How to Pick a Color Scheme for a Website

You know your website theme is important, but let’s get a bit more specific than that. Let’s talk about colors. The right colors for your website can not only help with your visual appeal, but can also generate the right response from your visitors and unify your business brand. But choosing the right color scheme isn’t as simple as it sounds. There’s certain things to consider, including the psychology behind the colors you pick, as well as your own branding. Here’s what you need to know.

Look at Color Psychology

Color psychology states that different hues can determine behavior and mood. For example:

• Red: The color of joy and youth. It reflects confidence.
• Green: Green is said to create a calming effect.
• Blue: The color of trust and strength.
• White: White represents clarity and simplicity.
• Black: Black is sophisticated, and evokes secure emotions.
• Yellow: The color of friendliness and optimism.
• Orange: Orange is fun, confident and cheerful.
• Pink: Pink represents femininity and romance.

Think of what you’d like to convey with your website, and how you’d like your visitors to feel.

Get the Color Ratios Right

You want colors that mean something to you, and will mean something to your audience. But, too many colors can really take away from your overall branding.

Try to stick to 3 colors, and use them in varying degrees. For example, your main color should make up the bulk of your website and help create a unified look to your site. The other two should be used as a contract to the main color and as an accent color, and can be used at 25-30%, and 15-10% respectively.

Picking Your Colors

When picking the right colors, you want to make sure they complement each other in the right way. Use tools like color generators to help you like:

• Coolors
• Adobe Color CC

Or look through pre-designed palettes for inspiration.

Other Things to Consider

Besides picking colors that spark your interest, there are some others things to consider.

• Your logo: If you already have a well-established logo, make sure your website color scheme matches it. Imagine if McDonalds put their red and yellow logo on a website using blues and greens?

• Other print materials: Consider how your colors will look on other print and marketing materials. Your colors will help brand your business and will used in your printables, videos, images, online buttons, etc.

Picking a color scheme for your website isn’t as straightforward as it seems. There’s psychology to consider; what your colors will make your visitors think and feel. Beyond that, pick colors that go well together, and unify your business brand.