How Colour Can Make or Break Your Web Design

How Colour Can Make or Break Your Web Design

Colours are the first things that people will notice once they visit your site, and it contributes a lot to the initial impressions people have about the website. Colour has the power to set the mood and create an emotional response from the audience. By using the wrong colour, you set the wrong mood and create an undesired emotional response on the site visitor. They will be in the wrong frame of mind when absorbing the content on the site.

Why colour is vital

Most people rely greatly on sight for first impressions. According to marketing research, about 80% of what humans assimilate through their senses is visual, and most of it is related to colour. Many brands are often defined by colour. It has the power to sway a person’s thinking, change their actions and also cause reactions. Colour conveys meaning. Choosing a colour scheme for the website based on the fact that you simply like the colour is not enough. You must understand the message that different colours send to the audience, and then choose accordingly.

Meaning of colours

Colour symbolism can be termed as a cultural thing, since some colours have significance culturally. An example is white, used for weddings in some communities while in others it is used for funerals. Some colours, however, have universal meaning: such as red to mean stop.

Below is a list of just a few colours and what they are associated with;

  • Red – Intense, energy, strength, power, determination, confidence
  • Yellow – wisdom, intellectual energy, cheerful, pleasant
  • Blue – trust, loyalty, expertise, stability, confidence
  • Green – growth, hope, financial wealth, endurance, lack of experience
  • Grey – non-invasive, conservative, security, dependability

Web design colour contrast and vibrancy

Vibrancy and contrast are vital when setting the colour scheme of a web page. They have a great effect on eye strain and the attention of the page viewers. The background colour and the text must be in sync to offer perfect web page presentation. You can use sharp colours for text to increase readability. To gain the attention of the visitor, the text must outshine the background. If the contrast is not checked it could cause the eyes to strain and users jumble up the words.

Vibrancy shows the emotion that you wish to play up with your chosen colour scheme. Bright vibrant colours create an energetic response from viewers and it is most effective when you want the viewers to purchase products. Darker shades, on the other hand, put focus on the content such as blogs.

Use Audience targeted colour schemes

The colour scheme on the entire web page shows the overall perception in a viewer’s mind. Consider the audience’s psychographics and their demographics. Different audiences have different tastes. The colour scheme chosen should be in line with your audience. While pink and purple might work great for your web page if it targets middle-aged women, it might not work for a male video gamer.

This is something that must be considered in the web design processes. Web design companies who specialise in graphic design also, such as the UK based company Design by Pelling, understand the importance of good visuals and can take on board the needs of your audience, and implement it across all aspects of design. This means that both the media on your website, and the site itself, will all follow a suitable colour scheme.

Some may argue that choosing the right colour scheme is an art that few are good at. Since people will identify your website with the colour you use it is important that you choose the right colour from the beginning. Hiring an experienced website designer is the first step to getting it right.