# Best Practice: Margin or Padding for text?

**URL:** <https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/best-practice-margin-or-padding-for-text/55154>\
**Category:** Elements\
**Created:** [March 17, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/best-practice-margin-or-padding-for-text/55154 "2026-03-17T17:27:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MichaelDroste](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/michaeldroste/32/37212_2.png) [@MichaelDroste](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/MichaelDroste)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/best-practice-margin-or-padding-for-text/55154/1 "2026-03-17T17:27:30Z")

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Spent the hour deleting padding and changing to margin

What is the correct way? Is there one?

Why do it one way or another?

Future considerations for theme settings?

Trying to do it the ‘right way’

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**Author:** ![sbchasin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/sbchasin/32/26943_2.png) [@sbchasin](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/sbchasin)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/best-practice-margin-or-padding-for-text/55154/2 "2026-03-17T17:34:21Z")

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It is sort of dependent on what you are doing and to what kind of component.

In general, margins impact spacing on the _outside_ of a component. Padding impacts spacing on the _inside_ of a component.

If you have a container let’s say, and you want more spacing around it, use margin. If you want space around the contents _in_ the container, use padding.

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**Author:** ![MichaelDroste](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/michaeldroste/32/37212_2.png) [@MichaelDroste](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/MichaelDroste)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/best-practice-margin-or-padding-for-text/55154/3 "2026-03-17T18:02:23Z")

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Strictly text - I messed up and used text for all my sites instead of typography

So I’m trying to get it right for future themes and changes for everything site wide…

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**Author:** ![sbchasin](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/sbchasin/32/26943_2.png) [@sbchasin](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/sbchasin)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/best-practice-margin-or-padding-for-text/55154/4 "2026-03-17T18:04:16Z")

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If you are spacing the text component, use margin. If you are spacing the text, inside of the component, use padding

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**Author:** ![MichaelDroste](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/forums.realmacsoftware.com/michaeldroste/32/37212_2.png) [@MichaelDroste](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/u/MichaelDroste)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 7:12pm UTC](https://forums.realmacsoftware.com/t/best-practice-margin-or-padding-for-text/55154/5 "2026-03-17T19:12:09Z")

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Thank you!

When the store opens up, I want to use themes that people have made…