Comments on: Light or Dark Blog Backgrounds? [POLL RESULTS]

By: Doug Rock

Doug Rock — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:19:18 +0000

I’m interested in seeing a poll on Light or Dark e-commerce sites instead of blog sites.

By: Tommy Kirt

Tommy Kirt — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:24:47 +0000

As far as user friendliness goes, white or light backgrounds are always easier to read, and it’s what is most popular amongst the general public. Think about some of the most popular sites on the internet, they all have white backgrounds with grey or blue highlights. Of course there’s a place for darker themes but it really does depend on the site and audience that the site hopes to appeal to.

By: nizam shapie

nizam shapie — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:35:45 +0000

This is interesting as we can know the majority of people’s choice of visiting and hang around based on the layout and background of the color. But i do think dark color also has advantages especially on several particular niche and topic. I love to read the contents.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:52:32 +0000

I once wrote about this topic and had a commenter go absolutely ballistic about my favoring dark text on a light background. He kept saying it was akin to staring at a light bulb. My thought was “Dude, you aren’t wearing my eyeballs, so how do you know how they feel?” Oy.

By: Stephanie Valentine

Stephanie Valentine — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:45:20 +0000

Personally, I feel the light backgrounds have the advantage of being readable right away. A lot of dark background blogs and sites seem to take a long time to load before being readable. The background seems to fill in first, then the text pops up in lighter text. This takes too long for my taste.

By: PatrickH

PatrickH — Fri, 22 May 2009 01:03:54 +0000

i prefer light really because dark just turns me off, and its much harder to read.

http://www.machinez.blogspot.com

By: Your New Stepfather

Your New Stepfather — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:54:53 +0000

To be fair, this is a blog with a white background, which results in sampling bias because people who “always [read] dark” backgrounded blogs are much less likely to respond as they will probably not visit this blog. You also have to take into account non response bias… take these results with a grain of salt.

By: Mikes

Mikes — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:06:36 +0000

I’m happy coz the background of my site is white. yipee!

By: John | We Have Contact

John | We Have Contact — Wed, 20 May 2009 22:58:52 +0000

I always wondered about this myself, and after many iterations, I’ve decided on keeping my background white. Of course, it depends on the feel of the site and what audience you’re hitting, but I find that lighter backgrounds exude professionalism and tempt the reader to look at more of the page.

By: flapane

flapane — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:26:24 +0000

I am using a darkish gotic-like theme and I don’t found it too heavy weighted for the eyes.

By: Julien

Julien — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:27:37 +0000

As I’m just about to prepare my new blog, this poll will probably influence me for my template. Thanks for the info Darren!

By: Bibokz

Bibokz — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:30:24 +0000

Depends of what industry I’m working in. But, I’m fond of white background. It looks clean.

By: Liane

Liane — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:29:28 +0000

guess it depends on the site too. but in most cases, lighter backgrounds does have a charm.

@gerry: lol. dark backgrounds are usually associated with “hacker’s” website. although “porn site” could be anotehr thing too. haha

By: Gerry Faehrmann

Gerry Faehrmann — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:32:14 +0000

Dark backgrounds say to me “Its a porn site!” or something equally dubious!

Light backgrounds just seem to be more trustworthy.

By: Another Way To Earn Money

Another Way To Earn Money — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:43:09 +0000

This poll is good for blogger who want to change the template. Anyway, thank you!

By: Branden

Branden — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:48:13 +0000

Not a fan of bright white backgrounds. They give me a headache which is why I enjoy darker colored or completely black (like mine) blogs/websites. Light backgrounds are not soothing to me at all (Lighter the color, the more glare bouncing off the screen), I always have to adjust the monitor settings to tone the brightness down. Computer anti-glare glasses and all. To each his own. Not convinced it matters that much.

By: DeBorah Beatty

DeBorah Beatty — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:10:27 +0000

I prefer the dark backgrounds for their drama and compelling graphics, but the text HAS to be legible. So many of the blog designs now have the text in less than optimum colors (both light and dark). I don’t have the ability to create my own template, so am often looking through the freebies for something more like what I wish I could design. Type color against the background is usually the reason I give the template a “fail”.

By: Make Money Online

Make Money Online — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:42:14 +0000

The results are not surprising. Light backgrounds are easier to read and soothing to the eyes.

By: blued888

blued888 — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:11:21 +0000

I used to have a combination of light and dark backgrounds. Light for the content and dark for the sidebar but I found it too harsh on the eyes and decided to switch to fully light.

By: Samuel

Samuel — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:20:43 +0000

My blog couldn’t be MORE light… Hurah!!! :)

Interesting results, thanks :)

Sam