You should still write semantic HTML, but that doesn't mean every character in an HTML page has to be directly tied to some meaning that isn't to do with styling.

Google and screen readers aren't going to be confused by you putting a < div class="spacer > < / div > tag in the middle of some < h1 > and < p > tags on a page.

I think coders just need to accept that it's a failed experiment to keep all styling data out of HTML. We've been trying for decades now and it's not practical, especially when you're adding a high level of polish to the presentation of your page while dealing with current web standards.

Margin is a CSS property; using it (or not) is entirely consistent with semantic HTML. The "spacer" component in the article can be achieved with gaps using CSS grid.

You are if you want to spend the entire project fighting the browser.