subject: Website Color Choices - Are You Communicating What You Think You Are? [print this page] The colors you choose for your website can have more influence that you realize on your website visitors. Of all the different forms of non-verbal communication, color is the quickest way to communicate a message, meaning, or feeling. So choosing your color scheme can have an important effect on your visitors.
This article will briefly cover the main colors and the usual emotional effects they have on people. Color theory is a whole broad area of study that goes way beyond the scope of this article, but we can learn some useful information just looking at the colors themselves.
So, what colors are best for your website?
That is hard to say. However, the following tips will help you understand the underlying meaning behind colors so you may be guided to make the right choice.
Marketers spend significant time and money determining which colors are best to market their product. Many studies have been made on the psychology of color and the subconscious emotions that they create.
Also remember that colors often have different meanings in various cultures. And even in Western societies, the meanings of various colors have changed over the years. But today in the U.S., researchers have generally found the following to be accurate
One other quick tip before we get to the colors and how they can work on your website. If youre having a website created for you make sure a graphic designer is doing the work. A programmer may have better technical abilities, but the graphic designer or artist will probably create a more visually appealing site.
So here are the colors, in no particular order.
Red - Stimulating. Exciting. Energizing. Tempting. This is the most emotionally intense or stimulating color. Red clothing gets noticed. It is very energetic. Because its so strong it can either be attractive, or repelling, often depending upon its intensity. Fire engine red is more energetic than a more traditional burgundy.
Pink - cheerful. Romantic. Tranquilizing. Youthful. Best used for less expensive and trendy products. Vibrant pinks are common in the cosmetic industry. Sports teams sometimes paint the locker rooms used by opposing teams bright pink so their opponents will lose energy. Bubble gum pink can be thought of as childish, but fuchsia or magenta are considered more sophisticated.
Orange - Friendly. Adventurous. Energizing. Welcoming. Orange is the hottest color. Similar to reds arousing effect, orange is often associated with bright sunsets or fall foliage. But has less chance of repelling someone than does red. Orange contains the drama of red with the cheeriness of yellow.
Yellow - Warm. Sunny. Cheerful. Effervescent. Yellow is equivalent to enlightenment and imagination. It is an attention getter, and is considered a bit optimistic. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads.
Brown - Rich. Sheltering. Durable. Sensible. Brown is an earth tone and is related to the earths nurturing qualities and stability. Light brown implies genuineness while dark brown is similar to wood or leather. Brown can also be sad and wistful. Generally speaking brown provokes a positive response, but the wrong shade could lead to viewers relating it to dirty.
Blue - Cool. Trusting. Calm. Consistent. Similar to the earthy color brown, blue is associated with the sky and water, both dependable constants in our lives. It is one of the most popular colors. It causes the opposite reaction as red. Peaceful, tranquil blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals, so it is often used in bedrooms. Blue is an ideal color for websites, especially e-commerce websites. Blue also can generate a cold, distant, corporate feeling, the opposite of generating a personal relationship with the customer. People are more productive in blue rooms.
Green - Refreshing. Healing. Fresh. Soothing. Green offers the most variety of choices out of all the colors. Most people link green to nature. It is the easiest color on the eye and can improve vision. It is a calming, refreshing color. Mint green is seen as fresh while bright greens are associated with grass. Emerald greens are elegant and deep greens are linked to money and prestige. Green is also combined nicely with many other colors and can also work as a neutral. Hospitals often use green because it relaxes patients.
Purple - Elegant. Sensual. Regal. Mysterious. The color of royalty, purple connotes luxury, wealth, and sophistication. Purple is seen as sensual and spiritual as it combines the sexuality of red and the sereneness of blue. It is best used with creative products, new products, or cutting edge products.
Neutrals - Classic. Quality. Natural. Timeless. The neutral tones of beige, gray and taupe emulate the psychological message of dependability, timelessness, and well, neutrality. They are regarded as safe and non-offensive and will not go out-of-date as they are always in style, or at least never completely out of style.
White - Pure. Bright. Pristine. Simple. While white can signify clean elegance, it can also be considered generic and stark, unless you have stylish graphics to compliment the white. White reflects light and is considered a summer color.
Black Strong. Classic. Mysterious. Powerful. Black is the color of authority and power. Black is most closely associated with the night. Black is seen as powerful, dramatic, elegant and expensive. Although black is associated with mourning, its positive associations far outweigh its negative. Warning: Too much black can be overkill.
As you can see, different people can have different reactions to the same or similar colors. You should give your website color choices their due consideration.
There is a whole area of study concerning colors and how they interact with each other, but that goes way beyond the scope of this article. However there are a couple of bits we can take from color theory and apply them to our websites.
One is that bland color combinations can be as off-putting as color combinations that are to strong. You can go overboard either way.
Secondly, to much of a good thing is probably to much. Just because you have a favorite color does not mean you should use it to the exclusion of all others.
Thirdly, be cognizant of your mood when selecting colors for your website. It will have an influence on your choices. Choices that may not be the best for the long term.
Fourthly, if you want a strong feeling then use contrasting colors, for a more friendly or comfortable feeling use complimentary colors.
Fifthly, using a musical analogy, strive for color harmony. Melody can be nice, but possibly boring. Dissonance is uncomfortable, and repelling. Whereas harmony is where people usually want to spend most of their time. Visually make your website a place where people are comfortable, and they will spend more time there.
