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How do I reduce the space in a table in HTML?

Published in HTML Tables 3 mins read

You can reduce the space in an HTML table using CSS properties such as padding, border-spacing, and margin, or by adjusting the older HTML attributes cellpadding and cellspacing. Here's a breakdown of how to achieve this:

1. Using CSS Properties

CSS offers the most flexible and recommended approach to control spacing within HTML tables.

a. padding

The padding property controls the space between the content of a table cell (<td> or <th>) and its border. Reducing the padding will bring the content closer to the cell's border.

<table style="width:100%;">
  <tr>
    <th style="padding: 5px;">Header 1</th>
    <th style="padding: 5px;">Header 2</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td style="padding: 5px;">Data 1</td>
    <td style="padding: 5px;">Data 2</td>
  </tr>
</table>

In this example, padding: 5px; is applied to both the header (<th>) and data (<td>) cells, reducing the default padding. You can adjust the 5px value to achieve your desired spacing. You can also apply this CSS in an external stylesheet for consistency:

th, td {
  padding: 5px;
}

b. border-spacing

The border-spacing property specifies the distance between the borders of adjacent table cells. This can significantly reduce the overall space between cells. However, border-collapse must be set to separate (which is the default) for border-spacing to have an effect.

<table style="border-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: separate;">
  <tr>
    <th>Header 1</th>
    <th>Header 2</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Data 1</td>
    <td>Data 2</td>
  </tr>
</table>

c. margin

While less common for direct table cell spacing, the margin property can be used to adjust the space around the entire table element itself.

<table style="margin: 0;">
  <tr>
    <th>Header 1</th>
    <th>Header 2</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Data 1</td>
    <td>Data 2</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Setting margin: 0; removes any default margin applied to the table.

2. Using HTML Attributes (Less Recommended)

While still functional, using HTML attributes for styling is generally discouraged in favor of CSS.

a. cellpadding

The cellpadding attribute controls the space between the cell content and the cell border (similar to the CSS padding property).

<table cellpadding="2">
  <tr>
    <th>Header 1</th>
    <th>Header 2</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Data 1</td>
    <td>Data 2</td>
  </tr>
</table>

b. cellspacing

The cellspacing attribute specifies the space between table cells. It affects the distance between the cell borders (similar to the CSS border-spacing property when border-collapse is separate).

<table cellspacing="1">
  <tr>
    <th>Header 1</th>
    <th>Header 2</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>Data 1</td>
    <td>Data 2</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Important Considerations:

  • CSS is preferred: Using CSS offers greater flexibility and is the modern standard for styling HTML elements.
  • Browser Defaults: Different browsers might have default styles for tables. Resetting these styles with a CSS reset or normalizing stylesheet can provide a consistent starting point.
  • Accessibility: Ensure that reducing spacing doesn't negatively impact the readability and accessibility of your table. Sufficient contrast and clear separation between elements are important.

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