When you go to a rock concert you probably expect an amazing light show.
Dizzying effects and strobe lights.
But would you want the same thing when you visit a website?
In support of their latest album, No Line On the Horizon, U2 revealed a redesign of their site that caused a bit of a problem.
A problem for people who actually paid to be members of the site.
What was the problem?
Something horrible happened once you signed-in to the site. Take a look at this:
Gah! As you already know reading online is a lot different from reading the printed page. Here we see two big mistakes. First is the layout of text. It’s all clumped together. Not at all inviting to read.
And then there’s the issue of the high contrast white text on a black background.
What’s the problem with light text on a dark background?
It’s just plain difficult to read large portions of text like this. After a few seconds your eyes are going crazy. You begin experiencing Website Vertigo.
What is Website Vertigo?
It’s when visitors to your site experience a dizzying sensation when trying to read your website. The reader’s eyes go a bit out of whack. They experience eye fatigue. And it means all the insightful work you’ve spent so much time on may not be read.
It’s not so much of a problem when there’s a short bit of text
Short headings or short blurbs of text aren’t too bad. But when you’ve got a whole site or a large article to read that’s where you run into problems. This is when the dizzying factor comes into play. If you’re still not convinced take a look at this powerful example.
So what should U2 do?
Consider reversing the text and background colors. Keep text a dark color and the background a lighter one. And of course, break up the text.
Looks like someone has finally headed this advice. Yay!
Here’s what the site looks like now
Notice any difference?
A lot easier to read don’t you think? If you’ve been using white text on a black background, you may want to consider a change too.
Don’t worry it won’t make your site boring
The uniqueness of your site comes from your content and personality. It’s best to remove the roadblocks so people get a chance to enjoy what you offer. Make it easy for them by making your site easy to read. Then you’ll have people singing, “Hello, Hello.”
Leave U2 to worry about the Vertigo issues on tour.
Summary:
• Light text on a dark background is difficult for your readers
• Keep large portions of text to dark text on a light background
What can you do now?
Take a look at your site, are there places you could improve the readability by changing the color of the text and background?
Do you get Website Vertigo on those hard to read sites?