The Ultimate Guide to Adding Dark Mode Toggle on Your Website

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Dark mode is the new favorite for people on the internet. A recent survey shows that between 91 to 95% of people prefer dark mode over light mode. 

People are now always on their devices, constantly interacting with the screens. So, in this time of increasing screen time, dark mode is getting some attention. 

Dark mode is believed to be better for the eyes and may improve the situation. With the world leaning towards technology literally in everything, dark mode is making its way on more and more devices. Keeping this increasing user sentiment in favor of dark mode in mind, companies and tech giants are now jumping into offering dark mode toggle on their websites and apps.

So today, we’ll see how you can also join this dark mode trend and easily add a dark mode toggle to your WordPress site.

What are the benefits of using dark mode?

First, let’s dive into reasons why people are increasingly using dark mode. Are there any benefits to it?

Better for your eyes

The first thing we hear in favor of using dark mode is that it helps your eyes. Dark mode helps people by reducing eye strain from using digital devices. 

Nowadays, people’s screen time is increasing every year. People now spend close to 7 hours of their day before screens. That’s just the average. Some people spend more than half of their waking hours in front of screens.

So, it’s very obvious that lots of people use the dark mode to get away from eye strains they are getting from the screen’s blue light. In this case, dark mode is proving to be beneficial for people who stay in front of a screen by being calm to their eyes.

Better aesthetic 

Another compelling reason for using dark mode is for the aesthetic it provides. Lots of people find the dark mode themes aesthetically pleasing since a visually attractive and contemporary user experience is enhanced by the muted color schemes. 

The dark color palettes naturally tend to give a steady, bold, and sophisticated vibe. In this sense, Dark mode creates an appealing and sophisticated appearance by adding a feeling of elegance and modernity.

Users who value both style and functionality in their digital interactions frequently choose dark mode because of its elegant and sophisticated appearance. 

Increased visibility

The dark mode also increases visibility, especially in a low-light setup. A darker backdrop reduces eye strain and improves the contrast between text and graphics, making it simpler for users to read and navigate through material in a variety of lighting settings. 

This improved visibility improves overall usefulness in addition to making reading more comfortable. The ability to operate in dark situations adds an additional perk to choose using dark mode.

This enhanced visibility makes for a more pleasant and smooth digital experience, which is especially useful at night or in poorly lit areas.

Dark mode saves battery

Dark modes are also known for being power-saving. Specially for OLED displays dark mode can save battery up to 47% depending on usage conditions. 

The logic behind this is that OLED panels use light emission per pixel, and therefore, when they are in dark mode, fewer pixels are engaged, which means that less power is used. This prolongs the battery life of the gadget and also helps with the increasing focus on sustainability and energy efficiency in contemporary technology. 

Dark mode is also a perfect choice for people who have growing concerns over ecological sustainability. As less power is used while using dark mode, lots of energy can be saved in powering the ever-increasing devices in this world.

Consequently, dark mode seems to be a sensible option for consumers wishing to maximize their device’s energy consumption and reduce their environmental impact, even outside of its benefits for aesthetics and visibility.

For benefits like these and lots of others, users now prefer having dark mode. Giving them the option of choosing between dark mode and light mode can significantly improve your website experience. Now let’s see how you can add a dark mode toggle to your WordPress website easily.

How to add a dark mode toggle on the WordPress site

Considering all these benefits of dark mode, if you decide to add a dark mode toggle to your WordPress website, the easiest way will be to do it by using a dark mode plugin.

To add a dark mode toggle to your WordPress website easily, first, go to your WordPress dashboard, and under the Plugins menu, click on Add New Plugin.

WordPress dark mode toggle

Now on the search bar, search for WP Dark Mode. Install and activate the plugin.

WordPress dark mode toggle

After activating, dark mode will be automatically added to your website with a dark mode toggle.

WordPress dark mode toggle

Now, you can continue using the default dark mode, or you can customize the dark mode appearance according to your preference, easily from the plugin’s dashboard. 

Just go to the plugin’s dashboard and under the settings option, you will find a lot of options for customization according to your needs.

WordPress dark mode toggle

For example, under the Switch Settings you will find a bunch of dark mode toggles of various designs to choose from.

WordPress dark mode toggle

With the Ultimate version of the plugin, you can customize the dark mode toggle as you like. For example, you can use your own dark mode toggle design and text.

WordPress dark mode toggle

There are also lots of color presets ready to use. You can choose the color pallet of your liking from the plugin’s ‘color settings’ and use the dark mode design on your WordPress site.

WordPress dark mode toggle

There are lots of more customization that can be done from the range of settings. Just make the changes and make sure to save the changes by clicking the Save Changes button on the bottom.

WordPress dark mode toggle

Your preferred dark mode with a dark mode toggle will be added to your site. It’s that easy to implement. 

Using WP Dark Mode On a Staging Site

Now, If you’re a person just starting out creating your website or want to try out the changes first before applying to the live server, you can use WP Dark Mode directly with InstaWP without going through any extra step of installing and activating the plugin. 

While creating a new site with InstaWP, just go to the ‘utility’ tab on your configuration dashboard, select WP Dark Mode, and click on ‘create site

WordPress dark mode toggle

You will have the dark mode toggle on your site just like this with no extra steps required.

WordPress dark mode toggle

Now go through the settings on the plugin’s dashboard just as before and change the appearance of your dark mode according to your taste.


Conclusion

The dark mode is a present hot trend. And it seems like it’s not going to fade out soon. As more and more people are using more and more devices with screens in their day-to-day lives, The demand for dark mode is only expected to grow.

So, by implementing dark mode on websites, you can offer the freedom to choose between light mode and dark mode with a simple dark mode toggle. This can help to keep visitors on your site for a longer period as well as attract more visitors to the site.

FAQ

Q: What are the pros of having dark mode toggle?

A: Dark mode provides a bunch of advantages for people constantly on screen. Some of them are like: 

  • Helpful for eyes on longer use of screen.
  • Saves the battery life of the devices.
  • Provides better aesthetics.
  • Increases visibility of contents in the low light environment.
  • Helps with improving focus.

Q: Should I have a dark mode on my website?

A: As our screen time is also getting longer day by day people are now increasingly getting comfortable with dark mode. For advantages like being good for the eyes and better aesthetic, the usage of dark mode is only getting higher.

So, having dark mode on your website can be a great addition to providing a better experience to your users.  

Q: How do I enable dark mode toggle on my WordPress site?

A: The easiest way to enable a dark mode toggle on a WordPress site is by using a plugin. WP Dark Mode is such a plugin that has the highest number of active users in the WordPress repository. Try using such a plugin for the easiest inclusion of a dark mode toggle on WordPress

Vikas Singhal

Founder, InstaWP

Vikas is an Engineer turned entrepreneur. He loves the WordPress ecosystem and wants to help WP developers work faster by improving their workflows. InstaWP, the WordPress developer’s all-in-one toolset, is his brainchild.
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