The Psychology of Color in Web Design and Marketing
Is it true that colour influence where we gaze and act? In this article, you will learn about colour psychology for site design.
Color. It’s everywhere around us, affecting how we think, feel, and act.
Colors influence where we glance, what we click on, and the way we interpret things on a page in web design. As a consequence, understanding how colours operate as well as how to capitalize on their power is critical for site designers.
You’re undoubtedly already aware of certain basic colour psychology, such as red being linked with danger in the Western world, but how we see colour remains mostly subjective. People have unique colour choices, which are frequently influenced by our growing up, events and experiences, and cultural background.
However, there are some assumptions and patterns in how individuals react to colour that we’ll look at in this article.
- White
White symbolizes innocence, righteousness, neutrality, virtue, cleanliness, honesty, joy, and security. It is one of the most widely connected colours with website backgrounds!
Because of its variety and ability to capture attention with its pristineness, whitespace in websites functions as a potent web design feature for marketing.
Recognizing the importance of white colour psychology in design, firms like as ASOS, Adidas, Intuit Turbo, Scotch & Soda, and others have adopted it as an efficient marketing approach on their websites.
Use It
- To instil a sense of fairness and equality
- To symbolise completion and a fresh start
- to act as a blank canvas for imaginative concepts
- In order to accomplish clarity and contrast,
- To provide visual breathing space for site visitors
To assist visitors in absorbing the content on the website, Avoid It.
In theory, white could be used for any kind of website because the effect of its use is totally dependent on the other colours used with it. However, too much of it can represent emptiness and solitude. Even the sharp contrast of genuine white and true black is uneasy to the eyes since it reflects light that can make a web page appear unappealing and frigid.
Ideal For White is a top choice for any website design firm when it comes to building websites for the healthcare industry. Apart from that, white works well for scientific and high-tech websites. When combined with gold, black, or white, multiple shades of gray, or silver this colour can work brilliantly for luxury item.
- Red
Red has been considered to be the most engaging colour of all, as well as the finest colour for online marketing. It is also the most noticeable colour in the spectrum and, in many people’s opinion, the most visually appealing colour for websites. Psychologically influencing the mental state of viewers, red may increase pulse rate and produce quick breathing.
The colour red can be seen in abundance in the logos of the world’s largest food chains, such as McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, and Pizza Hut, as well as on the web pages of KitKat, Coca-Cola, YouTube, TedxToronto, and more.
Use It
- To attract attention
- To compel action
- To demonstrate passion
- To determine strength and intensity
- To elicit excitement and strong feelings
Avoid – It is never a good idea to overdo any colour. Not even the colour red, regardless of how great it is at attracting attention. Because red represents conflict, violence, rage, forceful, danger, and ablaze, adding too much red in the layout of your website may be over stimulating and intoxicating.
Appropriate Use- Red works best for websites that involve fashion, sports, entertainment, food, advertising, marketing, health services, and emergency services when it comes to correct colour psychology website design.
- Purple
Purple represents feelings of nostalgia, tenderness, wealth, and royalty. It is well-known for its spirituality and creative thinking, and it is regarded as one of the most peaceful colours for websites. It is a great combination of the emotions represented by two different colors, namely the dependability and stability of blue and the force and vitality of red.
Purple is also known as an interesting colour since it represents fresh thoughts and secrets while still having a soothing effect. Cadbury, Hallmark, PassLocker, Yahoo! Mail, and many other companies use this colour in their online design.
Use it
- To express your creative side and imagination.
- Instilling a sense of awe and enchantment
- To reflect wisdom, power, and prosperity
Avoid It if you want to influence respect. Using more intense and darker tones, or the incorrect purple shade, can make a website appear remote, even cheap and filthy. Purple’s interesting nature can generate distraction or contemplation in your viewers if you employ it too much in your web design.
Ideal For – Purple is excellent for products for beauty, massage therapy, rehabilitation, yoga, horoscope and spiritual websites. Because adolescent females prefer this color, you can use it to express any topic linked to them. Purple is an excellent colour to use when designing websites for feminine brands.
- Green
Green is one of the clearest colours for the human eye to recognise. It has a calming and harmonising effect. It represents life, tranquility, and rest and is related with nature, peace of mind, wellness, development, being kind, fertility, peace, balance, energy, and guidance.
The usage of green colors separates the lager brand Heineken from its competitors. Green is also used by brands such as Starbucks and Nuffield Health to create a bold, intense, and appealing brand image.
Use it
- It can be utilized to provide a tranquil or relaxing experience.
- To indicate the beginning of a fresh thing
- To stand for nature or to represent wealth
- To represent good health, earnings, or riches
- To strike a balance between emotional and intellectual thinking.
Avoid It – Green, in comparison to other hues, has the least negative impact. However, it may not be suitable for designing tech-related websites or marketing luxury goods brands. Green may not be the best colour for websites aimed at adolescent girls.
Perfect for – Using green as an accent colour in your website colour schemes can be beneficial for industries such as tourism, science, medicine, and recruitment. Websites dealing with ecology and the environment may also find it useful. Green is most commonly used on nature-related online platforms, eateries, economic exchanges, and health-related stores.
- Blue
Blue represents intellect, reliability, trustworthiness, and security. Using this colour in web design is thought to raise conversion rates. This colour is commonly used in logo and site design projects by sectors that need to instil a strong sense of trust in their consumers, such as cybersecurity, financial services, and the insurance company.
The world’s largest and most widely used social networking site, Facebook, is blue. Yes, blue is one of the most trusted hues, which is why it is frequently used by large internet banks like CapitalOne.com and online payment service providers like PayPal.
Use it
It can be used to provide an energising and invigorating impact.
To establish credibility and trust
To create a calming impact
To calm the audience
Avoid- Utilizing too much blue or certain of its shades can give the impression that your website is cold and cruel. Blue is the colour of grief and melancholy in particular societies. Even when used in food-related web design, blue ought to be avoided because it is associated with appetite suppression.
Perfect for- Because of its connection with dependability and non-invasiveness, this colour is commonly found in the banking industry, the health sector, and huge organizations. Blue can also be used well on websites relating to research, technology, dental, legal, administration, and medical services.
- Black
Black is unquestionably one of the most popular colors in web design. This colour conveys a sense of stability, value, luxury, and, of course, power. The colour black represents exclusivity and formality. Since white and black have numerous shades in between, use their lighter and darker hues strategically to produce the optimum colour contrast for sites that emphasize a sleek, beautiful, and elegant appearance.
Black or dark-tone web design is used by companies such as Lamborghini, Jack Daniels, and Citizen Watch to reflect class, quality, and clarity. Much of Nike’s advertising is done in black to give it a sophisticated and classy appearance.
Use it
- To convey a sense of elegance.
- To demonstrate command and power
- Creating a grounding effect
- To convey exclusivity and glam
- To get a classic and timeless look
Avoid- According to web design colour theory, the use of black in online designs should be done with caution because its connections are contradictory. It has a corporate appearance yet an edgy appeal, for example. It has a formal appearance but a traditional charm. Furthermore, in many cultures, this colour is connected with death, pain, gloom, terror, and evil. When you use too much black, it might take over your entire website design.
Perfect for- Because black is regarded as one of the most refined hues, it is great for websites dealing with high-end luxury items. Aside from high-end eCommerce websites and the advertising business, black works well in personal care products, trends, and any web design that wants to lend an elite and unique feel to its products.
Men’s and Women’s Color Preferences
Color Assignment, a research initiative that studied cultural similarities (and differences) through colour association, choice, and online behaviors, showed that men and women have different colour preferences. The project discovered that both men and women like blue, and that although 23% of women prefer purple, men do not.
Other studies on colour perception and colour preferences have discovered that men prefer vivid colours when it involves shades, tints, and hues, whereas women prefer softer colours.
Conclusion
Color psychology is one of the most strong and generalised techniques for connecting with visitors’ cultures and personal experiences.
If your website is beautiful and professionally built, it will be easier for you to frame the information and design a website that is appropriate for your target audience. So, if you’re planning to build a new website or redesign an existing one, make sure you pick the right colour.
If you require any further assistance in designing a website, please do not hesitate to contact us.