I guess "suck it and see" is the best way to find out :)

One thing I would say is that in the early days of my site I did a bit of experimenting with colour schemes. I got a complaint from a visitor that the site was difficult for him to navigate due to the fact he was partially colour blind. It appears that the conventions many sites stick to are conventions for a reason, and whilst a certain amount of experimentation is a good thing you might find that going too far fom what people know affects site visitors, and ultimately adsense earnings.

Mine perform better on light background. But it may be different for another niche.

I would assume it all depends on your niche. Anastological site I wold imagine, performs better with a dark backgourd, perhaps a tattoo site woudl be better with an agressive coloured backgroun - no offense to anyone with tattoo's!

Health topics I think serve better with pale clinical colours - all depends on your niche.

Sorry - meant to say, a funeral parlour with a shocking pick backgroud would be totally tasteless!

lol @ trannack. Thanks guys, makes sense. I wonder if black backgrounds aren't becoming an anachronism anyways.

I think this shouldn't be what color background, but what color schemes, if you want to keep visitors & ultimately your AS revenue you need a site that makes a user go “WOW, I like this site, I’ll take a look around" or I’ll buy this clock or W/E.

you have to make it stylish and practical, adsense sites that lack style, or AMAZING content, will fail( unless you have an absurd amount of accidental traffic coupled with stupidly high paid keywords).

Also focus on user preferences, maybe run some site styles tests to see which one is more popular, test colors & layout, see what happens to your repeat user rate/Natural Traffic of different setups.

In short don’t get tied down with norms, test new things, and don’t rely on one factor of your website to provide that gem that is free traffic, Think about the site as a whole and the way users interact with it. If you get the balance right your onto a winner.

That’s my 10cents.

Alan

I normally go for light backgrounds but all my pages do not have the same colors. I try to keep each section (area) all the same color but I'm an eclectic person and really like variety in my colors.

When I started off I went with dark backgrounds but I have gradually evolved so now I purely do not like a site with black or any dark and intense color. Must be the failing eyesite...:) If I have to strain to read then I leave...and not through an ad either.

Ann

I wonder if black backgrounds aren't becoming an anachronism anyways.

and i will be the one with the dark colored website when all other "web 2.0-style" dudes resort to bright pastel.

but as being said, your topic must fit. most of the serious websites have to be bright. my topic is nightlife and leisure, so i presume to step out of line on this one with marginal effects on readability. in fact, i believe that uniqueness in site design is a big part of success here.

however, no compromise with easy navigation! and no screaming colors (#FF0000) unless you're an artist!

I used to write software for air traffic controllers - there are load sof stuff on colours versus eye-strain. Which colours result in call to action etc, etc. Really intersting when you look into it. Worth investing a bit of time and effort researching colours.