DEV Community

Nikita Hlopov
Nikita Hlopov

Posted on

What's the dark mode priority should be?

From the UX perspective, what's the dark mode priority should be on a site,
localStorage or user default computer theme?

E.g. If a user has a dark theme by default (on a computer), and then the user enabled the light theme (switch on a site), then the next time the user enters a site what value should be applied (default or saved from the localStorage)?

Or have I misunderstood this whole dark mode and doing something wrong?

Top comments (5)

Collapse
 
kilianvalkhof profile image
Kilian Valkhof

localStorage because that's a more direct signal specifically for your site, but you need to make sure people can also still choose "use system setting", not just toggle between light and dark. I wrote about that here: Your dark mode toggle is broken

Collapse
 
nikitahl profile image
Nikita Hlopov

Wow thanks, I'll definitely check your article. 👍

Collapse
 
tobiassn profile image
Tobias SN

The one from localStorage. The user told your site that they prefer it a certain way, keep it like that.

Collapse
 
nikitahl profile image
Nikita Hlopov

Thanks! 👍

Collapse
 
waylonwalker profile image
Waylon Walker

Thinking from a perspective of mobile browsing I think it should be from the OS. Dark Mode gets triggered at the os more often on a mobile device depending on the mood, time of day, or location.

AWS Security LIVE!

Join us for AWS Security LIVE!

Discover the future of cloud security. Tune in live for trends, tips, and solutions from AWS and AWS Partners.

Learn More

👋 Kindness is contagious

Please leave a ❤️ or a friendly comment on this post if you found it helpful!

Okay