Zero-G Creative

The dark side of the web… Why I shy away from dark site designs

Dec 02 2011

I obviously spend a lot of time talking to small business owners about web design. Every now and then a client will tell me they have a strong preference for their website to have a black (or very dark) background. And why not? Aren’t dark sites cool? Edgy? Dramatic?

Well, sometimes. But as a general rule of thumb I try to encourage clients to go with white or a light color as the dominant background color and I will tell you why. I’ll also disclaim up front that while some of this is based on my personal preference, I’ve read a lot of articles and usability studies that strongly agree with this perspective.

Most business owners are looking to build websites that can help them drive their content strategies, engage with their audience and develop relationships. Part of that mission implies that business owners want people to visit their sites repeatedly over a period of time. And if your audience is going to return fairly regularly and spend a good amount of time on your site, you want that experience to be as enjoyable as possible.

Bottom line, it is easier to read dark text on a light background than the reverse. Reading white or light text on a dark background is more taxing on the eyes, as is viewing images on a dark background. Sharper contrast = more stress on the eyes. And so spending a lot of time on a site with a black or dark background can cause a user some discomfort — but many visitors won’t really understand why they’re feeling this way. So ultimately they’ll spend less time on your site and visit less frequently because their subconscious tells them that visiting your site and reading your new article or viewing your new photo gallery won’t be as enjoyable as they would hope.

Yes, there are many great examples of beautiful web design on dark backgrounds — but most of the best examples I have seen are meant for one-time impact rather than continued/frequent use over time. A quick survey of Alexa’s top sites (Alexa ranks all sites on the web based on their traffic) will also show that a relatively small number of the top 100 sites use dark backgrounds.

There are times when it may be appropriate to do dark web designs, I’m not suggesting that all businesses should rule it out completely, but definitely consider usability before you commit to it.

Published by Erik Wolf under Branding,Marketing Materials,Online Marketing,Small Business,Web/Interactive