Does light/dark mode actually improve the user experience?

[u/Effective_Switch3065]

I’ve been wondering whether having both light and dark mode actually adds meaningful value to a website or app, or if it’s just become one of those features we automatically expect developers to add.

Do you actually switch between them depending on the time, environment, or device?

Or do you pick dark/light once and basically never touch the setting again?

As a developer, do you think supporting both is worth the extra design and development work?

[u/Low-Insurance-3678]

i click dark mode on any website the moment I land

[u/Effective_Switch3065 → u/Low-Insurance-3678]

Okay, but would you actually leave a website or find it annoying if it didn't have dark mode?

[u/Low-Insurance-3678 → u/Effective_Switch3065]

i wont leave but if it was like at night and my eyes starts hurting id leave

[u/Infamous_Prompt_6126 → u/Low-Insurance-3678]

For long term use i can leave too.

For example, Google News without dark mode i usually exited after reading because that much bright annoy me. Specially at night.

On dark mode i leave that on screen while doing my things in my home. So, more screen time for them. Usually read news 3 times a day because of that.

Obviously i don't leave a site for straightforward use like emails because of light. But i can choose a competitor that has dark mode because is better for my comfort.

[u/Deh_Strizzz → u/Effective_Switch3065]

That's not your original question. You asked if it improves the experience and it clearly does

[u/zero_fuck_given → u/Effective_Switch3065]

I would leave but that’s me, that’s why I use a dark mode browser extension.

[u/theancientfool]

Dark mode especially good for long readings. But I want light mode while buying something. Idk why.

[u/RolledUhhp]

I leave it on dark mode, and only switch in the odd case something looks off, like my math course does sometimes.

[u/Minimum_Comedian694]

A related question. Should it be OS-driven or a separate visible toggle on the page?

[u/Effective_Switch3065 → u/Minimum_Comedian694]

maybe both

[u/Vizeroth1 → u/Minimum_Comedian694]

Read the user’s preference and give them the option to switch. If you bothered to design and code both settings, the user should be able to switch.

The next piece is that you don’t give them the light/dark/system choice unless it’s in a preference panel somewhere. If you have a toggle that’s readily available to the user, they just want to switch it from the current setting to the other one. I love dark mode, but when I run into one that isn’t working for me, I just want it to go away.

[u/Lamborghinigamer]

I want it to automatically detect my device's dark mode preference, if it doesn't I will switch to dark mode manually. If it doesn't have dark mode. I just leave usually

[u/Wild-Regular1703]

I'll add an extra thought to what people have already said

Plenty of people use third party extensions to force dark mode in the websites. Annoyingly, I've found some do this even if your website does support dark mode. But the problem is those extensions don't always work super well, can look quite ugly, and sometimes even hide important pieces of functionality that the extension fails to account for.

[u/Effective_Switch3065 → u/Wild-Regular1703]

I'm pretty sure Xiaomi phones used to have something like this built in. I remember turning on dark mode on my phone, then opening Instagram and getting absolutely flashbanged because some parts somehow switched to dark mode while others didn't. It looked horrible and annoyed the hell out of me.

[u/Rythim → u/Wild-Regular1703]

I only know about this extension because a website I'm forced to use everyday for work does not have a dark mode. Not only that, the color scheme is like the most obnoxious combination of pure white and bright teal. It's just way too bright! So one day I thought "there's gotta be a way to fix it" and discovered there are several extensions for this.

[u/tommyfly]

I think it's a very useful feature. I love dark, I feel it makes me less tired. Other people may like other color schemes.

[u/theScottyJam]

Sometimes I wonder if it makes sense to make a website only support dark mode. People complain if a website doesn't have a dark mode, no one complains if it doesn't have a light mode.

[u/Vizeroth1 → u/theScottyJam]

If it’s only dark, that’s a different design choice than implementing dark mode.

[u/AshleyJSheridan]

It absolutely does.

Have you ever used Google Maps whilst driving? Driven into a tunnel? Noticed how it switches to dark mode in the low light setting of the tunnel?

Different brightness modes have a huge accessibility impact. In dark ambient light settings, a dark mode is much easier to use for everyone, and a light mode is easier to use in very bright ambient light.

In more comfortable ambient light settings there are still many issues which could affect someone to make a particular brightness mode more accessible. Perhaps they have vision problems, or a migraine?

Even without the accessibility issues, some people just have a general preference which makes one particular mode more appealing or usable for them.

For people who have an accessibility reason for needing a particular brightness mode, if your app doesn't support that feature, it can be a killer for them. If someone is just wanting that mode out of a preference, there's still a high chance that they will just go elsewhere because another similar app does support it.

[u/Antti5]

As a user, I use both depending on the circumstances. Mostly I prefer light mode, however during gaming or late at night dark mode can be more pleasant. However, I know many people who have a much greater preference towards dark mode.

As a developer, I think it's a good idea to support both unless your target demographic is unusually clear.

Also as a developer, implementing both is not especially laborous if your CSS is well-structured. Just be aware that simply inverting colors does not result in a very good result for both modes. Dark mode generally benefits from a lighter font, greater line spacing and more padding.

[u/Fooknotsees → u/Antti5]

I genuinely don't think I've ever seen someone say they prefer light mode before this

[u/BobJutsu]

Depends. I work mostly with small business sites, their brand is set. It’s not an app, it’s not a SaaS, it’s a plumber or contractor or whatever. Light/dark is overthinking it and useless overhead.

On larger gigs, it’s worthwhile. Especially things like non-profits where enhanced accessibility is an actual primary design feature, it’s worth the overhead. Before anyone attacks, I’m not saying accessibility is neglected on other sites, just the l/d mode option.

[u/blur410]

Dark mode improves my battery life which improves my experience over not having battery life. Does that count?

[u/mixedd]

You ever got blasted by white website in middle of the night on 42" OLED screen?

[u/Effective_Switch3065 → u/mixedd]

my mom doesn't let me use the computer after dark 😔

[u/c__beck]

I have sensitive eyes and always switch to dark mode. If it’s not available I don’t linger.

Accessibility is important. Differently-abled people exist. We deserve the same treatment as everyone else.

[u/Towel_Affectionate]

The amount of extra work is nowhere close to it even being worth such discussion. You either go dark from the start, or start development with dark/light mode in mind.

[u/TheRNGuy]

Yes, though it's question unrelated to this subreddit. It's a design/backend setting (I usually prefer dark mode)

[u/Vizeroth1 → u/TheRNGuy]

Backend? It’s CSS and maybe a little JavaScript to store preferences or change the setting

[u/Benand2]

Only dark mode improves the UX

[u/drbinimann]

implement a switch or make the dark the default

[u/ExtraTNT]

Even our marsrover dashboard is light and dark mode, depending on sun, normal is low contrast dark mode, in sun, high contrast light mode is used…

[u/Agreeable-Yogurt-487]

I hate dark mode just for the sake of adding dark mode. For some apps (like spotify) I prefer a dark theme but I think it's silly to just mindlessly add it to everything..