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WPBeginner» Blog» Tutorials» How to Add Dark Mode to Your WordPress Website (Easy)

How to Add Dark Mode to Your WordPress Website (Easy)

Last updated on September 28th, 2020 by Editorial Staff
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How to Add Dark Mode to Your WordPress Website (Easy)

Do you want to add dark mode to your WordPress site?

Many devices now come with native dark mode support. Adding a dark mode to your website automatically adapts your design to your users’ browser preference. You can even add a dark mode switcher toggle to your site as well.

In this article, we’ll show you how to easily add dark mode to your WordPress website both frontend and admin area.

Adding dark mode to your WordPress website (easily)

What is Dark Mode and Why Add it to Your Website?

Dark mode is used on mobile devices and computers to reduce the amount of white light from the screen.

Some devices come with a night mode which actually uses warmer color tones instead. Dark mode uses a different approach by adding dark colors in the background.

If you have an iPhone or Android device, you may be able to switch to dark mode simply by using a toggle.

Alternatively, on your computer, you can view websites in dark mode using a Chrome extension such as Night Eye. Here’s how the WPBeginner website looks using that extension:

The WordPress website viewed using the Chrome 'Night Eye' extension

Adding dark mode to your site gives users the option to switch the dark mode on and off while viewing your site. It also gives you more control over how your site looks in the dark mode.

Popular websites like YouTube also offer a dark color scheme. This allows users to watch videos late at night with a more comfortable viewing experience.

Viewing YouTube with the dark theme option switched on

Aside from adding dark mode to your website frontend, you can even add dark mode to your WordPress admin as well. This can be useful if you work on your site in the evenings or at night.

First, we’re going to take a look at adding dark mode to your WordPress website. Then, we’ll cover adding dark mode to your WordPress admin dashboard.

Tip: Do you want a website with a dark color scheme, even with the user’s device in normal or daytime mode? Then check out our list of the best dark themes for WordPress.

Adding Dark Mode to Your WordPress Website

First, you need to install and activate the WP Dark Mode plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, go to the Settings » WP Dark Mode page in your WordPress admin and click on the General Settings tab. You should be redirected there automatically.

Here, the setting ‘Enable OS aware Dark Mode’ has been switched on for you. This means that visitors will automatically see the dark mode version of your site when their device is set to the dark mode.

The setting ‘Show Floating Switch’ has also been switched on. This means users can switch their view of the site to dark mode at any time, even if they haven’t enabled a Dark Mode option on their device.

The General Settings page for the WP Dark Mode plugin

Just visit your website, and you will see the switch in the bottom right corner. Click it to instantly switch your site to dark mode on your device:

The dark mode switch is now displaying on the website for visitors

There are more customization options available on the Settings » WP Dark Mode page. However, these are quite limited with the free plugin.

For instance, you just need to click the Display Settings tab to change the style of the floating switch:

Choosing the type of night mode toggle button in the Display Settings

You can also customize the dark mode colors using the Style Settings tab:

Choosing your dark mode color scheme in the Style Settings

Make sure you click the Save Settings button after making any changes.

Note: With the free version of WP Dark Mode, you only get the first 2 floating switch styles, and the first 2 color presets to choose from.

The pro version of WP Dark Mode offers a lot more design options, plus as the ability to turn on dark mode at specific times and the option to add custom CSS code.

Adding Dark Mode to Your WordPress Admin

WordPress comes with admin color schemes, but none of the default color schemes reduce white light coming from your screen. Luckily, this plugin also solves that issue.

Let’s take a look at how to easily add dark mode to your WordPress admin area for a more enjoyable user experience during late hours.

Simply go to the Settings » WP Dark Mode page and click the General Settings tab. Then, toggle the ‘Enable Backend Darkmode’ switch to the on position. Don’t forget to click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page:

Switch on the Enable Backend Dark Mode toggle so you can use dark mode in your WordPress admin

You will now see a new switch in the top bar of your admin area:

The toggle switch in your WordPress admin to switch between light (normal) and dark for your admin interface

Simply click on this switch to instantly toggle your admin area to dark mode.

Tip: If your site has multiple WordPress users, each person can toggle dark mode on and off as they prefer.

Since ‘Dark Mode’ is not an admin color scheme, you can easily use it along with an existing WordPress admin color scheme. To set this, just go to Users » Profile and click on an option under Admin Color Scheme.

Note that you will need to switch dark mode off in order to see the admin color scheme options:

Selecting an admin color scheme in WordPress, on your user profile page

When writing a post in the WordPress block editor, you can toggle dark mode on too. Click on the small color icon on the top left, then select the mode you want to use:

Switching dark mode on in the WordPress block editor

Now, you can comfortably write and work on your website at night without straining your eyes.

We hope this article helped you learn how to add dark mode to your WordPress website. You may also want to see our article on the best WordPress plugins for all websites, and our comparison of the best managed WordPress hosting companies.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

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16 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. Kurt says:
    Oct 25, 2020 at 7:36 pm

    I generally prefer dark modes in apps that support it. Thank you for this great tip.

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Oct 26, 2020 at 11:49 am

      Glad we could share this option :)

      Reply
  2. Iponk says:
    Oct 11, 2020 at 8:30 am

    wow…nice info, thanks

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Oct 12, 2020 at 11:04 am

      You’re welcome, glad our guide was helpful :)

      Reply
  3. Agung says:
    Oct 11, 2020 at 7:12 am

    This is wonderful. Thanks I’ll try it!

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Oct 12, 2020 at 11:02 am

      Glad our guide was helpful :)

      Reply
  4. Bryan Durio says:
    Oct 3, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    This is a fantastic plugin to save people’s eyes. I’ve used dark color schemes in Windows for years and now I can add it to my WP site. I appreciate your explanation of a few of its options. Thank you profusely!

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Oct 5, 2020 at 11:26 am

      Glad you found our guide helpful :)

      Reply
  5. Richard hickman says:
    Oct 3, 2020 at 9:38 am

    What does this feature do to Accessibility requirements?

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Oct 5, 2020 at 11:18 am

      It would depend on the specific accessibility requirements you are attempting to comply with for if this does anything or not.

      Reply
  6. Richard Mayowa says:
    Sep 29, 2020 at 3:47 pm

    It is just too awesome possibility

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 30, 2020 at 10:12 am

      Glad you like the available option :)

      Reply
  7. Jennifer C. Valerie says:
    Sep 29, 2020 at 5:07 am

    This is awesome. Thanks!

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 29, 2020 at 9:16 am

      You’re welcome :)

      Reply
  8. Adarsh Gupta says:
    Sep 29, 2020 at 12:24 am

    Wow Amazing.
    I haven’t know about the Dark mode. But it’s so easy to add dark mode in WordPress
    Thanks for Great Explained

    Reply
    • WPBeginner Support says:
      Sep 29, 2020 at 8:43 am

      You’re welcome, glad our guide was helpful :)

      Reply

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