How to Pick the Right Color Scheme for Your Website

Selecting the color scheme is one of the most important aspects of Web design. Select an appealing layout with the perfect colors and your visitors will reward you with more page views and return visits. Get them wrong and you could cost yourself time, visitors and possibly even paying customers.

The goal to aim for in selecting the appropriate colors for a Website is to keep it simple, easy on the eyes, and very easy to read. Avoid clashing colors and flashing tags, as these things tend to make a Website hard on the eyes and very unappealing.

In addition, visitors don’t want to have to highlight text just to be able to read it, and they certainly won’t put in the extra effort to continue browsing if doing so isn’t as effortless as possible.

What You Should Know Before You Begin

Selecting colors can be a simple task, so long as you take the time to prepare before you jump in and test the water.

Do you plan to use a company logo or related photo in your Website header? If so, these should be taken into consideration when selecting the colors you want for the rest of your site. Always use colors that complement those in the logo or photo you plan to use.

If you already have a Website header ready to go, it is especially important to make sure that the colors in your header are incorporated into your Website color scheme to avoid causing it to clash with the rest of the site or look out of place.

If you don’t have either of these, that’s okay. It’s perfectly fine to select your Website colors first and then design a header to match what you selected. In this case, you would want to use your Website’s niche or theme to help determine what colors would be suitable to use in your design.

Now That You Have an Idea of Where to Start, Let’s Start Selecting Some Colors

You have a few options available to help you determine the perfect color palette for your Website.

Online Color Scheme Generators are one of the easiest ways to test out certain colors and find complementary and contrasting colors.

Adobe Kuler and Color Schemer are both examples of popular online color scheme generators that have proven to be invaluable to Web designers time and again. Alternatively, you can do a simple Google search for free online color pickers or color scheme generators to gain access to an endless variety of other options as well.

How to Use an Online Color Scheme Generator

To use an online color picker, put in one of the colors you came up with for your starting point, and the color generator will provide an array of contrasting and complementary colors that would work well coupled with that color. You can select any of the colors provided, or use them as an aid to help you come up with further ideas for your own, fully customized design.

For the most part, selecting the appropriate colors for any Website is more trial and error than anything else. What looks good on the color generator may not look as appealing on an actual Website, so have some fun and play around with it until you get it just right.

You’ve Selected Your Colors, Now What?

Now that you have determined what colors you would like to use in your Website design, it’s time to test them out. The only real way to test it out is to see what it looks like all put together on your Website.

To do this, simply apply the colors to the designated aspects of your Website and preview it in an HTML editor or Website builder. I recommend doing this step before you upload the new design to the Web. Not only will it save you time and frustration, it will allow you to make any adjustments to the colors you don’t like before it becomes live on your site.

Tips and Strategies for Selecting A Great Color Scheme

• The color scheme is always front and center on any Website, so selecting the right colors goes hand and hand with pleasing your visitors and giving them a stellar first impression of yourself and your business. Try and keep it to a maximum of about three different colors. Any more than this can seem too busy and be off-putting for some people.

• Choose colors that are very calming and soothing. You want your site to be a warm inviting environment for visitors to browse in, and the more pleasant you make it, the longer they’ll stay and the more they’ll come back.

• Choose colors that strongly contrast for the background and text colors to make it as easy to read as possible.

• Let your personality show through in your design. Whether you incorporate an image you particularly love into your header, or add one of your favorite colors into the design. Visitors love personality and if you let yours show through to complement your unique voice in your content, you are more likely to stand out in a good way to those interested in what you have to say.

• Finally, the colors you pick are not set in stone. You may want to make a few minor adjustments down the road or change the whole design to refresh it if you’ve had it for a while. This is perfectly fine. Just remember to have some fun with it.