Website's Content and Background Color, an Analysis

Being in the net for quite some time, I have encountered different sites with different designs.

There are some who works with colorful background images, some even use bright colored backgrounds and some uses CSS styling to create texture to replace background images like this website.

Though websites come in different packaging, we can actually narrow it down to two types:

• Dark Background with Light Contents and
• Light Background with Dark Contents

When I refer to dark, it doesn't necessarily mean a black color but rather a darker shade and same with light which doesn't mean it is white.

It has been an issue for quite sometime as to which is better and why. To see what other people are thinking, I've actually conducted a mini survey regarding this.

Data and Analysis

I've asked a group of bloggers as to what they prefer between the two.

Majority of the bloggers have chosen the light background with dark contents. Their main reason is, they find it harder to read the text written in a darker background as compared with the other combination. Other respondents also, don't find darker background appealing enough and some thinks that a lighter background is equivalent to a cleaner site.

We've also asked a group of web developers who are knowledgeable with coding and have experience on creating web pages. Similar to the bloggers, majority of the developers chose the lighter background. They actually have the same reason as the bloggers, they find it difficult to read and explained that might hurt your eyes later on.

Though, some actually chose dark background, I noticed a couple of respondents actually think that both of the combination works. The choice actually depends on several factors according to them:

• Expected visitors or users
• Genre of your site
• Other elements on the site such as logo

According to them, when a site expects younger visitors, a more colorful site should be used. Based on my experience also on web developing, teenagers from Asian country prefer to see pastel colors on their site. That means a site having a lighter background and darker text together with colorful images works well on them. In the other side of the world, the current generation of European countries prefer corporate and sleek looking design which comes with lighter background.

Meanwhile, gamers ( or game related sites ) use darker backgrounds instead. This is because animations and caricature mixes well with darker background. Other niches like photography and videography loves darker background too since they want to showcase the color of their articles and elements.

"depende sa target audience mo.. If mga bata go for colorful sites, if mga gamer usually dark theme lagi kapag sa gaming, ung iba nakadepende sa kulay ng logo."

[ It depends on your target audience... If they are kids, go for colorful sites. If they are gamers, usually gaming uses dark theme. Some are also relative to the color of the logo ]

- John Louie Biñas Web and Graphic Designer

What are the Advantages of Both Combinations?

Lighter background improves readability according to studies. Some people find it relaxing to the eye especially for those with problems with their vision.

"Mas ok sakin Light, ewan ko lang feeling ko kase nakakarelax sa mata o parang ansarap sa paningin ng light
[ I prefer light, I find it relaxing and more easing to the eye ]"
- Roi Adrian C. Plata Blogger

"sa mga tulad kong hirap at malabo na mata sa pagbabasa ,preferred ko symepre light background at darker yung sulat
[ for those who have issues with sight like me, we prefer light backgrounds with dark texts ]"
- Tess Torrecampo-Chancellor Blogger

"READABILITY is VERY important. When it comes to blogging, it is MORE important that being Eco-friendly. ^_^"
- Jyppe A. Quidores Blogger

Lighter background also gives you an illusion of a cleaner looking site and so making it a little nicer to stare at.

Meanwhile, other people like me prefer darker backgrounds. I actually find it harder to look at website with lighter background because I find it dazzling. I prefer low intensity of light and I find it more readable than lighter ones. I usually say too that darker background are Eco-friendly since the monitor emits more heat with white (or lighter) colors, see Blackle as an example.

So what's the verdict?

Well, even if the results say that lighter background are preferred by most people. We cannot just remove into account the points given by the developers. From what it shows, I can safely say that whatever you choose, the opinions might vary since this factor is relative to your visitors. As they say, you cannot please anyone - so I suggest, go with what you think is BEST for you. ^_^