How to use colours in web design

By Roman Berezhnoi March 28, 2019 2.91K views

How to use colours in web design

Web developers and web designers who constantly interact with websites and regularly perform testing of high converting Landing Pages know how much a color can influence a potential client’s decision. Digital marketers know how colors evoke emotions, subconscious reactions and can influence decision-making.

According to a Kissmetrics study, color advertising is viewed 42% more often than black and white. An impressive figure shows that ignoring the psychology of color in the web design is not the best solution. Knowing how to use color elements for corporate website design correctly, can greatly increase conversions at different stages of the funnel.

White

White is a universal color that blends well with literally all other options. That is why it is almost always used in a design. Most often as a background.

It makes people feel minimalism and cleanliness. Therefore, it is often present in the promotional materials of brands that want to appear fresh and modern.

White background helps to highlight important elements.

How to use white color in web design

White can be combined with any other colors. However, it is absolutely not suitable for decoration of CTA (call-to-action) buttons and other interactive elements. This color does not attract the user’s attention.

White is well suited for the design of selling sites. By making single pages of predominantly white color, you can be sure that the attention of visitors is focused on the necessary details.

See the example the one of our works.

F5Studio UI/UX designers created unique design for a Moodja company
The fuul presentation of F5 Studio web agency is here

Black

It is used not much less than white. The reason is that black elements stand out well on light backgrounds of any hue. Therefore, the text is often written in this color.

The black color gives selling sites elitism. Packaging makes it clear that the product is expensive. This has been adopted by major global brands.

When using a black background, it is important that every detail in the foreground is contrasting. Only in this way you can focus on the right things.

How to use black color in business sites design

There is no data on the effectiveness of black CTA buttons because they are rarely used.

On one-page sites, black brings good results if it is dominant. But it is important that the auxiliary colors are chosen correctly.

Such resources look very stylish:

Black and white iphones lon a black background look very stylish on iPhone X page on Apple site.

F5 Studio’s web designres also use black color. The black color makes other colors appear brighter.
But black color really feels heavy, That is why our web designers balance it out with lots of lighter colors.

F5 Studio created web design for Sense-Effect company< the black backgrond balanced bright colors
See fuul presentation of the project here

Black is a color of authority and power, it is also associated with some negative things in different cultures.
So, it is important to use this color carefully. If you want use black color for your business  website, you should entrust web design to professionals, who experienced in web design.

Red

The red color has a strong psychological impact on people, therefore it is widely used in promotion and advertising. Always dominates and captures the attention of visitors. Red at the same time can be used to summon romantic and loving feelings, as well as aggressive and even evil.

The listed triggers make it a powerful tool for attracting attention. At the same time can emphasize the importance of a certain element. An example is a red carpet.

Scientists have determined that this color can affect people even physically. For example, affect the circulatory system, respiratory rate or metabolism. Feelings are similar to hunger. That is why many food companies often use it.

How to use the color red in web design

Using the red color is a good way to draw visitors’ attention to some elements, but it must be introduced carefully, considering the dominant properties. It should be small details – buttons, pointers, small banners and so on.

See the F5 Studio project. Our webdesigners use red color for CTA elements.

A red car on blue backround is visualization of car shipping services and F5 Studio created logo, website design and developed a site this companyThe full presentation of the project here

Red is often used for promotional and discount offers. Passing by shops where discounts operate, pay attention to signs. Most likely, you will see something similar to this:

Red is often used for promotional and discount offers

Blue

The blue color common all over the internet. Most sites have blue colors because it causes trust and calm.

It is worth highlighting its versatility. Light and darker shades can be perceived differently. Often associated with the sky, therefore, can cause a feeling of freshness.

How to use the blue color in web design

Ideal for financial organizations. The audience treats them much more loyally if there is blue among the company’s colors.

Also, blue is used by brands whose products cannot be “touched”. These are information products, software, consulting services and the like.

Since this color is associated with trust, it is often used in the design of health products. Remember the logos of Colgate, Sensodyne, Crest, etc .:

How to use the blue colour

Blue has many positive functions, but there are branches where it is not recommended to use it. For example, in companies related to food. There is a simple explanation: blue is rarely found in natural products. Therefore, subconsciously does not create the best association with consumers.
If you are not connected with the food industry and want to gain the trust of your audience, combine blue and white on your websites and in your promotional materials.

There is a good example of using blue color for a landing page of IT product.

On the light blue backraund the white laptop with a Projex website that symbolyze F5 Studio approach to UI/UX design

See full presentation of our design here

Yellow

Yellow causes interest and different emotions, depending on the specific shades. Bright yellow tones create positive feelings. The reason is that yellow is often associated with summer, sun, and heat. But at the same time, light shades can be a warning. Remember some traffic signs.

Most people associate a darker yellow with wealth and solidity. The same applies to the golden color.

How to use the yellow color in web design

Positive bright yellow shades apply to brands that want to convey vigor and playfulness. A good example is Snapchat:

Example of using yellow is Snapchat

The yellow logos immediately catch the eye and, as a rule, are remembered. The warning property helps to correctly highlight footnotes and notifications on websites.

Orange

Orange is an interesting option that is most often ignored in branding and marketing materials. Like red, orange can change a person’s physical sensations. But the impact is not so strong. It can be both playful and exciting, which makes it faster to make a decision.

Orange Adds liveliness and vigor to materials. However, it should be used in a restrained way as too much orange on a website risk making it look cheap. If your target audience is high-income people, then ignore this option.

It is F5 Studio’s web design for a digital agency from Dublin. We combined yellow and orange colors.

The yellow backgrond of webdesign for a site of digital agency

See the full presentation of the project here

How to use Orange color in web design

There is an opinion that the best color for the “Buy” or “Add to Cart” buttons is green. But the world’s largest online trading platform, Amazon, uses orange. In practice, when it comes to analyzing call-to-action buttons, orange shows far better results than green. Perhaps this pattern was provoked by Amazon.
In addition to the buttons, orange is used on the sites themselves. This works great if resources promote a brand associated with creativity.

Green

The obvious association is nature and ecology. It has a calming effect on people, causes a certain balance. Especially if light shades are used – mint, turquoise, lime. Also associated with growth and development.

How to use green color in web design

Often used to design buttons. Despite the strong orange performance, green in some examples was ahead of its efficiency. Use it in branding if you want to focus on its purity and aesthetics.

Sometimes green color can help you to create something unique or even a little bit crazy. F5 Studio’s web designers can use green color for these purposes.

It is an example of the unique or rather crazy website design witnh green color

See the full presentation on F5 Studio’s Behance profile

Purple

An excellent choice for companies that “sell” luxury and elegance. Purple emphasizes nobility.

Purple is the exact opposite of orange. It creates a sense of secrecy and romance.

Such features make the color excellent for branding, but ineffective for impulse purchases and increasing conversion.

How to use the purple color in web design

Tests show that this option is least suitable for CTA elements. Buttons and shapes of this color only worsen the conversion.

There are no direct associations with food, but some brands from this industry successfully use purple and violet. Remember chocolate, Milka. By the way, the feeling of luxury is also present here.

F5 Studio agency’s mobile app designers use purple color for this project.

F5 Studio mobile app designers create Evrica mobile app for a company that provides car rental services.

See the full presentation of the project here 

Conclusion

Using colors in web design means to have the knowledge and experience. So, if you want to entrust your website design to a beginner, you should avoid black color, red color and green color in your colors scheme. The simple web design is the best solution in this case.

Unique, creative web projects require web professionals. They knows how to balance colors, to highlight CTA and to use colors for a success of you businnes. How much does professional web design cost? Contact F5 Studio’s managers to describe your web project.

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