When building your website there are a lot of things to think about including what platform you’ll use to build your site, hosting, plugins, code, layout, image elements, how it will look on mobile devices, and so much more.  

Using plenty of white space is always a good approach. Keeping the site clean and uncluttered will help eliminate distractions from your main message. This will also make the site easy on the eyes, which is a topic for another discussion. 

But, with all the thought and work that goes on into the process of site development, one element often gets overlooked: choosing the right palette. 

Why color choices on your website matter 

The colors used on your website can have a significant impact on visitor behavior and emotions. In fact, there are entire studies dedicated to color psychology and color theory. Color also makes a significant difference in how your message comes across, based on your site’s goals. 

Choosing the right color scheme for your website can help create a positive first impression with users. But, if your colors aren’t the right fit, it could reduce engagement with your call to action (or CTA) buttons. 

So, how do you go about choosing the perfect color? 

There are a lot of choices when it comes to selecting the colors for your brand’s website and a single color just won’t do. You’ll have to consider the background color, primary text color, and contrasting colors for any CTAs. But the correct colors may provide your site with just the jolt it needs to inspire the response you’re looking for.  

Here are just some of the emotions associated with the common primary colors: 

  • Red: Excitement, Energetic, Desire, Warmth, and Taking Action  
  • Blue: Trustworthy, Honesty, Intelligence, Calming, and Authority  
  • Black: Formal, Sophisticated, Secretive, Negative, and Serious  
  • Green: Hopeful, Health, Growth, and Reassurance  
  • Grey: Balance, Calm, Neutral, and Clean  
  • Yellow: Friendly, Happiness, Cheer, and Confidence  
  • Orange: Uplifting, Comfort, Fun, Optimistic and Rejuvenating  
  • Purple: Quality, Individuality, Creative and Dignified  

As you can see the color choices on your website can influence a visitor’s emotions. This means how you use them on your site can make a substantial difference in how your visitors interpret your messaging and brand. In other words, choosing colors that match your brand goals is key.

For example, in the Healthcare industry using red in your website’s color palette may not be the best choice. Using Blues may set a better tone for patients visiting the site for the first time.  

On the other hand, if you want to create a sense of excitement to make a purchase or fill out a signup form, red may be a better choice. In this instance, a bold red color may help to influence a click more than cooler color tones that tend to have more calming effects and reduce the feeling of urgency to take action.  

So, as you look to design or redesign your site, don’t let your color choices be the missing element. Color should be used with purpose in your site design. As you choose your website color schemes, consider the specific emotions you want to evoke based on key goals for your landing page. It could make a world of difference to your brand, messaging, sales, and conversion rates.