Every website must be ADA-accessible. A website that fails to satisfy the rules and regulations that comprise the ADA’s stance on web accessibility can be hit with a claim/lawsuit.
Going over the accessibility benefits of offering a dark mode on your website and speaking with an ADA defense lawyer will allow you to protect your website from ADA web accessibility claims/lawsuits.
What Is Dark Mode?
Dark mode is a feature that changes the color scheme of a particular website from light to dark.
For example, if your website has a high color contrast and relies on a white background and dark text, then dark mode can shift things so that the opposite is true.
Many people enjoy using dark mode, as it’s easier on their eyes. And, some people find dark mode to be far more accessible than standard contrast modes, due to vision impairments of one sort or another.
What Are The Benefits Of Dark Mode?
The main accessibility benefits of dark mode are as follows:
Someone who is sensitive to light can turn on dark mode to avoid the bright lights that often trigger these intense sensitivities.
If text is a light, bright color and pasted onto a dark background, it can be easier to read for a long period of time.
Someone using their computer in a place with low-light may have an easier time reading text if the text, itself, is bright, and the background dark.
Outside of the above, many find dark mode considerably more relaxing, soothing, and pleasant than standard contrast modes. This is not especially integral to ADA web accessibility but is certainly worth noting.
Does Dark Mode Create Any ADA Web Accessibility Problems?
To answer the question outlined above, “Yes, dark mode can create some ADA web accessibility problems.”
Out of all the ADA web accessibility problems that dark mode can create, those outlined below are the most notable:
Many of those who live with dyslexia have a difficult time reading light text that is pasted onto a dark background.
Sometimes, dark mode can make navigating a site and interacting with the different buttons and functions that it offers far more challenging.
Many of those who live with astigmatism have a difficult time reading light text that is pasted onto a dark background.
A dark mode that is implemented improperly can lead to an inaccessible color contrast that makes reading the content on a site far more difficult than it is with a standard contrast.
Many hyperlinks and other, related, features rely on a distinct color contrast that, if a dark mode has not been implemented in the proper manner, can become harder to notice.
The best way to avoid these problems is twofold: make sure that dark mode is not the only contrast you offer and, in turn, test your website to make sure dark mode is implemented properly.
Speak With A New York ADA Web Accessibility Lawyer
If you are facing an ADA web accessibility claim or lawsuit, it is of the utmost importance that you obtain legal help. Speak with a New York ADA web accessibility lawyer at The Samuel Law Firm today, and we will help you.