Meryl's Notes Blog
Things wordy, geeky, and webbyStop the Graying of Sites Trend
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 10:00 AM | 10 commentsThe messages many sites send when they use gray text on a white background is, “We don’t want you to read our content,” “Our content isn’t worth your time,” and “We want you to struggle reading our content because we think black is boring.”
#333333, #666666, #999999, and #cccccc (various shades of gray) are almost black, but not as good as black. Those sites don’t make this list.
It’s an epidemic that I alone can’t stop.
To reward those sites doing it right, they get a mention and a link here. Add your site to the comments section. However, we will check every link. If a site’s text hides in a fog, it will disappear.
Note — this only looks as the contrast between text and background — not the font choice, font size, text formatting style, or design.
- Adversity University Blog
- Be the Story
- Blogcritics
- Bob Bly
- Book Marketing
- The Book Sistah
- Caroline Middlebrook
- Chronicles of a Mompreneur
- D. Keith Robinson
- Dosh Dosh
- Geekpreneur
- Global Neighbourhoods
- The Golden Pencil
- Graywolf’s SEO Blog (yeah, even the guy with “Gray” in his name passed!)
- GTO Management
- How Not to Write
- InternetVIZ
- ISIPP
- Melle.ca
- Men with Pens
- Molly
- Niroze
- PoeWar Writer’s Resource Center
- The Program Witch Pages
- Sparkplug CEO
- Stowe Boyd
- Strategic Public Relations
- SuccessCREEations
- Verge New Media
- Writer’s Helper
You wouldn’t believe how many sites I looked at before my eyes begged me to stop. List is disappointingly short.
Moral: Black on white is NOT boring. It’s readable.
P.S. I skipped those with different colors because they may not be readable to those with various forms of color blindness.
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10 comments
Thanks so much… I can’t take credit for the design, but I agree and don’t do gray on my other sites either: aboutfreelancewriting.com and writingwithvision.com
Anne Wayman’s last blog post..Freelance Writing Jobs - 55 Writing, Blogging, Editing and Translation Jobs
I generally use that or #333333, as I find the shades more pleasing to the eyes. Contrast is great, but too stark a contrast can take away from overall aesthetic and readability. (YMMV, of course. As with most things, it’s in the eye of the beholder.)
Thanks, Meryl!
P.S. I had to rush and load up my CSS to make sure I didn’t have any stray grays lying about!
How Not To Write’s last blog post..Six Reasons to Finish My Story
Now you have me wondering, is black wording on a light gray background unreadable? Personally, I find it less straining since I don’t have to squint for glare on a computer screen, but it may very well have something to do with my contrast settings.
A. B. England’s last blog post..Craving the Dark
While the entry page isn’t black on white (it’s black on lavender), the interior pages are black text on white (except for the sidebar).
I like gray text, but it’s not quite as much a contrast as the black on white. While I like the sophistication and difference of gray, it just doesn’t cut it.
http://www.writewellu.com
Thanks for always helping us through usability, Meryl!
Thanks Meryl for mentioning Adversity University! I’m glad you’re talking about sites with white backgrounds and black lettering because that’s what I look for when discovering new blogs or websites.
Personally, I don’t care for black background with white lettering or even green lettering. It’s hard on the eyes.
And because of that, I’m conscientious of keeping it “clean.”
Thanks again for the mention.
Stephen Hopson’s last blog post..Stephen Hopson Interview with Alexander Kjerulf, Chief Happiness Officer from Denmark, Part II of II
@Anne Though you can’t take credit for the design, it’s worth recognizing your sites.
@Ryan, a few sites tricked me with their #222 and #333, but I think it was their choice of font — as some fonts are thin and make it hard to be sure. I think designers forget gray may look faint on one monitor and good enough on another.
@HowNotToWrite Good to know you think the unholy trend of gray text matters.
@A.B. I think black on light gray is a good contrast. The white can glare for some people.
@Dawn, it works for me. Glad you included your site. I just quickly scanned home pages.
@Stephen, hard to believe… but earliest monochrome monitors were green on dark backgrounds. But I guess we’ve been spoiled after all these years of color.
Meryl:
Way cool - and come to think of it - your site fits the bill too. It better! LOL.
Stephen Hopson’s last blog post..Stephen Hopson Interview with Alexander Kjerulf, Chief Happiness Officer from Denmark, Part II of II
While I sincerely appreciate the mention, Meryl I’m not sure I agree that font color is such a black and white issue.
I know many designers who do wonderful work in the gray areas. Sometimes the attention to detail it takes for a designer to work with grays can really make a site stand out.
Color and style is a very subjective thing. I’ve built sites for clients that I didn’t personally find attractive but they absolutely loved. As Ryan said above it’s all in the eye of the beholder.
I’m in the process of looking for a new theme so I’m going to keep this in mind as I search.
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