The number one thing that will immediately set the tone for your website when a visitor arrives is the color scheme. Because of this, choosing a color scheme is one of the earliest things that must take place in the design process. What do you need to think about when it comes to the colors on your site?
Don’t Ignore Branding
One mistake many designers make is ignoring a brand’s colors when developing a site. If the company already has a logo and perhaps even specific colors used in product packaging and other marketing materials, the website needs to follow suit (unless the company is being completely rebranded). Consistent colors build trust in your brand.
Use a Color Palette Tool
Plenty of these exist on the Internet, so there’s no excuse for colors that clash. Many palette tools will provide complimentary colors, contrasting colors, and a slew of other options to choose from. You can often even select the specific hex code of a color and use that as the basis to begin. If that is the case, then you should start with the color of the company logo and work from there. If you are starting from scratch (or starting over), then you should choose this color first.
Design Needs to Be Practical
You may have favorite colors, but your site also needs to look appealing. Text needs to be easily readable, which means a high contrast between text color and background graphics. This is especially important if you run into site visitors who are color blind. Also, you want to make sure that the button with your call-to-action stands out. That means it can’t always be in the exact color scheme, or you may lose focus where you need it to be for a conversion.
Don’t Forget Psychology
We associate certain colors with particular emotions. This happens subconsciously. Because of this, you need to choose the right colors for the emotions you want visitors to experience on your site. For example, restaurants should stay away from muddy colors that make things seem unappetizing. Medical facilities want to gravitate toward white since we associate that with cleanliness and health.
By the time you have considered all of the factors above, you should have a good idea of where to begin. From there, it is all about good web design and incorporating the colors appropriately.