In this edition, I’m talking about something important in development in general: accessibility. There seem to be two factions of developers. One that is solely devoted to dark mode and another that loves light mode. I’m proposing a third, more comprehensive group: those who design for their user in mind.

Dark mode is more than a vibe. It’s now a first-class platform feature. Since broad support for prefers-color-scheme landed around 2019, we’ve been able to match UI to user settings instead of hacking with cookies or account toggles. Dark mode can reduce eye strain in low-light environments, save battery on OLED screens, and yes, many people simply prefer how it looks.

Many of my developer friends respond with a gif like this one when talking about light mode:

But light mode is just as important as dark mode. This is especially true for accessibility. People with astigmatism, which is a large share of users (but more importantly, it’s me), can experience a “halo” effect with light text on dark backgrounds, and people with dyslexia often read more easily with dark text on lighter backgrounds.

Of course, avoid pure black/pure white extremes, and remember dark mode also serves accessibility: it can help users prone to migraines or light sensitivity and is gentler when ambient light is low. Some research even suggests potential benefits for myopia.

What should developers do? Treat dark and light modes as equally polished, uphold contrast and focus-visible standards, and let users choose—ideally with a toggle and by honoring system preferences via prefers-color-scheme, prefers-contrast, and similar media queries. Frameworks like Tailwind make this straightforward, so the responsibility is ours to ship both modes accessibly.

Tell me what you think! Am I blowing smoke or do you feel this is actually important stuff?

Want me to cover other topics? Let me know!

Either way, I’ll see you on the next one!