Website Design: Color Makes A Difference 

You’ve spent numerous hours researching effective web site design; secured the best content provider your budget could buy and generated a list of keywords as long as your arm. Yet how much thought have you given to your site’s color scheme? Probably not as much as you should.

When it comes to website design, color makes a difference. It’s a proven fact that colors evoke emotional and physical reactions. Ever wonder why fast food restaurants include red in their color palate? Red stimulates appetite. Why do celebrities cool their heels in “green rooms” while awaiting an interview? Green calms and relaxes. Because colors have this inescapable power to convey authority or weakness, excite or relax, cheer or depress; careful consideration needs to be made when choosing your website color palate to ensure you are conveying the image you intend. If you want your visitor to stay – and come back – your website must feel inviting and let your visitor know, “I’m an authority you can trust.”

Applying color to your website.
Use the following principals to guide you as you compose your site’s color scheme:

1. Color affects mood. Ever notice how your mood changes when you put on vibrant, cheerful-colored clothing? The same rule applies to your website. Avoid dark, somber colors such as a black background.

2. Color elicits emotions. Whether it be excitement, power or innocence; all colors activate our emotions. Define the emotions you want your visitor to experience and incorporate colors to match.

3. Color evokes action. Is it the color or the content that first grabs attention? It’s the color. If the color is pleasing, your visitor will be drawn into the content and find it more believable.

4. Color attracts attention – and keeps it there. A white background is your safest bet in terms of being easy on the eye and conveying a sense of trust and authority. When choosing colors to compliment the white background, make sure they match the image you are looking to portray. Red and yellow suggest excitement, but should be used sparingly to avoid overwhelming the eye. Dark colors can evoke a heavy and somber mood when used alone, but adding brighter colors to the mix will give your site a feeling of sophistication and authority. Green and blue convey peace and trust.

While individual color preferences vary, the following is generally accepted as the emotions and reactions colors suggest:

Black - authority and power

White - purity and innocence

Green - health, freedom, tranquility; the easiest color on the eye

Blue - security, authority, faithfulness and dignity

Yellow - optimistic, cheerful and an attention-getter if used sparingly

Brown - affluence, effectiveness

Gray - authority, practicality and creativity

Orange - pleasure, excitement and ambition

Pink - femininity, well-being and innocence

Purple - luxury, wealth, and sophistication

Red - excitement, strength, aggressiveness; the most emotionally intense color

Simply put, the influence of color is inescapable. It’s what draws us in – or tunes us out. Its clout goes beyond personal preference to have a real impact on your business and your customers’ perceptions. Make sure the colors you chose are sending the right message.

Publishing Rights: You may republish this article in your web site, newsletter, or ebook, on the condition that you agree to leave the article, author's signature, and all links completely intact.