Keeping up to date with all the latest trends in web design is a good idea, even if you have no plans in place right now to make any changes to your site.

You’ve got to make sure that your website remains competitive and attractive to the right demographic, as well as keeping search engines happy so your site ranks and customers can find your business online, so knowing what’s happening in the design world can prove very beneficial indeed.

One big trend to have emerged in recent weeks and months is dark mode, where the lighter colours on your site are replaced with blacks and greys.

It’s thought that this design feature first came about in line with the increased usage of mobile browsing, so people could easily read web pages without having to deal with screen glare, but it’s become increasingly popular for desktops over the last year or so.

Bear in mind, however, that dark mode isn’t the same as deliberately dark design. Some sites and platforms have been created to be purposefully dark in colour, in keeping with branding for marketing purposes, but dark mode is usually an option that can be switched on and off.

It’s a very useful tool to be able to offer people since it can prove very effective in tackling eye fatigue, which can happen when you stare at screens a lot. Brighter backgrounds inevitably make screens themselves brighter, which can put a lot of strain on the eye – especially if you’re working at night or in a poorly lit space.

This is an important point to bear in mind if you’re keen to make your website more accessible – which, incidentally, is becoming an increasingly important ranking factor for search engines, so dark mode can give your site a bit of an SEO boost, as well.

People with visual impairments may find your site hard to read and navigate if they’re too bright, so giving them an option to switch to dark mode could help keep them on your site for longer.

Both Apple and Google now have dark mode support in their mobile operating systems and if big-name brands like these are doing it, it’s a good sign that you might want to consider it, as well.

From a consumer perspective, being able to offer your customers a range of options to suit their own personal preferences can be very beneficial when it comes to building up a loyal following.

It’s all about user satisfaction these days and you’re sure more likely to keep happy customers, so giving them the choice about how they view your site could really help keep them all on board.

Need help with dark mode? Get in touch with Scotland website design 2bcreative today.