When designing a blog or website, there are several key things that you need to keep in mind. One of the most important considerations is color. And it’s not about being pretty, it’s about enhancing readability. So what are the design tips when it comes to designing the color scheme of a readable website?
The simple answer is: black text on a white background works best. The high contrast between black and white makes text much easier to read. However, this is only true for black on white. Reverse type (i.e. white type on a black background) should be avoided. Even if your branding includes a lot of black, when working in a digital environment, you should simply use black as a highlight color rather than a full-screen background color otherwise, you will annoy a lot of visitors.
Recent studies have confirmed this. A wide variation of color combinations were tested to see which were the most readable. As a general trend, a darker color on a paler background was more readable than the reverse. The most readable combination was undeniably proven to be black text on a white background.
This is particularly true for paragraph text. Focusing on white text strains a reader’s eyes and makes the text more difficult to read. Using black text on a pale background makes it easier for readers to focus on the text, absorb the meaning of the words and get a comprehensive understanding of the subject of the paragraph. It has been proven that people read more accurately when they read black on white, which is what you want when they’re reading your website.
Using black text on a white background is also an effective way of making the best of whitespace. Whitespace is any portion of a website that is completely blank, such as a white background. Whitespace is important because, when it comes to web sign, less is more. Utilizing whitespace as a design element can help you create simple, elegant designs that are more readable and keep viewers on your site for longer periods of time.
All in all, black text on a white background enhances readability, aligns with key web design theories and is the best option for an effective website. When building your next website, please keep this blog post in mind – white is the new black.
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