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Choosing the Right Colors for Your Web Site
by Adriana Iordan
Do colors influence web site visitors?
Several years ago, having a web page (as a business or as an individual), was an
indicator of prosperity, and required a certain amount of financial power.
Nowadays, almost everybody has one. They are easy to create (thanks to instant
web page generators), even if they are not always works of art.
The main problem resides primarily in choosing the right colors for the web
site. It is not always easy to properly assort the background color with the
text color. The readability of a page can be influenced negatively if the color
contrast is badly chosen. The background of web pages is white by default, like
a sheet of paper.
Colors for Web Site Visitors
Researchers agree that colors greatly influence the human psychic. Consequently,
the color scheme that you use on your web site can entice the visitor to engage
in the goal of your site (i.e. make a purchase or request your services) or
leave it after the first few seconds. It is the human nature to yield to the
concept according to which "the first impression counts".
Even if they are not aware of it, your visitors will be greatly influenced in
their decision to keep browsing your site or to leave it because of the poor
choosing of colors and other visual displayed elements. On a psychological
level, they will respond to the stimuli offered by the web site.
When viewing a web page, people will get excited, happy or bored. All this
depends on the color selection. You need to be aware of the audience to which
you're addressing and make the right choices. Color is a great means of
communications, and it is best to make sure that you are saying the right thing.
Here are a few tips that you should consider
Use a palette of colors found in nature. They are more pleasing than any of
their artificial counterparts. Combine them in order to get the emotional
response that you want to get from your visitors. Unnatural colors, such as
bright greens, blues or reds usually cause eye fatigue and chase visitors (i.e.
prospects) away.
Create a strong contrast between a page's background and its text. The best
combination for readability is black text on white background, but there are
other excellent combinations also. Besides white, other effective web site
background, colors are dark blue, gray and black.
Avoid pairing blue and red, or blue and yellow. Green text on red background
or red text on green / blue background are also choices that you shouldn't make,
because such combinations usually cause eye fatigue.
Select up to five (some say seven) different colors and use them consistently
throughout the web site.
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