There’s a lot to take into consideration when you’re designing a website. First there is the design layout, then how the content architecture fits, where the call-to-action will appear within the design structure, plus a whole list more which all contribute to a designing a successful business website.
What about your website colour scheme? As a professional web design agency based in Cheshire, we have inherited websites or have spoken about the importance of website colour, only to experience website colour schemes are often an afterthought.
Did you know 80% of users think colour enhances instant brand recognition? According to research, further statistics also argue 93% of consumers say the visual appearance of product is the most important factor.
With the statistics clearly there, inside this article we will take a look at what colour psychology and look to see if web design colours can really influence the way we design business websites.
What is colour psychology?
Colour psychology is the science of how colour can affect and influence human behaviours. Early signs of this theory were discovered by Isaac Newton in 1665, who discovered that when pure light passes through a prism, it separates into all visible colours.
Fast forward a few hundred years and colour psychology is now widely used in marketing and branding. Although factors such as gender, age and culture need to be considered, marketers identify colours can influence website visitors’ emotions and perceptions of products and services when visiting a website.
So why is colour important in web design and digital marketing?
Does the colour of a jumper persuade an impulsive shopping purchase? Do the branding colours of one website make you favour one over a competitor? The short answer is YES!
Colour evokes feeling and creates an emotional attachment and that’s why digital marketing experts will to replicate this when it comes to your business website. Choosing the right colours for your website and digital marketing can be the difference between your brand standing out from the crowd or blending into your competitors.
With research suggesting that our brains react in a diverse way to specific colours, as a web design agency based in Cheshire, we thought it would be interesting to research what professional markets believe each colour mean and how they can influence users…
Colour psychology Wheel – What Does Each Colour Mean?
RED
Researchers believe the colour red is the most intense of colours so can provoke the strongest emotions. Associated with keywords such as excitement, passion, danger, love and romance the colour red can present a loud, playful and young brand image.
If you are looking to subtly introduce red into your website design, implementing a call-to-action such as a red button to encourage users to fill out a contact form or sign-up to your newsletter could be a great way to draw attraction to what you want the user to do.
PINK
It’s no coincidence that largely all female brands will use the colour pink to target their female audience. Victoria Secret even have their own brand named after the colour pink! According to colour phycology, the colour pink revolves around femininity, playfulness and love. Although largely used for a female based audience, pink offers a gentle, innocent primary colour where you could use white, black or grey as your secondary call-to-action.
PURPLE
Featuring the excitement of red and the calm of blue, the colour purple is often associated as a powerful, luxury and spirituality colour. Traditionally considered as a feminine colour, purple is a popular marketing choice for websites within the beauty and fashion, particularly online businesses who promote cosmetology. This means the colour purple will often be used for websites who have a target audience of females between 18-30.
ORANGE
Although not quite as commanding as the colour red, orange is mostly associated by brands who create a combination of creativity, adventure and happiness. It’s also a very popular colour within the travel industry.
Blending the passion of red with the mellow tones of yellow, the colour orange is a great secondary colour to use on your business website where you can draw your audience’s attention with a friendly call-to-action.
YELLOW
Ah yellow, the colour that evokes feelings of happiness, positivity and sunshine. Although the colour yellow triggers warm, happy feelings it can be hard to work with a primary web design colour because it’s so bright. As a web design agency in Cheshire, we would advise using a lower contrast of yellow or look to associate the bright yellow with a positive call-to-action such as a free trial or promotional offer.
GREEN
In colour psychology, green is often associated with nature so many eco-friendly or healthy eating brands will be associated with this colour. Furthermore, green is also highly connected to growth, health and positivity so is usually one of the “go to” colours on most websites.
From the design perspective, the colour green is also a restful colour so can easily be implemented as a primary or secondary colour for most web design ideas.
BLUE
Strangely, most banking and social media platforms are two industries who incorporate mostly blue into their branding and business website to create a sense of security. Regarded as trustworthy, reliable and relaxing, blue works as a great primary or secondary colour to incorporate into most business websites and is regarded as the first choice of colour for both male and female users.
BLACK
The colour black is a powerful colour to include your branding and web design. The meaning of the colour is symbolic of mystery, power and professionalism. A number of high-profile brands across almost every industry will incorporate black into the logo and also makes a popular secondary colour as the text is an easy colour to read on almost every other coloured background.
Opinion – Colour Psychology influence or a load of rubbish?
So now we have looked at various colours, do you believe colour psychology can affect and influence how users behave when they visit your website? As a web design agency in Cheshire, we would love to know your opinion. Get in touch and let us know what you think or if you are thinking of web design re-brand.