Your choice of color matters on a number of different levels. It should align with the intent of your brand. Your color scheme for selling girls shoes won’t be the same as selling financial services. Where you use certain colors can impact your visitor reactions to them. Color can even mean different things in other cultures. This is why it is so important to understand how color impacts people and choose them strategically on your site.
So much of color depends on your audience’s mood but you can “set the table” for them in a variety of ways. Don’t forget that the most effective selling schemes are visually disruptive, not pleasant. At the point of sale you need to be bold and confident.
What Colors Mean
- Red – high emotion color which tends to increase the visitors existing mood. It is also a power color which triggers people’s attention. The key is to use it sparingly and to place it where you want your audience’s eye to go. Most effective for impulse purchases and ideal for CTA buttons.
- Blue – blue is the color of trustworthiness and intelligence. It is most associated with logic and serenity but can also be seen as cold and aloof. Blue works the opposite of red in that it doesn’t excite the visitor, it actually calms and reassures them.
- Green – the most versatile of colors so make sure you use it where it can have the appropriate impact. Green can be a comfort color ideal for reassurance and a feeling of harmony. It also signifies healthy, kindness and is associated with nature. Green can also mean money or emotions around wealth. People also associate green with “Go” (as in traffic stoplight) so it works well with CTA and buy buttons.
- Yellow – exudes optimism, confidence and power. Best used as a complimentary color on borders, trim or overlaid on a darker background.
- Purple – traditionally the color of royalty (the elements needed to produce purple were expensive and only available to the wealthiest), purple signifies prestige and elegance. Avoid overuse as it can also represent suppression and decadence.
- Orange – where red says power, orange says energy, especially fun and hip energy. It is also an “it” color that really pops visibly and can be ideal for linked text. It should be used for serious content as it has associations with frivolity and immaturity. Orange is a great contrast color that really pops off many backgrounds but especially white. It also doesn’t appear much in the business world so it stands out visually for your audience.
- Pink – still primarily a feminine color, pink works well if your target audience is female and young. Have fun with it.
- Brown – another comfort color, brown is associated with the earth and soil so it is relaxing and solid. Use sparingly as too much can be visibly unattractive.
- Gold – if your brand is high-end and/or expensive then make good use of gold. It symbolizes wealth and affluence and can be very powerful when combined with green or purple.
- Black – the most versatile of colors, black is actually considered a dramatic color. Much like red it enhances your existing mood while being equally at home in a modern or traditional setting.
Are You Ready to Start Your First Blog?
Click Here to Get Your FREE 5-Day Course!
Complimentary Colors
This won’t be a complete list of complimentary colors but understand that color matters in your user’s experience. It can be the difference between clicking on a “Buy” button or not even noticing it at all. It’s also a simple way to get your audience’s eye to go where you want it to. Your colors start with your branding and then extend to your blog content. Examples of some powerful color combinations include:
- Blue + Orange
- Purple + Gold (or Yellow)
- Pink + Yellow
Pastels tend to work well together but are relegated to fewer enterprises (primarily nature/outdoors related) than bolder options. Click here for a great resource for seeing what colors work well together.
Color blindness considerations
Though only an estimated 8% of men, and less than 1% of women, are considered color blind many of the accomodations for color deficiencies are generally best practices regardless. Examples of where color matters are using symbols in addition to color, limiting the overuse of colors, including textures along with colors to differentiate and avoiding certain color combinations. Luckily, most of the color combinations to avoid are ugly anyway and not likely to be used but there are a few, blue & gray, light green & yellow and green & black that could be used. Avoid these color combinations if you can to accommodate.
So clearly color matters but don’t get discouraged if it takes a while to get your colors right. No one is perfect right out of the gate. This is why A/B testing is so important. Test to see which color works best in which situations. Your audience will tell you what they prefer.
FREE 5-Day Course to Start Blogging
You’ve always wanted to start a blog but just aren’t sure where to start . . . no worries.
This FREE 5-day course is the perfect place to start and get your feet wet.
Start with our 5-Step Checklist for Starting Your First Blog then move onto . . .
WordPress
Learn how to set-up WordPress, the premier tool for creating a website.
Themes & Page Builders
Learn more about our recommended WordPress theme, GeneratePress and the game-changing page builder, Elementor.
Plugins
See our list of the best WordPress plugins to get started with.
