Selecting the perfect colors for your website can be a lengthy or a neglected process but it is absolutely worth taking your time in this phase of development. Indeed, when redesigning your website, you should spend time picking colors that support your company’s message, your brand, and what you do. These colors also need to “please” your customers. Remember that, first and foremost, the website is there for your audience not for your own personal use. So you may love hot pink but, if your audience is made of construction workers between the age of 40 and 50, hot pink simply does not work.

Emotional Impact

Psychologists have proven again and again that colors affect emotions and moods. Certain colors in web design are considered “risky” because they evoke very strong feelings in people. Those would be colors that people either hate or love. Also women and men like different color palettes so, again, establish who your target audience is. The graphic below is a fun way to understand the psychology behind colors.

Source: How Colors Affect Conversions – Infographic

Cultural Considerations

In addition to gender and age, cultures affect how colors affect one’s emotion. If there is a very specific region you are targeting, understanding the culture is a must for your marketing efforts. For instance, India’s population in general love bright bold colors while France’s population may prefer more subdue color schemes. One way to establish is to search real estate in these areas. Both exterior and interior decor can give you a good idea as to what works best for this region.

Practical Use

Beside the emotional and cultural considerations when selecting colors, you also want to discuss with your designer their usability on the website. Elements to consider are as follows:

• Visibility on desktops or mobile devices: For instance some devices’ screens have a dark tint which may affect the rendering of a color. That is the case of most laptops.
• Contrast with background, images, and text: If your background is colored or textured, you may need to limit the use of colors on the site. The same is true if you have lots of images and/or photographs. Let the images bring color to the site and do not overwhelm the audience.
• Harmonization of colors: You do not want them to clash.
• Internet users’ habits: What are the expectation for colors on links? Are they new trends in Internet colors?
• Shades: If you are using shading, make sure your selected color(s) works with shade.

As you can see, there are lots of elements to consider when choosing colors for your new website. Take your time and discuss your opinion with your web designer.