FAMP: Darkness Overwhelms

In the past we've talked about color on blogs and how it draws attention, but we haven't really talked about dark blogs. I know, some of you LOVE your dark blogs. And, actually, I'm sort of attracted to them myself. But from a marketing perspective, they don't speak to the majority.  In fact, the majority of readers are turned off by dark blogs.  Especially if the blog has white writing on a dark background.  Again, I admit, looks cool, but hard to read.

You don't have to take my word for it though. A blog poll taken by Darren Rowse of ProBlogger showed the following results:

Safest choice is light, as you can see.

BUT you do notice the 36% that says it depends, right? This is true. If you can justify your dark background, I'll buy it. If you make it more than just "I like to be cool so I have darkness around me" then I'll support you with all my marketing background even.

And it's not just my marketing opinion. Have I mentioned one of my longest marketing client relationships is with an eye doctor? I used to work in the office full time, actually, and have become quite skilled on what bugs the eyes. Black backgrounds are a no-no. They contribute to Computer Vision Syndrome (yes, it's a real thing) and automatically the majority of people feel uncomfortable staring at them for long.

So if your blog is dark, I just challenge you to think about why it's dark. If you can't think of a reason besides, "I like it" then I'd reconsider.  The same goes for really busy patterned backgrounds, btw. You want plain white or light colored background for optimal reading comfort.

What's your opinion on dark colored blogs? Is this poll accurate? Do you care about backgrounds when you blog hop?