diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index c49aaf7..827a2bb 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ v0.4.1 (unreleased):
 - Added support for Python 3.5.
 - '<' and '>' are now disallowed in wikilink titles and template names. This
   includes when denoting tags, but not comments.
+- Fixed the behavior of preserve_spacing in Template.add() on parameters with
+  hidden keys.
 - Fixed some bugs in the release scripts.
 
 v0.4 (released May 23, 2015):
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index 3217a35..9ae23a6 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ Unreleased
 - Added support for Python 3.5.
 - ``<`` and ``>`` are now disallowed in wikilink titles and template names.
   This includes when denoting tags, but not comments.
+- Fixed the behavior of *preserve_spacing* in :func:`~.Template.add` on
+  parameters with hidden keys.
 - Fixed some bugs in the release scripts.
 
 v0.4
diff --git a/mwparserfromhell/nodes/template.py b/mwparserfromhell/nodes/template.py
index 7cbeb7d..d8887e8 100644
--- a/mwparserfromhell/nodes/template.py
+++ b/mwparserfromhell/nodes/template.py
@@ -213,26 +213,25 @@ class Template(Node):
         :func:`.utils.parse_anything`; pipes and equal signs are automatically
         escaped from *value* when appropriate.
 
+        If *name* is already a parameter in the template, we'll replace its
+        value.
+
         If *showkey* is given, this will determine whether or not to show the
         parameter's name (e.g., ``{{foo|bar}}``'s parameter has a name of
         ``"1"`` but it is hidden); otherwise, we'll make a safe and intelligent
         guess.
 
-        If *name* is already a parameter in the template, we'll replace its
-        value while keeping the same whitespace around it. We will also try to
-        guess the dominant spacing convention when adding a new parameter using
-        :meth:`_get_spacing_conventions`.
-
         If *before* is given (either a :class:`.Parameter` object or a name),
         then we will place the parameter immediately before this one.
         Otherwise, it will be added at the end. If *before* is a name and
         exists multiple times in the template, we will place it before the last
         occurrence. If *before* is not in the template, :exc:`ValueError` is
-        raised. The argument is ignored if the new parameter already exists.
+        raised. The argument is ignored if *name* is an existing parameter.
 
-        If *preserve_spacing* is ``False``, we will avoid preserving spacing
-        conventions when changing the value of an existing parameter or when
-        adding a new one.
+        If *preserve_spacing* is ``True``, we will try to preserve whitespace
+        conventions around the parameter, whether it is new or we are updating
+        an existing value. It is disabled for parameters with hidden keys,
+        since MediaWiki doesn't strip whitespace in this case.
         """
         name, value = parse_anything(name), parse_anything(value)
         self._surface_escape(value, "|")
@@ -245,7 +244,7 @@ class Template(Node):
             if not existing.showkey:
                 self._surface_escape(value, "=")
             nodes = existing.value.nodes
-            if preserve_spacing:
+            if preserve_spacing and existing.showkey:
                 for i in range(2):  # Ignore empty text nodes
                     if not nodes[i]:
                         nodes[i] = None
@@ -271,7 +270,7 @@ class Template(Node):
         if not showkey:
             self._surface_escape(value, "=")
 
-        if preserve_spacing:
+        if preserve_spacing and showkey:
             before_n, after_n = self._get_spacing_conventions(use_names=True)
             before_v, after_v = self._get_spacing_conventions(use_names=False)
             name = parse_anything([before_n, name, after_n])
diff --git a/tests/test_template.py b/tests/test_template.py
index 7ba3f64..e3cd33e 100644
--- a/tests/test_template.py
+++ b/tests/test_template.py
@@ -213,6 +213,9 @@ class TestTemplate(TreeEqualityTestCase):
                                           pgens("f", "g")])
         node37 = Template(wraptext("a"), [pgenh("1", "")])
         node38 = Template(wraptext("abc"))
+        node39 = Template(wraptext("a"), [pgenh("1", " b ")])
+        node40 = Template(wraptext("a"), [pgenh("1", " b"), pgenh("2", " c")])
+        node41 = Template(wraptext("a"), [pgens("1", " b"), pgens("2", " c")])
 
         node1.add("e", "f", showkey=True)
         node2.add(2, "g", showkey=False)
@@ -255,6 +258,9 @@ class TestTemplate(TreeEqualityTestCase):
         node37.add(1, "b")
         node38.add("1", "foo")
         self.assertRaises(ValueError, node38.add, "z", "bar", showkey=False)
+        node39.add("1", "c")
+        node40.add("3", "d")
+        node41.add("3", "d")
 
         self.assertEqual("{{a|b=c|d|e=f}}", node1)
         self.assertEqual("{{a|b=c|d|g}}", node2)
@@ -299,6 +305,9 @@ class TestTemplate(TreeEqualityTestCase):
         self.assertEqual("{{a|b=c|d=h|f=g}}", node36)
         self.assertEqual("{{a|b}}", node37)
         self.assertEqual("{{abc|foo}}", node38)
+        self.assertEqual("{{a|c}}", node39)
+        self.assertEqual("{{a| b| c|d}}", node40)
+        self.assertEqual("{{a|1= b|2= c|3= d}}", node41)
 
     def test_remove(self):
         """test Template.remove()"""