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Secrets to Using Color on Your Website and Common Pitfalls to Avoid
By Michael Turner

Colors have long been known to have psychological affects on mood and interpretation. So, when you are designing your website, you should keep in mind the influence color might have on your visitors. Do some research to find out which colors promote your product and services best as well as which colors make visitors interested in buying your products. You should take all of this into account in order to create the best atmosphere for buying that you can.

Also, keep in mind; colors have different meanings in different cultures. If you are promoting a product in an overseas market, you should also research what colors stand for in that culture.

There are many pitfalls that people fall into on a regular basis because they are unaware of the many effects color has on their visitors and ultimately on their wallets. Read the following suggestions in order to know what to avoid when incorporating color on your website.

Pitfall #1 - Colors that do not Associate

The product or service that you are selling should determine the color scheme you choose as well as the target market you are selling to. For instance, men and women prefer different colors in varying hues, luminosity, and saturation. For the most part, women prefer colors with less saturation and men prefer colors with more saturation. Keep this in mind if your product is geared to one of the sexes in particular.

Pitfall #2 - No Palette

Make sure you use varying colors on your website from the same palette. This means colors that have some degree of relation to one another. Doing this will create a better layout which is more pleasing to the eye and one that will have a better psychological effect on your visitors. If you do not know anything about palettes then choose the Microsoft color palette, click on an exterior color you like, and the follow it either horizontally or vertically to choose your palette. It really is that easy!

Pitfall #3 - Consider Your Entire Audience

Different colors indeed have different effects on different people because of gender, culture, and life experience, however there are people who also have difficulty seeing certain colors because they have mild to severe color blindness. While this only represents 8-10% of the population, you still want these individuals to be able to view your website. Try not to use only red and green which are typically the colors individuals with color blindness have the most problems seeing.

When you keep color schemes in mind and consider how they will affect your audience, you will be able to create a climate that better sells your product and inclines your visitors to become your customers.

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