Paragraph spacing
The vertical gap between consecutive paragraphs, used to show a new thought without inserting empty lines into the content.
See it
What it is
Paragraph spacing is the vertical gap that marks where one paragraph ends and the next begins. On the web it is usually made with logical block margins, such as margin-block-start, rather than by inserting an empty paragraph or two line breaks.
Use it for interfaces, articles, and other layouts where a visible gap makes scanning easier. A gap around 0.75 to 1 line of the current text is a practical starting point, then tune it against the line-height and the density of the page. Traditional books often use first-line indents instead to conserve space.
Two traps. Adjacent vertical margins can collapse in normal block layout, so two margins do not always add together. And pressing Enter twice creates empty content that behaves badly in responsive layouts and assistive technology. Put the spacing rule in CSS and choose either spacing or indentation as the main paragraph marker: Matthew Butterick's Practical Typography states the rule flatly, use one or the other, never both.
Ask AI for it
Style article paragraphs with CSS rather than empty HTML elements. Reset article p to margin-block: 0, then apply article p + p { margin-block-start: 0.9em; }. Keep headings on a separate spacing scale using margin-block-start and margin-block-end, and use logical properties throughout. Show the result at 320px and 900px widths, confirm there is no blank paragraph markup, and include a short note explaining why the adjacent-sibling selector avoids extra space before the first paragraph.