diff --git a/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Layouts/Elements/Column.cs b/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Layouts/Elements/Column.cs
index 39f4487b7..b17e78a57 100644
--- a/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Layouts/Elements/Column.cs
+++ b/src/Orchard.Web/Modules/Orchard.Layouts/Elements/Column.cs
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ namespace Orchard.Layouts.Elements {
         }
 
         public int? Width {
-            get { return  this.Retrieve<int?>("Width") ?? this.Retrieve<int?>("ColumnSpan") ?? 0; } // Falling back on "ColumnSpan" for backward compatibility.
+            get { return  this.Retrieve<int?>("Width") ?? this.Retrieve<int?>("ColumnSpan") ?? 12; } // Falling back on "ColumnSpan" for backward compatibility.
             set { this.Store(x => x.Width, value); }
         }