Understanding Color Contrast (and Why It’s Not Your Job to Fix It)

Color contrast is the difference in brightness between text color and background color. Low contrast makes text hard to read — especially for people with visual impairments. This is a legal accessibility requirement. You can’t fix it as an editor, but you can spot it and report it.

What Color Contrast Is

Imagine dark gray text on a medium gray background — it’s hard to read because the brightness levels are too similar. That’s low contrast. Black text on a white background is easy to read — that’s high contrast.

Why It Matters

Accessibility

People with color blindness or low vision need high contrast to read. Low contrast text is impossible for them.

Usability

High contrast text is easier for everyone to read, especially on phones or in bright sunlight.

Legal Requirement

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) require a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text. In many countries, this is a legal requirement.

How to Spot a Potential Contrast Issue

Use the ‘squint test’: look at text on your page and squint. If it’s hard to read when squinting, it likely fails contrast. A better option: use a browser extension like WAVE or Lighthouse to check contrast ratios (your web admin can do this).

What Editors Should NOT Do

Do not fix contrast by changing text color or background color. Colors are set in the theme or by your web admin for a reason. Changing them breaks the design and can introduce new contrast problems.

What Editors SHOULD Do

If you spot a contrast issue, take a screenshot. Note the URL of the page.Write down what you expected to see vs. what you saw.Send this info to your web admin with the subject line ‘Contrast Issue on [Page Name].’Let them fix it — this is admin territory.

⚠️ Warning: Color contrast is a legal accessibility requirement in many countries. If you spot an issue, report it promptly to your web admin. Don’t try to fix it yourself.