Blog Catalog Discussion: White or Black Background?

acousticguitarist on 'White or Black Background?'

acousticguitarist — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:42:44 -0500

black ... Never Never Never

only on blackle.com

timethief on 'White or Black Background?'

timethief — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:46:27 -0500

@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 ... :P James and I could have a whole blog devoted to this subject.

timethief on 'White or Black Background?'

timethief — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:38:09 -0500

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.

Friday13 on 'White or Black Background?'

Friday13 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:28:14 -0500

Reported for being a cheat.

celticmusicfan on 'White or Black Background?'

celticmusicfan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:27:35 -0500

Ok upon learning that *runs and makes some customization* Ok I am a cheat :)

Friday13 on 'White or Black Background?'

Friday13 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:31:31 -0500

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).

timethief on 'White or Black Background?'

timethief — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:27:46 -0500

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?

timethief on 'White or Black Background?'

timethief — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:25:40 -0500

SyilingPeringatan on 'White or Black Background?'

SyilingPeringatan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:25:14 -0500

BLACK ...nice colour

PetLvr on 'White or Black Background?'

PetLvr — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:23:28 -0500

wow tt... i think that last comment had about 5 links too many, i.m.h.o.

Friday13 on 'White or Black Background?'

Friday13 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:22:26 -0500

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.

timethief on 'White or Black Background?'

timethief — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:08:07 -0500

Oops! I forgot to say above that my blogs have white backgrounds.

timethief on 'White or Black Background?'

timethief — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:05:49 -0500

celticmusicfan on 'White or Black Background?'

celticmusicfan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:30:29 -0500

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

countsneaky on 'White or Black Background?'

countsneaky — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:27:08 -0500

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.

WhiteSockGirl on 'White or Black Background?'

WhiteSockGirl — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:46:06 -0500

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.

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:40:59 -0500

yipee!

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:40:44 -0500

yeah that's what I'm learning. dakr for pictures. white for texts

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:40:10 -0500

orange and grey?

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:39:45 -0500

okay.

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:39:21 -0500

thanks for the inputs about making the letters "bold"

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:38:41 -0500

LOL!

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:38:28 -0500

you have a point. hmmm that actually makes me think.

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:37:55 -0500

WOW! Pink! Now that's different but isn't that painful to the eye?

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:37:21 -0500

i ahevn't noticed that personally.

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:36:48 -0500

now that's okay.

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:36:16 -0500

did you follow his advice?

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:35:47 -0500

LOL!

txtface on 'White or Black Background?'

txtface — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:48:28 -0500

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.

NutriGirl on 'White or Black Background?'

NutriGirl — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:06:56 -0500

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.

amrhima on 'White or Black Background?'

amrhima — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:03:10 -0500

Mine is white and i love it...by the way, do u believe in gray? :P

SAHMinIL on 'White or Black Background?'

SAHMinIL — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:59:49 -0500

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.

irtiza104 on 'White or Black Background?'

irtiza104 — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:43:38 -0500

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.

shankha72113 on 'White or Black Background?'

shankha72113 — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:32:58 -0500

White background ... of course unless it becomes a pain for your eyes.

jkmac on 'White or Black Background?'

jkmac — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:27:25 -0500

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.

ranaloca on 'White or Black Background?'

ranaloca — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:26:55 -0500

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.

enjie on 'White or Black Background?'

enjie — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:24:39 -0500

Black looks good, I like black....... My name is Enjie....... Is anyone familiar with that shampoo commercial????

mister2mike on 'White or Black Background?'

mister2mike — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:33:22 -0500

@techgyan

You are so right!

techhgyan on 'White or Black Background?'

techhgyan — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:10:30 -0500

Think about your readers first.I prefer light background color

RecycleCindy on 'White or Black Background?'

RecycleCindy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:05:45 -0500

I too prefer a white background. It's easier on the eyes for reading and seems to provide a cleaner blog template.