Are You Using the Right Web Colors?
Colors have an enormous impact on how a viewer reacts to a website. They create a certain feeling and can signal brand familiarity. Keep reading to see if your website’s colors are doing their job!
Accessibility (Readability)
Accessibility is more important than your branded color palette. Your logo may very well be the only example of your brand colors on your site, if they are problematic for users. If they are not an issue, using brand colors for backgrounds and text links will create a more cohesive look and feel.
- Colorblind users may have difficulty distinguishing red and green from black; avoid using them for text or text links.
- Brightness can also cause readability issues. Light text is hard to read against a white background. Medium-toned text against a dark background is not as legible as white. Use a readability checker site to make sure of your color contrast.
The Psychology of Color
What feeling do you want your site to convey? Certain colors have inherent meaning in the marketplace. Using the right colors can make your company seem more familiar and trustworthy.
- Blue: corporate
- Green: environmental or finance
- Purple: wellness
Colors also evoke feelings: Blue can convey sadness, purple is luxurious, red can be irritating or energizing, orange is a ‘happy’ color, and green is calming.
Types of Colors and Combinations
- Complementary colors are opposite colors in the spectrum, such as blue and orange. These combinations are naturally appealing to the eye.
- Analogous colors are situated next to each other on the color wheel, such as blue, blue-violet, and violet. Analogous colors are soothing.
- Neutral colors are black, white, gray and browns, which go well with brighter colors.
Using a little color psychology and following accessibility rules can help keep users on your site, rather than clicking away.
