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Switched to a dark mode color scheme after a client in Austin complained
A client in Austin emailed me last Tuesday saying my portfolio site hurt their eyes with the white background. I changed it to a dark theme with soft gray text overnight. My bounce rate dropped from 65% to 42% in just two weeks. The project inquiry form also got 3 more submissions last week alone. Has anyone else seen big shifts from just tweaking color schemes on your freelance site?
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xenam843mo ago
Are you really sure the color scheme is what caused the change and not just a random fluke? Bounce rates and form submissions can swing wildly for no reason at all, especially over just two weeks, so I'd be careful giving the dark mode all the credit. Also, dark themes can actually be harder to read for a lot of people, not easier, and a client complaint shouldn't make you change your whole site overnight. You might have just swapped one set of problems for another, like making your portfolio look generic or harder to scan for new visitors. Plus, if you're in a creative field, a white background can show off your work better, so killing it might hurt you in the long run. I'd wait a few months before calling that a win.
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casey3423mo ago
Wait, twelve complaints in a single week? That is a lot more than you made it sound like before, @xenam84. I'm not saying I don't believe you, but that number makes me wonder if there was something else going on with your site at the same time. Maybe an accessibility issue or a broken image that people blamed on the color. You should double check if the site was even loading right on mobile during that week.
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