Missouri State University

Skip to content Skip to navigation
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Web Strategy and Development Blog

  • Web strategy and development
  • Services Offered
  • @msuweb

Accessibility series: color contrast

April 7, 2017 by Mary Chiles

Welcome to our series of posts entitled: how to make your website accessible! So far we have discussed the ethical and legal reasoning for why accessibility is important, and how to write alternative text.

Today we focus on color contrast.

Have you tried reading black letters on a red background? What about red letters on a maroon background? You might want to add some color to your website, but how do you ensure your site is still readable?  The color contrast between the text and the background affects readability.

The contrast should be 4.5:1. This is the comparison between relative luminance of the first number compared with the second number. The good news it is easy to check. This color contrast site shows foreground and background color.

How to test

For foreground, click on the box for a color wheel and find the color of the font you are using. Click on the appropriate color to select it. It will show a small square in the color you picked.

Then, for background, repeat this step.  It will also show a small square in the color you picked. You will see a color contrast ratio that automatically adjusts based on your color wheel selections. Make sure the ratio is 4.5:1 or greater.

Let’s return to the initial example. To pick colors, you will want to use the branding recommendations to ensure a consistent appearance.

First, let’s check black text against the Brick City Red background:

color contrast checker of black letters on red background

Perfect! The ratio is greater than 4.5:1, so this combination passes accessibility standards.

A word of warning: Some color combinations look like they “should” be readable, but are they? For example, take the Brick City Red text on Missouri State Maroon background. Let’s check.

color contrast checker of red type letters maroon background

Nope! The color contrast ratio of 2.7:1 does not meet the accessibility standard of at least 4.5:1.

Filed Under: Accessibility, Web Press, WordPress blogs Tagged With: Accessibility, color contrast, Web Press, WordPress

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow @MSUWeb

My Tweets

Calendar

  • Complete Calendar

Categories

  • Accessibility
  • brand
  • email marketing
  • Mobile
  • News
  • Redesign
    • Academic websites
    • Web redesign 2010
    • Web redesign 2015
  • Social media
    • Social media kit
  • template
    • updates
  • Training
  • Video
  • Web Press
  • web strategy and development
    • Technical
  • WordPress blogs

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Connect with web strategy and development

  • Twitter

Make your Missouri statementMake your Missouri statement
  • Last Modified: April 7, 2017
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Disclosures
  • EO/AA/M/F/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
  • © 2013 Board of Governors, Missouri State University
  • Contact Information
 

Loading Comments...