I was talking with my father this weekend. He never sugar coats anything (yeah, that’s where I get it from…). He’s looking at my web site and says, “I don’t like the lime green text at the top”.

Now, your typical web designer talking to a parent who doesn’t conduct business on the Internet (he doesn’t even shop online) would simply shrug off such a comment. But being the “gotta-know-why” person that I am, I asked, “Well, what about it, exactly, don’t you like?”

We then fall into a 20-minute conversation about colors and what he does and doesn’t find appealing. And my father says…

If I saw a billboard with a black background and lime green text, I wouldn’t be very interested in what it had to say.

Simple. To the point.

My dad, you see, represents more than just himself. To ignore his comment would be the same as assuming everyone knows how to shop sites like Amazon and eBay. Many people just don’t spend their time “learning” about how web pages work. They need something on the page to tell them what to do—which link to click, which information to read, which image represents the product they’re considering.

Color schemes play a big role because the theme/design of the web page is what “packages” the content. In my case, the colors used set the tone for what people are about to read.

An example of “packaging” would be reading the same AP story on two different news sites. Same content, different design. Many times, it’s the design of a page that makes people prefer to visit one site over another.

I think I’ve made my point, so this is where you come in…

What do you think of the color scheme of this site? Is it appealing or jarring to the eyes? Does it make you more relaxed while reading one of my posts, or do you opt to read it in an RSS reader because you don’t care for all the packaging surrounding each article? I want to know, so be blunt in your comments. After all, you’re the reason this site exists.

My Dad hates lime on black