The best way to maneuver the old HTML editor is by inserting &nbsp in the editor.

The other option is to use a text editor support &nbsp.

Alternatives of nbsp for spacing in HTML

Spacing characters or elements is not only limited to nbsp. There are other options for white space. The following are some of the examples

  • En space

  • Narrow no-break space

  • Figure space

  • Punctuation space

  • Thin space

  • Hair space

Conclusion

Finally, nbsp is helpful in various circumstances, and in others, it may not be the best method to apply. As time goes by and technology advances, nbsp may carry the day or not. If flexible solutions keep coming up, they will get overtaken and, before sending a user a design where you have used &nbsp to create. Consider email testing first so that you can ascertain that there is no collapse of the characters.

You can use the numerous email dummies in mailslurp to test the deliverability of your email.