Discussions
White or Black Background?
Posted by mister2mike • 6/01/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: Background
Which is better as far as readership, neatness and all other stuff about Blog Design, WHITE background and the Black one?
What's your site's background?
Mine is white and I think it's alright!
User Comments
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i like black cause it makes the pictures pop more-
but is it readable?
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I have several blogs, some with white backgrounds, and one with dark blue. I believe both serve a purpose, according to your blogs contents. Black or another dark background can better set off images if you post a lot of those, while for general writing, white with black print is easier on the eyes.-
great answer. thanks for that!
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I've got one of each. The white one is on my more formal writing and English grammar blog, while the black one lives behind my theoretically-edgier music blog. You just have to be very aware of how your text shows up over a colored background, as some color combinations/fonts/text sizes can be very difficult to read.-
Very important that it's easy to ready because after all blogs are for readers.
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For most sites white, except when it is justified (Metal Music, Hacker, ...)
I don't understand why some people use black, they don't care much about the psychology of their readers: Black is connotated with pessimism, badness etc.-
That's a new one. It may connote negativity but not really all. but I like your point!
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I personally find white backgrounds or light ones, at least, easier to read. If I spend too much time on one with a black background, I find it affects my eyes.
And unfocused, crossed-eyes aren't as much in fashion as I'd like.-
LOL!
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My background was originally black, but a kindly visitor suggested I make it white. He said it suited my kind of thoughts better.-
did you follow his advice?
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My background is black with white braincells all over it. I think it fits well with my color schemes and with the over all 'feel' of my site.-
...but, the background in my text areas is off-white, but most people just say it's white.
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now that's okay.
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I have a hard time reading on white a lot of times - it makes the black letters crawl - not so on black.
I try to stay away from PURE white.-
Same here. I have to do a brightness/contrast adjustment every time I have to read text on a white background. -
i ahevn't noticed that personally.
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I don't like to read on black backgrounds and white seemed every where. I chose pink to brighten up my words. If you read my poery its not trash pop ahem.-
WOW! Pink! Now that's different but isn't that painful to the eye?
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I also have a pink background,... I had one complaint but I ignored it because the person read the people anyway. I love my pink everything blog. When I visit a blog, I don't care about the background, I as long as I can read the post.
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White is too bright. Any color - from mid to dark. Depends on content. Example: The posts here switch from white to gray-white. I like the gray-white better. Contrast not too sharp.-
you have a point. hmmm that actually makes me think.
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for me white is better than black BUT i'm using brown or///-
LOL!
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I think off-white or very pale color is better than a glaring white background. As far as black backgrounds go - they are good for pictures but overpowering for print. My art blog has a black background but I made the print in bold color so that it stands out (rather than being swallowed up by the black abyss).-
thanks for the inputs about making the letters "bold"
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white! -
I can't decide either, so I just mixed white and black -
white. -
i use both in my 2blogs.the white is for my hobbies and the black is for my work experience.love them(black and white) both.-
okay.
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I prefer white. I find black can bother my eyes too.
With a black background you have to choose a text colour that stands out, which can 'feel' like too much. Black text on a white background is much 'softer'.
And if you want to avoid problems for those of us with defective colour vision, experiment with orange and grey!-
orange and grey?
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I have lots of mountain photos and believe that my dark blue background sets the pictures off better than white, or even a light color. If a person has lots of text, and few photos, I believe white, or lighter colors, look more professional and easier to read.-
yeah that's what I'm learning. dakr for pictures. white for texts
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I too prefer a white background. It's easier on the eyes for reading and seems to provide a cleaner blog template.-
yipee!
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Think about your readers first.I prefer light background color -
@techgyan
You are so right! -
Black looks good, I like black....... My name is Enjie....... Is anyone familiar with that shampoo commercial???? -
Definitely white. I used to have websites and blogs with black backgrounds but I realised it kinda looked... "teenagy" whereas a white background definitely looks more professional. So I guess it depends on what kind of site you want really. -
mine is white right now, but i've been thinking of changing it to black. i read somewhere that when it comes to staring at a computer screen, dark background/light text is generally easier on the eyes. hmmmm. -
White background ... of course unless it becomes a pain for your eyes. -
for some people, black background is harder to read on. so i suggest u lighter background for blogs if you want to put your readers 1st. -
Mine is yellow and blue on the pastel and light side of things. I tend to find light background colors with darker colors for text are easier for me to read.
Although, I don't think there is anything wrong with darker backgrounds. I just really think it depends on what the topic of your blog is about and who your readers are. -
Mine is white and i love it...by the way, do u believe in gray?
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My fashion blog has white background, my nutrition blog is green and my puppy blog is all shades of candy.
If I had to choose between white and black background I'd always go for the white one. Black makes my eyes feel irritated and tired. -
If black worked well, all the media would have used it. But research shows black text on white background gets stronger attention. For best layout tips, go to Jacob Nielsen's useit.com. He is a legend. -
Please remember research shows over and over that a black or dark colored background with white or colored type slows reading time and fatigues the eye
while light colored or white backgrounds are easy to read and do not fatigue the eye. Think books and magazines. They are very good indicators of good readership and layout.-
- @countsneakky
That's the truth that those who have dark or black colored backgrounds do not want to hear.
Busy patterned backgrounds and/or dark colored backgrounds with low contrast fonts are the bane of all those who are visually challenged like myself. They render many sites "unreadable" and that cannot reflect well on your blog's reputation.
Quite aside from making your site accessible to visually challenged and/or colorblind readers did you know that:
(1) An accessible website is more likely to be ranked well with the search engines than an inaccessible website will be ranked?
(2) And by designing a colorblind accessible website, you are also targeting PDAs, 3G phones, and similar technological devices that are used for web access?
A lot of discussion on this topic can be found in a thread I posted last year which is here www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/blog-design-which-colors-do-you-use-and-w...
References:
How to Design Web Accessible Pages for the ColorBlind
www.allwebdesignresources.com/webdesignblogs/graphics/how-to-design-web-acc...
Considering the Color Blind Design Evaluation Tool
3 WAYS to see what your colors look like to the color-blind newmanservices.com/colorblind/default.asp
Blog Colors on Different Browsers and Monitors
onecoolsite.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/blog-colors-on-different-browsers-and-...
By simply changing the color scheme, you can dramatically change the feel and flavor of your blog, and tour reader's emotional responses to it. A simple color change can really add to your blogging efforts – if you know what you’re doing. onecoolsite.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/changing-your-blog-start-with-the-colo... -
Oops! I forgot to say above that my blogs have white backgrounds.
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Not everyone's sight is the same, timethief.
I cannot stand white backgrounds and, unless the subject (of an article, blog post or comment) is very, very interesting to me, I'll quickly skip large amounts of text placed on a light background (especially if the text is in a light shade of gray).
On the other hand, I can spend a long time reading on a dark background without getting tired or even thinking of bouncing out of the site. -
wow tt... i think that last comment had about 5 links too many, i.m.h.o. -
- @Friday
Yes, I do know that and I'm also aware of the stats. What I do on blogs with dark backgrounds that I can't read well for the first visit is capture the post text and put it into an editor where I can change the colors so I can read it easily. If I decide the blog has interesting enough content to keep me coming back I simply subscribe to the feeds. What do you do when blogs have white backgrounds? -
What I do is zoom in on the page so the text becomes bolder (and so there's less light coming from the screen). Sometimes, I'll highlight it to end up with a "negative" version of it.
I know how to use feeds, but I don't use them for blogs (I follow blogs through here and via the WP.com "blog surfer" thingy). -
@petlvr
Really? Did you notice that only two links were to directly related posts on my blog, and one of those was to roentarre's guest post on it?
lol ... James and I could have a whole blog devoted to this subject.
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both depending on your content. for my music blog it is white and custom made header, for the vinyl it's gray while for the personal one it's black -
BLACK ...nice colour-
Indeed it is and do you have a blog designed for yourself (ie. a personal playground)? Or do you have a blog designed for your readers?
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Ok upon learning that *runs and makes some customization* Ok I am a cheat
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Reported for being a cheat.
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Don't get me wrong. I love dark colors and I know that most of my readers under the age of 35% can cope with dark backgrounds, low contrast fonts and tiny font sizes. However, I also know that the majority of my readers are not in that demographic.
I'm also an artist and I understand the way colors influence emotions and either create a restful, linger and read state or the opposite state.
The bottom line is that my blogs are not designed to be my personal playgrounds. They are designed for my readers. I make sure they are accessible to most visually challenged people, uncluttered, have fonts that are reasonably sized, and that the small amounts of colors used are not "busy" or likely to be off-putting.
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