Use of Colour in Web Design

If you are getting a website for your business then you want to make sure you get it right to ensure you are converting your visitors. Colour can play an important part in this process, but it is important to use it correctly. The aim of this article is to help you with how you use colour.

Firstly we will consider the main colours and what they generally mean to people and then we will consider combinations of colours that you can use.

Below is a list of major colours, the type of emotions they usually evoke and how his can be used on your website:

Red

Red usually signifies danger, passion, love, excitement, anger and aggression. This means you should think very carefully about how you use red on your website. The best place to use it is for highlighting words that are used to call your visitors to action. Examples of these types of words are Order Today, Don’t Miss Out, Buy Now.

Blue

Blue can be soothing and create feelings of trustworthiness, calmness, seriousness and protection. This is a great colour to use to help people to have confidence in your brand, so use it as a banner colour can be very helpful as giving confidence in your brand. If you are planning on using it in your text then you should use it for phrases like Mission Statement, Team Player, Quiet.

Yellow

Yellow can represent hope and joy but can also have a lot of negative connotations as it can also mean weakness and cowardice. For this reason you should use yellow with caution. Used correctly it can be very uplifting evoking happiness in your visitors. It can be very effective if used for phrases like Get It Now.

Green

Green often represents nature, fertility, growth and money. This colour will often lead to conservative emotions and can be very relaxing and calming. It can be a very useful colour to use if you are selling something that is good for the environment. It can also show a degree of responsibility adding credibility to your company. Word that work well in green are Education and Your Future.

Orange

Orange is associated with autumn, creativity and the harvest. Orange can generate feelings of warmth, balance, enthusiasm, business and ambition. It has a lot of the same connotations as red but is less passionate and has also been known to stimulate mental activity. This is a great colour to use for highlighting important information on your website.

Purple

Purple is associated with royalty, wisdom and self assurance. However excessive exposure to purple can cause people to become ill at ease and sullen. For that reason it should be used sparingly on websites.

Black

Black can mean power and sophistication but can also represent death and evil. Having said that it is a very neutral colour and one that should be used for general text as it will make it easier for people to read and then certain words can be highlighted for effect.

White

White represents purity, innocence, cleanliness and simplicity. It is this that makes it a good background for websites as it allows your content to stand out and adds some professionalism.

Now that you have an idea on the effect of the individual colours it is important to consider how to combine them. We have put together some basic colour schemes to give a little help.

Monochromatic colour schemes are those that use only one colour. These can be harmonious and peaceful can help to create or tie things together. However they can be dull and uninteresting so that people will drop off very quickly.

Analogous colour combinations use colours that are related, but not the same, to create visually appealing schemes, for example using blues and purples, or reds and. This can add variation but also keep things consistent giving a strong brand.

Using contrasting colours that are complimentary and pleasing to the eye can create a strong image. Contrasting colour schemes usually involve using a warm colour and a cool colour, like blue and orange. However the eye has difficulty focusing on contrasting colours at the same time. Use contrasting colours for your accents and avoid setting strong contrasts as background and type colours or take them down a notch

Triadic colour combinations are comprised of three opposing colours for example red, yellow, and blue. Like contrasting colour combinations it is not necessary to use full strength, startling combinations to create effective triadic colour schemes. Using a more subdued value of one or more colour can help to create greater subtlety, harmony and readability for your site.

Remember that the colours you use will reflect the image of your company so think very carefully about what you want your visitors to think about you. You should also consider what you want them to do on your site and use the right colours to get the right actions.

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