Learn about this crucial aspect of web design that ensures optimal readability and accessibility for all users
September 2024
Follow along to change your website's colors
Why is color contrast important?
- It plays a vital role in ensuring that content is easily distinguishable for users with visual impairments or other disabilities
- High color contrast improves readability, particularly for individuals with visual impairments, color blindness, or other visual disabilities. It allows content to be discernible even in low-light conditions.
- Using light text on a light or bright background can be a main cause for a lot of color contrast issues. This issue also limits your website users’ ability to see critical information!
- Adhering to color contrast guidelines is essential to meet accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 or 2.2, ensuring equal access to information for all users.
Make sure your text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background to meet WCAG AA compliance. WCAG Level AA needs to have a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 and Level AAA requires 7:1 for enhanced readability. This helps users understand varying levels of compliance.
This makes content readable for everyone, especially people with visual impairments.
If your current color palette isn’t accessible, get some great inspiration with a new color palette! Ensure both primary & secondary colors meet the correct color contrast standards. A great tool for checking color contrast is WebAIM's Contrast checker.
Your website's colors can be found and edited in the Advanced Theme Editor under your preferences tab. Change these colors as needed to keep your website compliant and ADA Accessible.