If you haven’t noticed, I’ve not only changed the template, but I’ve also upgraded my blog. This is a step I’ve been planning for a while, and I know I’m going to enjoy the benefits a premium blog brings!
Right now though I’m stuck on a conundrum. When I updated to the Hemingway Rewritten template and made the background black, the default font color was grey. A few of you expressed difficulty in reading that against the dark background, so I’ve been manually switching the color to white right before I post. This was a decent workaround prior to upgrade, but now that I can change the default color, I need your help. The device of access seems to make a difference, as I was looking at my blog with my phone today, and the grey letters were easy to read.
Here are the colors I’m considering as compared to the default right below:
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks (default)
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks (white)
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks (plum)
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks (pale cyan)
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks (pale green)
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks (light sky blue)
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks (medium gray)
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks (custom color d9d9d9)
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks (custom color 6bf2be)
With that in mind, all you need do is answer two questions:
- What color works the best for you?
- How do you typically access WordPress (computer mobile device)?
Looking at the preview, I like custom color d9d9d9 (or a close variant). It’s not blaringly white for a stark contrast between the black, but it’s not as dark as the default gray.
Let me know what you think, and if you have any other color suggestions, I’d like to hear them. Afterwards, I’ll have to figure out the exact way to actually change the font color, but that’s a story for another day.
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks 
d9d9d9 or medium gray!
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I vote d9d9d9 as well. It looks great with the darker background and isn’t a strain to read like blistering white. Reminds me of Twitter’s night mode!
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Save the Earth. Read in the dark.
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I’m working on getting eyes that can do that. It’s a long, and not necessarily ethical process :p
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Not much related at all but I saw a video of a dude who inserted a camera where his eye was before an injury. He could stream the footage to his cellphone. That’s just one possibility is all I’m sayin’….
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Twitter has a night mode?? I know I can switch the colors on my phone…which I should do.
I agree. My eyes are less strained with the grey. The only problem now is marking spoilers lol. One, I have to go back and redo all of them, and two, since the background isn’t 100% black, putting in black letters doesn’t quite hide them, but eh, I’ll figure it out.
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Yeah, if you go to your profile on the mobile app there is a night mode you can turn on and off. Makes the white background a dark grey and the text white. Very nice for night-time browsing.
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Personally I’m fine with the grey, but I can understand why you might change it. I seem to remember being in the same situation. As much as I liked the grey text for mine, I ended up going white for the readability since my wife likes to keep reminding me that not everyone can see as well as I can.
That green you’ve got as secondary goes nicely with the banner color.
I probably actually read the dumbed down versions of peoples sites on my phone more often than I see them in their full glory, but I like to check out the real things when I can.
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I’ve been checking a lot of my blog subs on my phone since I can do it anywhere instead of having to sit down at my computer. I try to clear out all of the notifications daily, but I always end up falling behind!
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I think custom color d9d9d9 is the best. Not a huge fan of colored text for a whole blog and the white is a bit too bright. And as you say the default color is maybe a bit too dark. I think d9d9d9 is a really good spot in the middle.
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I agree. The only colored text I like at all is the color it goes to for links, but I don’t want to pick that since it’s specified for links,, though I really love how it goes with the main banner.
I know I have really sensitive eyes, so too bright hurts them, but too dim would make it harder to read. I’m okay with the default, but I Like that custom color more.
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I mostly use my computer and I haven’t really had any trouble reading your blog. Hopefully you find something nice. The greens and cyans are quite hard to read.
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I was thinking that, too. I like the greys the most. I don’t have issues reading the default, but a few people have said they do, and I obviously want to make sure my blog is accessible to the people (which is something I’m currently working on, too)!
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Looks beautiful! Love what you’ve done with the place! 😀 As for your questions, I think either the default or d9d9d9 looks best. Purple looks good, too, if you wanted to make it a non-regular color. 😉 I browse from my computer 100% of the time. 🙂
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I think d9 cubed is the favorite!
I’m going to be so narcissistic, but I LOVE how my blog looks now. I still have quite a bit of housekeeping to complete, but all in due time!
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Well, you have to be narcissistic. It’s in your name! I changed my how my blog looked a couple of months ago (though very subtly) and use d9 cubed (I think), and it looks better than what I had before. So I know exactly how you feel about culturing a beautiful new environment. Can’t wait to see how you proceed with your new looks! 😀
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It’s a work in progress! I’m hoping to get some time to do some housekeeping this weekend.
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I think I have to go with d9d9d9 as well. I like the contrast. I don’t have a computer so I access WordPress on either my Kindle or iPad.😊
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After viewing your site on my laptop, iPad, and phone, i agree that custom color d9d9d9 is highly readable and preferable to white. However, I am drawn to the plum. It’s just a readable as your custom gray, and far more interesting in an energetic way without being tiring or tiresome. And it’s way less neon than custom color 6bf2be [or not 2be — hee hee hee!]
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I’m surprised how many people like the plum! I think I’m going to go with the grey though just for best readability. The white is too stark against the black background. It’s such a balancing act!
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I generally read on a desktop at 1920×1080 I tend to find traditional things work best for me. Medium Gray would be best, so long as the background color isn’t also a shade of gray. Plum stands out, but it may be distracting for some. Also, while I’m not color blind I’d google a color sheet to see how each color would look to someone with one of the four main types of color blindness. I may be able to make out the plum alright if you ultimately roll with it. But someone else may not be able to read it properly. Just a thought!
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I’m going with the grey! I think I picked the plum as one of those outliers lol. I knew I wanted some color of grey or off white.
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I read via my phone so I don’t see the differences! Hope you find a good one all the same.
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I like the default grey but d9d9d9 is good too, I usually read blogs through the WordPress Newsfeed though so I don’t often go directly to blog websites. Your blog looks lovely!
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I cannot tell the colors from the app reader, which is how I access everyone’s posts.
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I have to agree with the majority — the medium gray or d9d9d9. Either read very well against the dark background. I tend to use my PC for writing on WP, but I mostly use WP Reader on my phone, and there colors don’t make a different. Everything is black on white.
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I’m on my desktop and also took a look from my mobile as I frequent wordpress from both, the default grey works fine for me, pretty easy on the eyes. But from that list, I like Plum and Pale Green if you want to try something different and use colours for your main text. Otherwise, +1 for d9d9d9
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I like plum. None of the colors seem to effect my reading of the template. I just like plum the best. 🙂
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It is a pretty sweet color :p
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I think the medium gray looks good. I usually access from a PC but I also use the app sometimes.
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Gray looks good
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d9d9d9 or medium grey gets my vote too. I usually check blogs and stuff on my laptop. I do occasionally glance at a few posts on my phone at work…. don’t tell anyone.
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I do, too *shhhh*
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Nice selection of colors! It’s actually hard for me to narrow it down to just one, but I like the gray options the most I think. 🙂 I use my laptop or my boyfriend’s computer to check WP and I never really have a problem reading people’s posts unless they have a teeny tiny font size going on or the background color is dark and the font color is too dark too. I think you picked some good colors with nice contrast to your background, though, so I’m sure which ever one you go with will look good! 🙂
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D9d9d9 looks great, I think. Congrats on the upgrade! I typically access WP on a browser since I use it to write, but I’d guess 30% of the time I use my tablet. Never use it on my phone because the app is trash.
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That app is a whole bunch of suck, and every time they ask about how to improve, I tell them, but it’s like complaining to Apple. I’ll use my phone to check my email blog subs, because in some ways it can be quicker than using the computer, plus I can do it at work. I usually check comments at home, and I try to do that every night.
Eventually, I’ll get around to doing the upgrades I want. The more I know how to code, the more useful I’ll be when the robots take over.
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That’s my primary fear of upgrading to a paid version of WP, really. I have no idea how to code and I don’t have the time or desire to learn. I taught myself HTML in the early 2000s in a few weeks, but I was fully dedicated and even practiced at work between calls. Now I’m old and lazy.
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You don’t *need* to learn how to code per se. There are some other benefits like being able to directly post audio and video, but yeah…the google is going to be my friend. I remember when I was learning how to post things on tumblr so I could know what the young people were up to lol Now I just want to sit on my lawn. shake my cane, and complain about how Starbucks used to only cost $5 instead of $10.
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I would love to do more with video stuff. Having piss poor internet makes uploading anything a chore, though, and then everyone in the house suffers even shittier internet for hours on end until it’s finished.
Yay aging lol.
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Oh geez, yeah poor internet is a pain. We have Comcast and for some reason, sometimes websites won’t load for me for a few minutes. I don’t know what the hell is going on. My husband is still on Destiny, but I get the “not connected” message. I’d love to try Verizon one day…if we ever get a house.
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I’m late to this, but I actually liked the default color (I use my computer) but then, I seem to have extremely sensitive eyes. Upgrade for the win, though! Lookin’ gooood.
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My eyes are super sensitive, too! I liked the default color, but I’ve heard a few people say it’s a little dark, so I went with slightly lighter, but not stark white, which is a bit too much of a contrast. Now to figure out how to make it the default font…
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