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Are you guilty of neglecting the importance of color palettes when designing your website? It’s never too late to rectify your mistake. Choosing the right website color palette could make all the difference in how your visitors perceive your brand.
Color has a way of communicating messages and evoking emotional responses in ways that words cannot. It has the power to influence the behavior of your customers towards your brand.
Studies have shown that color plays a crucial role in purchasing decisions. According to research by Kissmetrics, 52% of web users stated that they won’t return to a site if the color palette and overall aesthetics of the website don’t appeal to them.
Even NASA is concerned about the use of colors and has created a free online resource to help non-designers select the perfect shades for their projects.
So, it’s time to get serious about your color choices!
In this article, you’ll understand the concept of color psychology, the basics of color theory, and how a unique color palette can make your website design pop.
Plus, we’ve included free color palette generators to help you pick the right website color scheme.
What is a website color palette?
When we say a website color palette, It’s more than just the background color of your website and the color of your logo. It includes every little detail of your website where you put colors—from the header, and your text, to CTA buttons to footers or even the shades you use in your graphics. All these things combine to create a color palette for your website that sets its mood and aesthetic.
How to choose the most effective color palette for your website?
As you prepare to select the most effective color scheme for your website, you’ll get intimidated by the endless options available. Your only goal should be to choose a combination that elicits your brand message and triggers the sentiments of your audience.
1. First, understand the Psychology of colors
Color psychology is the study of how colors affect human behavior – how they perceive a brand, and feel about it. and take action. Artists and designers have long understood the power of color to evoke a mood and change behaviors.
They know that the relationship between colors and emotions is deeply intertwined. The color schemes communicate a stronger brand message. When people first interact with brands, they form an impression within 90 seconds, and up to 90% of that assessment is based on colors alone!
This infographic shows how how people perceive your brand based on colors. Therefore, understanding color psychology is crucial for the success of your website. One psychological principle to keep in mind is the Isolation Effect.
It suggests that when you emphasize an item and make it stand out like a sore thumb, It’ll likely be remembered. So, if you want your website to be memorable, consider using colors that make certain elements stand out and catch the eye.
2. Identify different color groups
Our reactions to color are influenced by factors, such as level of brightness, hue, and whether it leans towards cool or warm tones. For instance, there’s a nuanced yet significant contrast between a vibrant red and a more subdued earthy red. Right?
Considering the vast array of color options available, it can be challenging to know where to begin. Organizing colors into distinct categories can simplify the process.
Let’s explore how different color groups elicit various emotional responses and then examine how individual colors can be employed to evoke particular feelings.
3. Now, choose your primary color
For this, you need to understand color theory to identify primary, secondary, and tertiary colors.
Here’s a quick overview of color theory.
Here are some other definitions to keep in mind:
Hue – is a pure color before it’s altered by shade, tint, and tone.
Tint – makes the color lighter by adding white to it.
Shade – makes a color darker by adding black to it.
Tone – is called color’s vibrancy that can be changed by adding gray to a color.
Now you have had a quick catch-up of color theory, the next step is to choose your primary/base color that aligns with the core message you wish your customers to perceive and feel about your brand. This primary color will be dominant throughout your website.
You can either choose an Analogous or monochromatic scheme for your base color.
The Analogous color scheme is renowned for its harmonious and calming visuals. This color scheme utilizes colors that are closely related, such as blues and purples or reds and oranges, which are typically located adjacent to each other on the color wheel. However, to create contrast and make specific elements pop, a complementary color may be required.
Monochromatic color schemes have only one base color with 3 to 7 variations of darker shades and lighter tints of the original color.
Here’s an example:
You can create your own monochromatic color scheme here.
Designers often combine a diverse range of monochromatic colors with one complementary color. When implemented in a monochromatic design, neutral hues can create a sophisticated and stylish look. This color scheme is particularly effective for lifestyle brands and can lend an elegant aesthetic to social media platforms.
So, once you have decided on your base color, you can experiment with multiple complementary color combinations to enhance the main color and construct a comprehensive color palette.
4. Use high & low contrast colors
Creating contrast is the process of highlighting one color over another so that text/objects are distinguishable from the background. It helps your website look more organized and assists in distinguishing between various parts of the page.
For instance, if you have a side column that promotes a particular event or offer, using a color that sharply contrasts with the primary color scheme of your page can draw attention and encourage viewers to investigate further.
It is essential to choose a color palette that enables you to create contrast between colors while maintaining a cohesive appearance. Find your primary color on the color wheel and identify secondary colors that complement the various shades you plan to use.
Typically, high contrast works best for critical content as it is more visible. This can be achieved by using dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background. Also, tone-on-tone combinations with similar colors are aesthetically appealing, yet they can be challenging for viewers to read.
Here’s an example:
5. Select color combinations for your CTAs and Pop-ups
Choose good color combinations for your call-to-action (CTA) buttons, your infographics, and your lead collection pop-up. Try to keep your color combinations simple to make your content readable and easier to understand.
Here are some examples of good and bad combinations of colors for your CTA buttons.
There are many other options to choose color combinations for your main sections. These include:
- Complementary or opposite colors can create a striking visual effect. By identifying which colors are opposite each other on the color wheel, you can select a primary color as your main hue and accent it with its complementary colors in a 7:3 ratio. This technique not only produces a beautiful color combination but also allows your eyes to rest on the contrasting color.
- Split complementary colors create a softer contrast and offer more variety. You can see this type of color scheme with orange, purple, and teal or either side of the opposite.
- Triangle, rectangle, and square color combinations stretch the boundaries of the power of complementary opposites. The triadic color scheme consists of three colors that are equally spaced around the color wheel, forming an equilateral triangle when connected by lines. A rectangle (tetradic) involves four colors that are created from two complementary pairs. And the square color scheme is similar to the rectangle palette, but instead features two sets of complementary pairs evenly spaced around the color wheel.
6. Think about the aesthetic of your brand
When choosing your website’s colors, consider the visual impression you wish to convey through your brand.
For instance, a company seeking to emphasize modern and sleek aesthetics through color may not want a website with too much content, as this could make the site appear cluttered and obscure critical information.
A website that incorporates language, imagery, and colors in a cohesive manner is more likely to have a significant impact on customers’ perceptions.
12 examples of gorgeous website color schemes for inspiration
If you’re considering a rebranding take these website color palettes as inspiration to give your brand a fresh new makeover.
1. Purple tints
Source: ReedBe
If you’re looking to add a dash of energy and richness to your website, consider this palette. It includes dark reddish brown shades combined with deep Tuscan red and old lavender.
2. New-fangled and bold
Source: Bryan James
This modern-looking palette has an attractive combination of pinks, reds, blacks, and grays that elicits luxury, sophistication, and minimalism.
3. Simple yet striking
Source: Bert
Fancy a minimalist yet striking design? Consider this color palette that includes a dark smoky black background with a striking electric blue and text written in cyan and gray.
4. Purple and green to give your website a stunning sheen
Create a unique and stunning website design by combining the rich purple color contrasts with the vibrant lime and sharp whites.
5. Sleek, sophisticated, and futuristic
Source: MediaMonks
You can’t resist this riveting blend of blue sapphire, gunmetal gray, peach-orange, platinum, and tan. It will create a modern, sleek, and futuristic brand image.
6. Ingenious and audacious
Source: eDesign Interactive
This loud and aggressive combination of vivid yellow, jade on a dark gray, and Portland orange on an almost black background screams intensity and energy. If you’re after a contemporary and audacious brand image, this palette should be your pick.
7. Vivid and sharp
Source: FCINQ
Blend dark cerise, royal purple, and dark slate blue to create a tempting palette for your visitors.
8. Radiant and flashy accent colors
Source: Paypr
If you want to draw the eyes of your visitors to just the right sections on your website, use this palette. It includes dazzling shades of blue and violet combined with glossy red and orange accents.
9. Clean and refreshing palette
Source: Grosse Lanterne
Intend to convey a calm and reliable image? Consider this color palette that includes a dark imperial blue and emerald green to leave a clean and refreshing look – reminiscent of the ocean.
10. Add a splash of youthful and fun colors
Source: Five Hundred
This playful palette contains a combination of bright turquoise, tangerine yellow, and dark orchid colors to give your website a fun vibe.
11. Striking citrus colors
Source: Superhero Cheesecake
Is there a palette that screams “energy” more than this one? The zesty combination of bright yellow-greens, lime, and black exudes high-octane energy and is a go-to choice for brands that embody the thrill of extreme sports and energy-charged drinks.
12. Loud and obnoxious
Source: Panic
This combination is intentionally loud and unapologetic, possibly even off-putting to some viewers. However, when executed skillfully, it can make a powerful and bold statement that commands attention and leaves a lasting impression.
9 Best Website Color Palettes Generators
To fine-tune your color scheme, there are many color palette generators/tools out there that you can use to create specific website color palettes for your business.
If you’re a designer you can use these tools or if you’re a business owner and need help with selecting the best color palette for your website, contact the UI/UX design team at Hypabeez and we’ll help you select the best possible color scheme for your business website or overall branding.
1. Adobe Color
Adobe Color Wheel is a perfect tool for those trying to find a great color palette using different color combinations. You can select the type of scheme from analogous, complementary, or monochromatic and also explore color libraries and trends to come up with a striking palette.
2. Coolors
Coolers provides an array of unique features to its users, including the ability to select palettes directly from a photo and explore popular options while generating their own. Additionally, you’ll find convenient add-ons and extensions to save and export your custom color creations. With its advanced algorithms, Coolers can generate a range of palette schemes or provide in-depth information about specific colors, giving you full control over your color choices.
3. Cohesive Colors
With Cohesive Colors, you can effortlessly modify your current color palette by incorporating an overlay tint in your preferred colors. This nifty feature enables you to create a brand-new color palette from an existing one with minimal effort and time.
4. Paletton
Paletton has created a color wheel for all levels of designers. You can either select pre-generated color combinations or use the color wheel to generate the best color scheme for your brand. You can generate monochromatic schemes, adjacent colors, triad colors, and rectangle (tetrad) colors. The most amazing feature of Paletton is that it allows you to see a simulation of colors on your website so you can see how the color palette will look on your site.
5. HueSnap
HueSnap gives you options to either choose a base color and see its complementary colors and how your base color stands out in different palettes or choose a color combination based on a photo. Your generated color schemes will then be served as an inspiration for other users.
6. Palettr
Palettr has a search tool where you can enter keywords to communicate your brand’s concepts to find a related color palette. For instance, if you want a modern theme or a family-oriented theme, you can generate color palettes accordingly.
7. Canva color palette generator
Canva is your go-to tool for everything related to design and graphics. It has a library of color palettes where you can select the color scheme for your brand. Or you can also upload images and create a color palette based on image colors.
8. Color Hunter
Color Hunter isn’t specifically a tool, it helps you track a particular color and create a palette around it. Just drop an image in the tool and create the color palettes you need for your site to harmonize with that image’s colors.
Final Thoughts
The color palette is a crucial aspect of website design that should not be overlooked. It can greatly affect user experience, brand identity, and the overall aesthetics of your website. So, it’s imperative to choose a color scheme wisely to reflect the brand message you want to convey. Remember to keep the color palette consistent, balanced, and accessible. By doing so, you can create a website that not only looks visually appealing but also resonates with your target audience.
Hypabeez has a team of creative web designers who carefully consider color psychology while choosing a color palette for your website. You can contact us to give your website a brand new look or build it from scratch.
One thought on “How To Choose An Attractive Website Color Palette”
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Finallyyyy…
Not another boring blog with repetitive knowledge.
The second half is unveiling a very new picture of what colors can do for a website.
Thanks for making my time worth it. 👏