diff --git a/etc/adminhtml/system.xml b/etc/adminhtml/system.xml
index a332c050..4b4acd32 100755
--- a/etc/adminhtml/system.xml
+++ b/etc/adminhtml/system.xml
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
                 </field>
                 <field id="url_prefix" translate="label" type="text" sortOrder="15" showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="1" showInStore="1" canRestore="1">
                     <label>Route Name</label>
-                    <validate>validate-alphanum</validate>
+                    <validate>required-entry no-whitespace</validate>
                 </field>
                 <field id="url_suffix" translate="label comment" type="text" sortOrder="16" showInDefault="1" showInWebsite="1" showInStore="1" canRestore="1">
                     <label>URL Suffix</label>