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Unpopular opinion: I stopped using dark gray backgrounds for dark mode, went with a deep navy instead
I tried dark gray (#121212) for over a year on my portfolio site because everyone says it's the gold standard. Finally switched to a navy tone like #0A192F after a designer friend pushed me to try something different. My bounce rate dropped from 62% to 44% in about 3 weeks because the blue tint actually felt more natural. Text contrast looked better too since I didn't have to crank up white to 100% to make it readable. Anyone else experiment with colored dark backgrounds or am I the only one moving away from pure neutral tones?
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finley_walker575d ago
Oh wow, I actually gotta push back on that a little... The navy versus gray thing isn't just about novelty if you look at color theory. Warm or cool undertones in a background actually change how our eyes perceive contrast and strain over time, which is why a lot of accessibility guidelines talk about it. Switching between two neutral grays probably wouldn't have the same effect as moving from a flat tone to something with actual color in it.
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Honestly, I feel like the bounce rate change is more about making a fresh change than the actual color. If everyone was using navy and you switched to gray, you'd probably see a similar bump just from doing something different.
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