News sites are on white background!

News sites are white. It’s as simple as that (well, maybe not quite that simple, as of course there are exceptions). A reason for this might be that we more associate news with newspapers, and there black text on white is the norm. If we look at some other news sites, we will see that this is true:

USNews – white background, with blue graphics. ABCNews – White background, with blue graphics. BBCNews- White background, with blue graphics. YahooNews – White backgrond, with blue graphics. Beginning to see a pattern…? So, besides white backgrounds, the news sites also have blue graphics. This is not only an aesthetic decision, but it builds on the fact that blue is a color which is perceived as dependable and strong. This is the reason that many corporate web sites also have much blue in them.