How to Choose the Right Colours for Your Website

Many people focus on layout, content, and coding when thinking about web design. While all three of those things are extremely important and should not be put aside, there’s also something else that’s also undeniably essential – a good colour palette.

Think about it – even if a website runs like a dream, has an easy-to-use navigation system and has all the info you need, will you enjoy using it if the colour palette makes it hard to look at or very difficult to read?

However, selecting the right colours isn’t as simple as choosing the colours you like. There are many factors that you should consider before you settle on a look.

Why Are The Colours Of My Site Important?

Think about popular websites and websites that you frequently use every single day. What colours do they use? Are the colours nice to look at? Do they make text and images easier to read and see?

Clever colour choice is crucial for a variety of reasons, such as:

• Aesthetics. Naturally, you want your site to look nice! You’ll want to choose colours that go well together and are pleasing to the eye.
• Visibility. You want the important content on your site to actually be visible. Certain colours are nice but make it hard to see certain things when overlayed. For example, no one wants to try to read solid white text on a light yellow background.
• Atmosphere. Certain colours can alter a space’s aura. If you’re going for a certain mood or atmosphere, you should absolutely choose colours that fit the mood.

What Do I Need To Think About When I Choose My Site’s Colours?

So, how do you know what to choose? We recommend thoroughly thinking through your options before settling on your final choice. It’s best to speak with web designers with experience in this field, like our team at Kiwi Website Design.

What should you think about when you choose your colours?

Think About The Psychology Of Colours. We often associate colours with certain things. An easy example is that green is often associated with plants, nature and life. So, take a moment to think about the psychology of colours and how you can use this to make your decision.

As you learn about the associated meanings behind colours, correlate those meanings to your brand, what your main goals are and what your goods and services revolve around.

A few commonly used colours and their associations are:

• Black – Power, Sophistication, Mystery. Black is a colour that is commonly used for modern looks and sophisticated businesses. It’s a sharp, serious hue that conveys a sense of sternness.
• White – Simplicity, Cleanliness, Purity. White has the sense of being minimalistic yet clear, like a clean slate.
• Red – Love, Passion, Energy. There’s a reason why we see so many red decorations around Valentine’s Day. Red is often associated with love and passion and can bring a sense of energy to your site.
• Blue – Peace, Serenity, Integrity. Blue is often seen as a colour with a calming effect. We see blues in the lovely sky and blues in the vast ocean. This tranquil colour is often used to make spaces feel more relaxed and safe.
• Yellow – Happiness, Friendliness, Warmth. Yellow is a bright, inviting colour that gives off happy and welcoming vibes. It brings people a sense of cheer and camaraderie.
• Green – Life, Nature, Freshness. Green is often related to nature, life and prosperity. So, it’s often used for things regarding plants, food or gardening.

Look At Your Business’s Branding. Does your business have a logo? Be sure to keep the colours of your logo in mind as you select your website’s colours. You can cleverly use the colours used in your logo and branding to create a colour palette that fits your company.

You will also want to choose colours that go well together, not just colours that have the symbolism you want. Certain shades and hues may clash and not look very aesthetically pleasing. We highly recommend working with people who have experience with choosing clever colour palettes that are practical and beautiful.

Keep Visibility In Mind. As mentioned already, colours will affect the readability and visibility of your site. You always want your text to be easily read. Stay away from colours that’ll make it hard to read the words on your website. Or, choose text and effects that boost the readability of your words.

So, avoid using bright text on bright colours or dark text on dark backgrounds if you don’t plan on using effects to make the text more readable. Doing so may make it hard to read the content on your website.

Consider A Limited Colour Palette. Sometimes, more is not better, and choosing an overly-complex colour palette could make your site look messy or gaudy. It’s very important that you choose your colours smartly and understand what looks good and what doesn’t.

Think about using a simpler, more limited colour palette. Choosing a limited colour palette is not necessary to make a site look good, but it can help you choose colours you love.

Some examples of limited colour palettes are:

• Monochromatic Palettes. Monochromatic palettes use variations of a single colour. So, a monochromatic blue palette may have sapphire blue, sky blue and powder blue, but it won’t have any reds or yellows.
• Analogous Palettes. Analogous palettes use colours that are next to each other on the colour wheel. So, an analogous palette may use colour schemes like red/orange/yellow or blue/purple/pink.
• Trichromatic Palettes. Trichromatic palettes use colours that are evenly spaced on the colour wheel. So, a trichromatic palette may use colour combinations like red/yellow/blue.

How Can I Get Some Help Choosing My NZ Website’s Colours?

You want your business’s website to be absolutely perfect, and to do that, you can work with the talented people on our team at Kiwi Website Design. We’ve designed so many websites for so many wonderful businesses, and we’d love to see what we can do for you!

Come to our site to see what types of web design services we have to offer. You can call us directly to discuss how we can help you at 0800 932 669.

Ensure your website has the right look with us at Kiwi Website Design.