Website Colors: How to Choose
You're having a new website built, which is always exciting. But how do you choose your website colors? There are so many colors and variations of those colors, it can be a daunting task to pick some out. However, it can be done and I'm going to give you some tips on how to choose.
Choose a Primary Color
First, you will want to choose a primary color. This is the main coloring of the site and it is the color people will associate with your brand. Think about the various shades of blue that Facebook and Twitter use. We all associate Facebook with darker blue and Twitter with a lighter blue.What color do you associate with McDonalds? Yellow or gold for the M arches, of course.
Our church has a main color of teal and it uses it on the logo, the bulletin, the website, and even on the doors of the church! So, it is the color that is associated with it.
While you are considering which color to use as the primary color, think about what emotions you want to bring about. Different colors produce different emotions, such as blue encourages a more trusted, relaxed feeling while red brings about excitement. You can read more about emotions associated with color at Creative Bloq.
You will also want to think about who your target market is. The younger generation will be attracted to different colors than seniors will be. Men and women also have different preferences when it comes to what colors they like. So, consider who your audience is and design your website with them in mind.
According Neil Patel, "people make a subconscious judgment about an environment or product within 90 seconds of initial viewing. Between 62 and 90 percent of that assessment is based on color alone.” It sounds like choosing appropriate colors is pretty important, doesn't it?
Your primary color can be used in text headings and navigation text, as well as the logo and other areas you want to draw attention to.
Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are used for things that are not quite as important as the main areas of the site but that you still want to highlight.
These colors need to coordinate well with the primary color. To choose a color combination, you can use some of the color picker tools that are out there. Paletton is a good one. You can try out the different combinations such as monochromatic, adjacent, triad, etc. If you would like to try some other tools, check out the list at Mayven.
Another way you can choose good color combinations is to take notice of nice color schemes when you come across them on the web and write down the hex numbers. I keep a running list of great color combinations that we can use when we build a client website.
How Many Colors To Use
You don't want your website to look like a neon billboard, so use two or at the most three colors on your site. If you do go with three, use the third very sparingly.
I find that using adding a shade of gray is a nice third color when needed. It doesn't distract your visitors and it goes well with any color combination.
Before you meet with your web designer have a color scheme in mind. It doesn't have to be the final choice, but come with some ideas.
You may have thought before that website colors are not a high priority. I hope you have changed your mind after reading this. Choose two or three colors that will resonate with your audience and will produce the desired emotions you want.