Testing Colour Contrast in Web pages
Friday, October 3rd, 2008One commonly overlooked aspect of website accessibility is the contrast ratio between foreground and background colours.
White poor contrast can cause readability issues for well-sighted visitors, it can be even more of a problem for those visitors with a visual impairment.
Because of this, The New Zealand Government Web Standards and Requirements v 1.0 and W3C’s Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines v 1.0 both contain standards requiring content have sufficient contrast between foreground and background colours.
For example, The New Zealand Government Standards state:
“Ensure that foreground and background colour combinations provide sufficient contrast for navigation, text and informational elements when viewed by someone having colour deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen.”
Continue below for details on how to test for adequate colour contrast in your design or web pages.