THE EFFECT OF WEB PAGE TEXT-BACKGROUND COLORCOMBINATIONS ON RETENTION AND PERCEIVEDREADABILITY, AESTHETICS ANDBEHAVIORAL INTENTION

摘要

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effect of different web page text/background colorrncombinations on users’ retention and subjective perception. One-hundred and thirty-six participants werernrandomly assigned to one of four groups: black text on a white background (BW), white on black (WB), lightrnblue on dark blue (B), or teal on black (TB). They then studied two Web pages, with a color combinationrnconsistent with their group assignment. One page contained information on the Neuron and the other consistedrnof information on a fictitious TV/DVD player. After studying each page they completed a quiz and survey.rnAnalysis of the data indicated: a) Retention scores did not differ as a function of text/background colorrncombinations; b) BW and B pages received the highest ratings for readability, and TB the lowest; c) B pagesrnreceived the highest ratings for the aesthetic qualities; d) BW pages were perceived as most “professional”;rne) Subjective readability ratings significantly predicted retention; and f) Users view “professionalism” as morernstrongly related to readability than aesthetics. Taken together, these results indicate that the relationshiprnbetween font/background color combinations and outcomes is complex and often inconsistent with webrnguidelines posed by “web gurus”.