Web Design Color Theory: Colors can Increase Profitibility
When designing a website for your brand, one of the most significant choices to make is determining its ideal web design color theory or color scheme. Since different colors can trigger contrasting sensations, it’s vital that your designer chooses the colors that will communicate your brand’s message most effectively. Ultimately, the choice of color will have an enormous effect on the behavior of your website’s visitors, influencing everything from their initial interest to their purchasing decisions.
Web Design Color Theory Can Influence Customer Behavior
The overwhelming majority of consumers report that color has an effect on their behavior, and it’s essential that web designers are able to capitalize on this reality. Consumers form opinions on products quickly—frequently within mere seconds—and it’s the responsibility of the web designer to ensure that the consumer’s first impression of your brand is positive.
Green = Nature
On a certain level, this is intuitive to all of us. For example, one doesn’t have to be an expert web designer to appreciate that the ideal color for a website selling a natural or environment-oriented product is green. The color green is associated with nature and even the word itself has a connotation of environmental consciousness. That’s why it’s common for websites that are oriented towards organic products, outdoors activities, and anything relating to physical health to adopt a green color scheme.
Bright Colors for your Calls-to-Action
In a similar vein, color theorists have determined that web designers are best off using bright primary colors such as red, orange, and yellow for their call-to-actions. Since tests with darker colors tend to result with less impressive conversion rates, it’s uncommon to come across a popular website with a call-to-action such as a “purchase now” or “add to cart” button in dark colors.
Think From Your Customers’ Perspective
Besides for thinking about the connotations of various colors, it’s important to consider how these colors will be interpreted by your target audience. Rather than getting misguided by color schemes purported to function well in all circumstances, designers should spend time contemplating which colors will appeal most to the particular demographics that their brand is pursuing.
A clear example of this principle can be seen in the way that Facebook has embraced a blue color scheme for its social network. Color theorists have found that blue is a color that many demographics associate with trustworthiness and loyalty, and that’s why Facebook entices its users to share personal information by applying a blue color scheme. Given the widespread acceptance of the psychological effects of the color blue, it’s not a surprise that blue is a preferred choice of many web designers.
Get Creative
Besides for colors—or hues, as referred to by designers—there are numerous other factors that can impact the success of your site by communicating different elements. For example, it’s important to think carefully about the way that tints, shades, saturation, and tones can affect the behavior of your visitors. While the application of these concepts may not have immediate ramifications for all brands, it’s important for designers to be aware of how various aspects of color theory can affect the profitability of websites.
