How Important Is Colour When Designing Your Website?
Your online presence is a huge part of your brand identity. And with more and more of our lives being conducted online on a day to day basis, your website is essentially the face of your business. Getting your website design just right is, therefore, key to your success.
When designing or re-designing your website, there will be many aspects to consider from logos and layout to page speed and search engine optimisation. But perhaps one of the most powerful and often overlooked aspects of website design is the use of colour psychology.
What is the colour psychology?
Colour psychology is the research into how different colours can create different reactions and encourage different behaviours in humans. For decades, advertising and marketing gurus have been using this knowledge in their campaigns. For example, red is widely used in the fast food industry as it’s known to trigger hunger.
What do the colours mean?
Red
As we’ve already mentioned, red triggers hunger and is synonymous with several prominent fast food brands. It’s also a very powerful colour that creates a sense of urgency in consumers.
Green
Green is strong and bold and is generally linked to health, wellness and nature.
Blue
Blue is a widely used colour as it symbolises strength, wisdom and trust. Men relate particularly well to it and it has a calming and reassuring effect on consumers.
Yellow
Symbolising summer and sunshine, yellow is considered warm, youthful and fun. It is often used in contrast with darker colours however as it’s sometimes difficult to see on its own.
Black
Black is traditionally linked to power and luxury. Bold and simplistic, it’s used by many high-end brands to convey elegance and authority. This colour should be used carefully however as it can come across as heavy and oppressive if used in the wrong context.
White
Clean, pure, modern and simplistic, white is a great choice for brands wanting to seem smooth, sleek and elegant. White must also be used carefully as it can sometimes look cheap and tacky if used in the wrong context.
Orange
Orange reminds consumers of cozy autumns and creates a feeling of warmth. It is also the colour most people associate with the word “cheap”. Many discount brands use orange as their primary colour so be aware of this association before you choose it, especially if you’re trying to build a high-end, elegant brand.
Magenta
Magenta is bright, bold and positive. It is often used to portray femininity but can also be used to represent hope, youth and comfort.
Purple
Purple is also largely linked to female consumers, especially in certain shades. It is also linked with creativity, superiority and loyalty and is therefore used by luxury brands who want to elevate themselves above the competition.
How can I use this on my website?
When it comes to using colours, don’t be afraid to brainstorm and experiment with different designs before publishing them on your website. Taking the time to really think about how you want to be perceived will ensure that your branding is consistent and powerful.
Logo
If you’re yet to design your company logo, you should seriously consider colour psychology in the design process. Your logo will not only appear front and centre on your website, but also on all your products and promotional material. Getting the right colour on your logo is key to sending the right message to your customers and making sure you have a solid brand identity.
Main Page
When designing your main website page or homepage, you should first thing about how you want your business to be perceived by visitors. Then you should consider what exactly you want to encourage those visitors to do.
Your website is your first impression so don’t overload it with too many colours and too much information. Keep it simple but effective.
An overall colour scheme or theme is a great way of ensuring your entire website is on-brand. For example, a company delivering organic produce straight to your door may use a white backdrop with green writing to symbolise health, wellness and purity. Meanwhile, a discount furniture store may want to use an orange motif to highlight the bargains they can offer their customers.
Landing Page
Each campaign or product you are promoting should have a separate landing page. That way, you can tailor your approach to fit the specific intentions of any given campaign. You can play with the use of colour on each landing page, depending on the outcome you desire.
For example, if you’re a vegan burger restaurant trying to encourage consumers to order burgers online, you can try using red to trigger hunger or stick with a sleek and elegant black and white motif to symbolise modern, clean eating options.
In Summary
Using different colours as part of your website design is a simple yet highly effective way of engaging your customers and securing your brand identity. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different colours, especially at the brainstorming stage but make sure you keep a sense of uniform across your entire website and overall brand.
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