Part of this decision comes down to personal choice. What do you find more aesthetically pleasing? If you do prefer the dramatic, dark look then by all means seek out a dark template to use. If, on the other hand it just doesn’t appeal then you can skip any dark themed template during the selection process.

You must also consider what the purpose of your site is. As purely a site with information, ensuing the text is easy to read is of high importance which a darker theme may prevent. A white (or light) theme would be more appropriate in this instance.

If you are setting up a website to accompany your business, you may want to consider the impression a potential client would have of a dark site. Corporate sites and business sites in general more often than not use light backgrounds for their sites, and although breaking from tradition may ensure you stand out from the crowd, it could also work against you.

Due to the dramatic effect a dark site exudes, they are often used in blogs and music sites or others aimed at young people. They work very well for this purpose, but are they appropriate for an online shop selling kitchenware, or a hobby site around stamp collecting?

There are no right or wrongs when it comes to web design, so long as the theme is tailored to your needs and it has been designed with your target audience in mind. Often web templates are provided in both a light and dark theme, and it is important to not be afraid of change. If you have set your site up with a light background, but feel further down the line that a darker background would work better, by all means change it. There is nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation.

Web design is a creative process, and what works for one site may not work for another. Both light and dark templates offer their own positives and negatives and ultimately there is no one way of doing anything. One further word of advice about dark templates however, if you are going to choose a dark theme, it may be worthwhile enlarging the text slightly than you would otherwise have to make sure that the text is clearly readable. You could have the best looking site on the web but if your readers find reading it difficult, they are unlikely to return.