I will never understand why anybody thinks that white text on a black background is a good idea. Folks, there's a reason every book, newspaper, magazine, and other text-heavy product uses dark text on a light background, and it's not just because of the color of black ink. It's easier to read!
If you find yourself on one of "those" sites, you can use your browser accessibility options to override the color scheme. Below are the steps for how to do so in Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Note: I'm using Digital Photography Review for the screenshots below. This is actually a site that provides excellent information about digital cameras and lenses. I just can't read it for more than about 15 seconds at a time. Here's what one of their camera review pages looks like normally.
Changing the colors in Firefox
- Go to Tools > Options > Content tab.
- Click the Colors button.
- Uncheck the option that says "Allow pages to choose their own colors..." then click OK twice.
Here's what the same page looks like now.
Note: There may be some elements on the page that you can't read anymore after you do this, so this option is really intended as a temporary measure for you to be able to read large blocks of text. You can change it back when you're finished.
Changing the colors in Internet Explorer
- Go to Tools > Internet Options.
- Click the Accessibility button.
- Check the box that says "Ignore colors specified on webpages" then click OK twice.
That's all there is to it. I guess now I should just be happy that the vibrating blue-text-on-red-backgrounds that were popular back when everyone suddenly discovered the Internet seem to have pretty much gone away... :)
Posted in Browsers,How To,QuickTips,User Interface
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Another useful article Elizabeth. Thank you, this will be helpful.
Great Tip. Though I use it to do the complete OPPOSITE to your suggestion!
I make the background black, because contrary to your assertion, it IS easier to read and MUCH easier on the eyes. Stars in the night sky is the best analogy.
White backgrounds cause pupils to contract which makes vision less effective (unless you’re very long-sighted or presbyopic, perhaps).
Too much backgroud light puts undue strain on the retina and optic nerve.
Haven’t you heard of snow-blindness? It’s the same effect and it ruins the eyesight of IT workers.
You’re interested in the text, not the background, so why flood your retina with background light?
Monitors also emit much more UV radiation with white backgrounds, though admittedly that was more of a CRT problem.