Website Color Scheme Fundamentals

[This is only a summary chapter, you can read the whole article in our blog]

In this chapter, I’ll explain to you what website color schemes are. I’ll also talk about color psychology, and I’ll comment on some website color scheme statistics.

Only afterward will I tell you all about what the best colors for your website are. Not to mention that color symbolism matters so much.

Ready? Let’s get started!

What are website color schemes?

Website color schemes are the combination of colors that you use on your site. Most websites incorporate three colors. I mean, it’s common to use three main colors and its variations, no more.

Yet, the correct color combination and how to use it is not an easy decision. Colors will significantly change how others interact with you and what they think about your brand. So, it’s critical to choose them wisely.

There is no ideal answer that matches all websites. You will have to choose your own color schemes. But, how do you know which colors are better for your brand?

Well, if there is a color you use in your logo or one that represents you as a brand, you have to include it on your website. Good color choices imply careful planning. And, remember that colors have an impact on what others think about your brand.

Color psychology

Color psychology is the study of colors as regards human behavior. That’s to say, color psychology tries to explain how colors affect our attitudes, reactions, emotions, decisions, and more.

There are certain general meanings that can be given to each color. Yet, these meanings or the emotions that colors provoke on others are not the same in all cultures. 

Indeed, colors are perceived differently by different people according to their personality, age, gender, culture, and so on and so forth.

Thus, color psychology is somehow ambiguous. However, there is no doubt that colors affect us. When we go shopping, we feel more attracted to items due to their color. But, others don’t tell us anything and don’t call our attention.

The same happens on a website, the colors we use have an effect on website visitors. More and more marketers are starting to pay attention to the colors they use to represent their brands online.

Let’s have a look at the most critical features of color psychology for web design!

• Attention-grabbing
• Emotion appeal
• Brand recognition
• User engagement
• Conversion

[Read more about all these features in my blog post]

So, color psychology, though not profoundly explored yet, it has to be recognized as a significant factor that causes different reactions among people. Thus, you will need to choose your website colors carefully or else you won’t cause the effect you want to within your visitors.

What are the best colors for a website?

That’s not as easy a question to answer. There are many things you should bear in mind. There is no doubt that you need to keep in mind what colors convert the most. Still, you cannot choose your website colors based only on that.

What’s more, you might be tempted to choose your favorite color as your primary color. But, that would be a mistake as your site’s colors should be chosen according to your audience preferences, not yours.

The color or colors you choose for your brand’s logo would always be a symbol of your brand’s identity. Thus, something similar happens with your website colors. People would identify your site’s colors with your identity and they would judge your site because of that.

You should do some color research and check how colors influence how others feel. Only afterward can you think about what kind of emotions you want to evoke. Take emotions into account to decide your website colors.

What’s more, you need to pay attention to your audience. Are they mainly males? Females? How old are they? Where do they live? All this affects your website color scheme choice.

Last but not least, it’s advisable to apply the 60-30-10 rule. I mean:

• 60% of your site would be for a dominant color
• 30% for a secondary color
• 10% for an accent color.

It’s also advisable to check the color wheel to decide which colors you are going to use. You can either decide to go for similar or opposite colors depending on what effect you want to provoke.

The last advice I can give you is to test your website color scheme efficiency. If for whatever reason you realize your colors are causing you trouble and do not provoke the emotions you want them to, it’s never too late to change them. 

You can A/B test with different color combinations and choose the one that works best for your brand. Let’s have a look at color symbolism more in detail!

Color symbolism

• Red – The color of passion and danger
• Orange – The color of encouragement and enthusiasm
• Yellow – The color of optimism and positivity
• Green – The color of eco-friendly, growth and health
• Blue – The color of trust and intelligence
• Purple – The color of mystery, spirituality and luxury
• Pink – The color of femininity and playfulness
• Brown – The color of the earth and stability
• Black – The color of elegance and sophistication
• White – The color of purity and minimalism
• Gray – The color of conventionality and professionalism

[More symbolism and details for every color in my blog post]

Why website color schemes are important?

First of all, color schemes cannot contradict your brand’s philosophy. Basically, because colors have an effect on how people perceive your website. Thus, your brand.

Failing to choose the right colors for your Web page could cause confusion. Or even worse, send the wrong message.

So, it’s vital that you devote some of your time and effort to think about what colors would work best for your site. If you happen to find a great website color scheme, you would engage better with your audience as well as catch their attention more easily.

Not to mention that if done properly, your site’s color scheme would not only turn your visitors into your customers quickly. But, they would also visit your site again.

Website color schemes are used for more than just making your designs beautiful. From all of the forms of non-verbal communication, color is the most instantaneous way of conveying messages and meanings.

Colors play an important role in the identification process like symbolizing complex concepts and producing emotional responses. Since colors get consumer’s attention to your brand, unconsciously they will trigger an automatic association on their minds.

Thus, using the right colors on your website is critical for success. And placing importance on color communication on your website will help you to increase conversions.

That’s all for website color scheme fundamentals. Now, you know the basics and hopefully understand colors' importance. If you want to know more, check out my whole blog post on our blog. Please share your insights with me in the comments below!