Layout By Non-Breaking Space
layout hacks 1996 still worksWhitespace built out of entities, because HTML collapses real spaces.
In 2026: Works, and it is still the fastest way to break a layout on a phone. The empty table cell trick was necessary in Netscape 4, which drew no border or background at all around a genuinely empty cell.
Where it came from: Universal practice. The empty cell workaround is documented in Netscape's own authoring notes, 1996. Wikipedia ↗
<!-- Fake indentation -->
<p> This paragraph is indented four spaces.</p>
<!-- Fake column gap -->
<p>Left column Right column</p>
<!-- The empty cell that has to contain something -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="4">
<tr><td>Filled</td><td> </td></tr>
</table>
<!-- Fake vertical space -->
<br> <br> <br>
<!-- The 2026 version -->
<p style="text-indent:4em">Indented.</p>
<div style="height:2em"></div>