Ask HN: Why do more and more websites have light grey text on white backgrounds?

Posted by caiocaiocaio on Thursday May 30, 2019 @10:37AM
from the ask-hn dept.

Or worse, light grey text on slightly lighter grey backgrounds?

I find it a strain to read, especially if it is a very light grey. I also think it looks drab and indistinct, especially if it's a very light grey.

( 5 comments | 2 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Why do more and more websites have light grey tex... by koralewski on Thursday May 30, 2019 @10:56AM (#20051832)

I believe it's a remnant from the past, before ambient light sensors and auto-brightness became commonplace. People thought #000000 on #FFFFFF put too much strain on the eyes. Fortunately, it looks like web designers are moving away from that—a good, unapologetic example is Bloomberg's website: https://www.bloomberg.com/.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why do more and more websites have light grey tex... by briar on Thursday May 30, 2019 @10:47AM (#20051705)

I'd assume it's due to the designers and devs not doing proper WCAG contrast testing.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why do more and more websites have light grey tex... by billconan on Thursday May 30, 2019 @12:14PM (#20052691)

I guess this? https://uxmovement.com/content/why-you-should-never-use-pure...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why do more and more websites have light grey tex... by dsego on Thursday May 30, 2019 @10:42AM (#20051646)

Designers have monitors with better gamut and contrast so it looks fine to them?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why do more and more websites have light grey tex... by splodge on Thursday May 30, 2019 @10:53AM (#20051795)

Is it because less people care about accessibility these day?

[ Parent | on HN ]