Color is often overlooked in the business of optimizing websites
for better returns on investments. Website sales can be greatly
affected by simply changing its colors. Ever come across a
website that uses some funky combination of print and background
colors? If you ever want to experience an eye-twisting headache,
try reading yellow print on a blue background. The reason you see
black type on a white background so much is that it is the best
color combination for reading, both on and offline.
And since it is even harder to read text on a monitor than it is
on paper, we must all be especially careful with the colors we
choose for our websites, or suffer less-than-optimal site traffic
and repeat visitors.
Color choice should also be dictated by other, less obvious
goals, when designing or re-vamping a website. It's important to
realize that different colors invoke different emotions, are
associated with specific concepts and say different things in
each society. For instance, green often times is associated with
freshness or money, which is fairly obvious if you think about
it. But every color does this, and some of the emotions and
concepts are more subtle. For example, white means pure, easy, or
goodness and purple can be associated with royalty or
sophistication. What's more, each color carries with it both
positive and negative ideas. The emotions and concepts that you
associate with specific colors may differ from other people's
associations, but there are themes that run throughout each
color. Here are some:
Red:
Positive: Sense of power, strength, action, passion, sexuality
Negative: Anger, forcefulness, impulsiveness, impatience,
intimidation, conquest, violence and revenge
Yellow:
Positive: Caution, brightness, intelligence, joy, organization,
Spring time
Negative: Criticism, laziness, or cynicism
Blue:
Positive: Tranquility, love, acceptance, patience, understanding,
cooperation, comfort, loyalty and security
Negative: Fear, coldness, passivity and depression
Orange:
Positive: Steadfastness, courage, confidence, friendliness, and
cheerfulness, warmth, excitement and energy
Ignorance: Ignorance, inferiority, sluggishness and superiority
Purple:
Positive: Royalty, sophistication, religion
Negative: Bruised or foreboding
Green:
Positive: Money, health, food, nature, hope, growth, freshness,
soothing, sharing, and responsiveness
Negative: Envy, greed, constriction, guilt, jealousy and disorder
Black:
Positive: Dramatic, classy, committed, serious
Negative: Evil, death, ignorance, coldness
White:
Positive: pure, fresh, easy, cleanliness or goodness
Negative: Blind, winter, cold, distant
A major goal of marketers is to invoke emotion in their audience.
We know that if we can cause some kind of an emotional reaction
in the people we are marketing to and communicating with, we have
a better chance of compelling them to buy from us. The battle
between logic and emotion that rages in each of is usually won by
emotion most of the time. By choosing the colors of our websites
and online media with deliberate care, we are purposefully trying
to invoke a specific emotional response that will increase sales.
So pick your colors carefully.
Not only do colors evoke emotions, but they can communicate
messages or concepts too. For example, look at
http://www.clickitticket.com to see how color is used to
communicate the new affiliation between Oak Web Works, LLC and
ClickitTicket.com. The blues of Oak Web Works's logo swirl into
the reds of ClickitTicket.com's logo. This can be interpreted as
a melding of the two organizations, which is what the words
underneath say, "in affiliation with". Also, the red of
http://www.oakwebworks.com/tickets/ indicates action and
passion, two essentials for people who want to attend theater,
sporting events or concerts.
Another online ticket website,
http://www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com/, has a different color
approach. Its main colors are blue and purple, giving the site a
comforting, secure and sophisticated feel. The main header on
each page has all the colors in the rainbow in it, a collage of
images, with the word 'Tickets' in large, white font. Much of the
site is white too, which gives it a clean feel.
As a general rule of thumb, when Oak Web Works
(http://www.oakwebworks.com) designs websites, one primary color
and one secondary or complimentary color will be chosen. These
colors are based on the specific audience and market of our
client and the messages the client wants to communicate to the
rest of the world. If more than two or three colors are used,
things tend to look a little messy, and the power of any one
color is diluted too much, so we most often stick with two
colors.
When I am not sure exactly which colors or combinations to use, I
often start trying different things, then take a step back and
ask myself what my chosen colors are conveying to me. After
designing many websites over the years I have realized that going
with my gut has often worked when I'm in doubt. You would be
surprised at how creative and accurate your intuition can be.
However, if the client already has an established brand, we will
always make sure to match the colors of the website with the
original colors of the company. It is not wise to have print
collateral material one color and the website a totally unrelated
color. All marketing channels need to remain consistent, with one
face only.
Since website visitors all have different platforms, different
monitors, and different settings for their screen resolutions,
the colors you choose for your website may not always be rendered
the exact same way on your site visitors' monitors. That's why
there are "Web Safe" colors that have a much higher likelihood of
looking the exact same regardless of the user's computer, monitor
or settings. Many graphics programs, including Adobe Photoshop,
have a feature that allows you to choose "Web Safe" colors only.
Keep in mind however, that the sophistication of technology today
allows for Web designers to be able to stray from the "Web Safe"
colors more and more. So don't be overly concerned if you choose
to use "un-safe' Web colors, chances are that most of your
audience has the computers necessary to view your site the exact
way you intended.
Whether you are designing sites for clients or designing your own
business website, your color choice is vital. Be sure to try
different colors, different shades, and different combinations
before you decide. It's a lot of fun playing with colors but
every choice you make comes with a set of pre-defined societal
meanings and emotions, so choose with deliberate care.
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