The promising future of dark mode: How the use of dark mode will revolutionize the accessibility of Wikipedia.

On 17 July 2024 by Jon Robson article on Wikimedia Foundation's website, Wikipedia's dark mode is on.

The implementation of dark mode has been highly sought after by users. By creating a low-contrast atmosphere, it enhances accessibility and minimizes eye strain for readers and communities using Wikimedia projects. The feature is now accessible on specific wikis, on both mobile and desktop platforms, in both reading and editing modes.

Although the creation of dark mode may appear straightforward, implementing it on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects posed complex and distinctive obstacles. The Foundation's engineering teams collaborated closely with volunteer technical editors to successfully implement this feature.

The significance of dark mode

Wikipedia readers and groups expressed a desire for a dark mode. Editors have consistently requested this feature since at least 2019, making it one of the most sought-after additions. The lack of this feature has consistently caused dissatisfaction on the Wikimedia Foundation's social media platforms. Furthermore, our analytics indicate that 20% of our readers have explicitly indicated their preference for dark mode at the operating system level. Although the research on the subject is inconclusive, dark mode is frequently lauded for its ability to alleviate eye strain and provide assistance to individuals with medical issues.

The inquiry into the implementation of this feature has consistently focused on the method rather than the rationale. Initially, the Wikimedia Foundation had to address the inherent constraints of our software and architecture. To achieve this, we undertook the development of the Vector 2022 skin. We have provided a comprehensive explanation of this topic in our earlier blog article titled "Dark mode is coming". After completing that task, the Web team initiated a project to enhance accessibility for readers, and we ultimately began to address the question: how can we enable dark mode?

Content created by users

Wikipedia is an exceptional website that relies on an extensive collection of content created by its users. Wikipedia's content heavily utilizes HTML markup and assumes that only the light mode is available. By implementing dark mode, we encountered the potential danger of rendering the pages that users had meticulously designed over the course of several years inaccessible.

When the aspect of color holds significance

Occasionally, the use of color is significant in a Wikipedia article. We contemplated implementing a shortcut to activate dark mode by intensifying the darkness of all colors on the page. However, we discovered a troubling characteristic associated with this approach. Examine this article on International Orange and see how the color swatches vary slightly in both articles.