How to Choose a Colour for Your Website Design

Choosing the right colours for your website design is an important part of creating an effective online presence. The colours you pick will influence how visitors perceive your brand and whether they engage with your content. When selected thoughtfully, colours can help convey the tone and values of your business, whether you go for crimson colour code #DC143C or something more neutral. This guide will walk you through the key considerations when selecting colours for your website.

Understand Colour Psychology

Before choosing a palette, it’s helpful to understand how different colours tend to be perceived. Colour psychology suggests that certain shades evoke particular emotions and meanings in people. While reactions are somewhat subjective, there are common associations to be aware of.

For example, blues and greens are often seen as calm, stable and professional. Bright energetic shades like yellow and red can feel playful, youthful and attention-grabbing. Neutral tones like black, white, grey and brown give a classic, elegant impression. Pastels and muted shades tend to be soothing and feminine. Darker colours may seem more serious, luxurious or corporate.

Information Use !!

Concerned about online trackers and introducers tracing your internet activity? Or do you face geo-restrictions while streaming? Get NordVPN – the ultra-fast VPN trusted by millions, which is available at 69% off + 3 Months Extra. With the Double VPN, Split tunneling, and Custom DNS, you can experience internet freedom anytime, anywhere.

Consider Your Brand Personality

The colours you choose should complement the overall identity you want for your brand. Think about the emotions, traits and values you want your website to embody. Your colour palette should reinforce this desired brand personality.

For example, a children’s toy company may opt for bright, cheerful colours to emphasise a playful, child-friendly vibe. A luxury jewellery brand, on the other hand, would likely choose sleek black and metallic shades to convey elegance.

Certain colours are strongly tied to specific industries too. Green is ubiquitous with environmental companies, while blue conveys trust in banking and finance. Use colour associations to shape brand identity where appropriate.

Remember Your Visual Identity

Your brand’s visual identity, such as logo design, should inform your colour choices. Look for hues that complement your logo rather than clashing with it. Using colours harmoniously throughout branding creates consistency and professionalism.

For example, complementing a green tree logo with earthy green shades and neutral browns pulls the visual identity together cohesively. Avoid mixing colour families at odds with your logo. A vibrant purple and pink site would conflict with that green logo’s natural feel.

Consider Competitors’ Colours

Research what colours competitors within your industry are using. You can differentiate from rivals by avoiding copying their palette directly. But keeping broadly within the sector’s norms can help viewers quickly grasp what you do.

For example, most financial companies use trustworthy blues, so completely eschewing blue on a finance site would seem odd. But various shades of blue abound, so find a distinctive hue analysis. Non-profits often use greens, but again, selecting a unique green-based palette builds your identity.

Choose Accessible Colour Combinations

Ensure colours have enough contrast between text and background to remain easily legible. Light text on dark backgrounds and vice versa provides inherent contrast. Avoid colour combinations deemed inaccessible for visually impaired and colour blind users.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines provide helpful formulas for choosing colour combinations based on contrast ratios. Automated accessibility checkers can identify any problematic shades in your palette.

Tools like Coolors and Adobe Color CC include accessibility options to view colour combos suited for impaired vision. Check your palette appears legible when converted to greyscale too.

Use Colour Harmonies

Some shades naturally complement each other, creating harmonious colour schemes. Employing the basic principles of colour theory helps colours work together effectively.

Colour harmonies provide unity and visual interest. Types of harmonies include:

• Complementary colours opposite each other on the colour wheel, like red and green
• Analogous colours side-by-side, like blue, purple and magenta
• Triadic colours evenly spaced around the wheel, like red, yellow and blue
• Split complements contrasting and adjacent colours, like orange, blue and purple

Online tools like Canva’s colour palette generator can suggest harmonious colour schemes for you to trial.

Limit Your Palette

Using too many colours can appear uncoordinated and overwhelming on a website. Stick to around three or four hues for the main palette. Accent shades can supplement for variety if needed.

Base the palette around one or two primary colours that dominate, with secondary hues in supporting roles. Neutrals like black, white and grey act as useful background colours.

Keeping the palette pared back creates visual clarity. Vibrant accent colours can add pops of colour to draw attention to key elements against more muted main colours.

Consider Cultural Differences

Colours hold different symbolic meanings in varying cultures. In the UK, red is energetic and positive, while in South Africa it signifies mourning. White indicates purity in western nations but represents death in some Asian countries.

If you are creating multilingual sites or targeting international visitors, research any major cultural variances over colour symbolism. Adjust your palette sensitively if the colours would be perceived very differently by certain demographics. Stick to more neutral, universally appealing colours if unsure.

Selecting the perfect colour scheme requires balancing multiple factors, including branding, usability and consumer psychology. Use colours strategically to shape desired perceptions and optimise engagement. Conduct user testing to refine the palette. When thoughtfully executed, your website’s colours instil professionalism and reflect brand identity while helping meet business goals.