Did you know that certain colors can cause people to respond differently?

Are you overwhelmed by all the possible website color options? It can be overwhelming to know which one you should choose.

Everybody has their favorite colors.

A skilled designer knows how important it is to evaluate a color scheme that is based on a brand. The meanings of colors. The products and services being promoted.

Based on your choice of colors, color can trigger emotions.

It takes careful planning to make good color choices.

They can impact how visitors interpret what they see, just as much as the site’s layout or typography. When done right, they can also affect how each visitor views the brand.

This article will discuss why choosing the right colors for your website is important, and 23 color palettes that have been proven to be effective at grabbing people’s attention.

Why is your color scheme so important?

Before we get into selecting a color scheme, it is important to understand why your website’s color scheme is so important.

You might think that content is what matters. Content is indeed important, but not all.

People love content. People love content. But you need to grab their attention first. Website color palettes are a great way to do this.

You can dramatically improve the experience of your visitors by choosing the right color scheme for your website.

Here’s how:

1. Brand recognition is key

Your website is your company’s online home.

It must accurately represent your brand. It should also be memorable enough to make users return for more.

Many visitors won’t be ready for major purchases or conversions during their first visit. They need to associate with your company to return the favor.

Color can increase brand recognition by 80%

It’s important to incorporate a company’s color scheme into your website’s design. Visitors will be able to instantly connect this with other places where they have seen your brand.

They’ll also know that they’re in the right place if the color scheme is the same across all pages of your site.

Your web design services in Miami play an important role in users’ quick judgments about your company.

One survey found that web design was a primary driver of first impressions.

Web design is more than just using color.

However, color is a key element on your website and can be interpreted by users in just 50 milliseconds.

2. How visitors perceive your site

The reason is evident to a certain degree.

Color is one of the most important aspects of a webpage to “understand”. It can be assessed quickly and does not require visitors to read, copy or evaluate other messaging.

It is important to also consider the role of psychology and color in these snap judgments.

These connections are used by many companies, as shown in the chart.

Brands that wish to inspire creativity and imagination use purple in their imagery. Conversely, brands that want to promote calm and balance tend to lean towards black and white.

This is directly related to the “personality” you want your brands to display.

Jennifer Aaker, a Stanford psychologist and professor of brand personality, concluded that five core dimensions are key to a brand’s personality.

Although brands can mix and match traits, the majority of their “personality” is focused on one. For example, a company selling camping gear might identify as “ruggedness,” while a fashion label might be more focused on “sophistication.”

While most people don’t realize it, a red logo can create excitement.

Each color can create a certain feeling or response, but some colors are better than others for most brands and websites.

Blue is the safest color. It’s the most popular “favorite color” among the majority of people.

57% of men and 35% of women say it’s their favorite color.

This could be a great option for you if your site is looking to reach a broad audience. This is why many of the most popular sites, such as Facebook and Twitter use it for branding and logos.

It is important to note that blue is often associated with feelings such as trust, authority, and reliability.

However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the best option for every site. It all comes down to the feelings you wish to communicate to your visitors.

Green could be a better choice if your brand is focused on health and well-being. Red could be more effective if you are looking to inspire and motivate your visitors to take immediate action.

Consider the emotional reactions your visitors might have when you choose colors for your website.

Red might not be the best color if you want to create a feeling of calmness for your website.

3. Create a sense of order

Apart from the emotional reactions that individual colors might evoke in you, it is also important to think about how the colors interact with each other.

It is best to look at the basic principles of color theory.

You’ve likely seen something like the color wheel above if you’ve taken art classes or looked at design-related materials. 

This wheel illustrates the most common concept: the relationship between primary colors (red and yellow) and secondary and tertiary colors that are created by mixing them.

This wheel can also be used to create harmony between colors or visually appealing arrangements of colors. You can create a harmonious web design palette that helps you achieve a sense of balance and order.

To create harmony, there are three types of widely accepted color schemes: analog, monochromatic, and complementary.

An analogous color scheme consists of colors that are opposites on the color wheel. This palette is difficult to master because the colors can easily overwhelm one another.

However, similar color schemes can also be some of the most vibrant.

Monochromatic color schemes are at the opposite end of the spectrum to the other types. It consists of one primary color, but the intensity or lightness of the colors can vary.

These palettes are the easiest to make and most straightforward to use because they don’t clash with other colors or feel too busy.

A complementary palette is somewhere in the middle of monochromatic and analogous schemes in terms of variety.

It is composed of colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. It has more colors but they complement each other naturally and don’t overwhelm visitors.

These are just three examples of color schemes that you can make. The best color palettes depending on who you ask.

One of the most popular options is a triadic color scheme.

This color scheme uses three colors that are located 120 degrees apart on the color wheel. These colors are orange and green in the graphic.

Remember that these colors are not a set of rules. These can help you get an idea of how your website should look, but they are not the only way to create a color palette that suits your brand.

You can use the palette to build a hierarchy of the most essential content on your pages, regardless of what type you choose.

4. Certain elements should stand out

As I have mentioned, a website with a specific color palette can help to signify that certain elements are important.

This can make your page stand out by paying attention to the Isolation effect when you decide how to use your colors.

This psychological principle states that the more a product stands out, the more it will be remembered and noticed.

You should ensure that your chosen colors can stand out and make calls to action stand out on your pages.

This approach also aligns with the preferences of most consumers.

Two studies, Aesthetic Reaction to Color Combinations, and Consumer Preferences For Color Combinations showed that consumers like color combinations with similar shades but also prefer palettes with strong accent colors.

The first study found that harmony and preference for pairs increase with increasing hue similarity. However, “pairs with starkly contrastive hues are not generally considered to be harmonious or preferable.” Figural color preference ratings rise with increasing hue contrast.

Researchers found that people like to mix colors that are close or exact matches. However, some people may choose to highlight a product component with contrasting colors.

Your accent color should be a strong contrast. However, it is okay and even preferred if the rest of the palate is composed of similar colors.

It is possible to create web design palettes with one accent color that is strong and grabs attention. This is a great way for your visitors to like the combination.

5. Simplify design-related decisions

It doesn’t matter if you are running a website, a business, or both. It’s always a good idea for you to simplify the basic processes.

It’s obvious that the less time you spend on the basics, the more time it will take to focus on the processes and decisions that have a greater impact on your success.

Establishing web design palettes can help you save time and cut down on the time required to create new pages. You can make it easier for both you and your developers to choose basic design options.

This is especially true when you take the time and document your palette in a simple-to-use manner.

You can create an easy-to-use document with all the options for your palette.

If you or your designers are having difficulty deciding which color to use on a CTA button you can refer to the document for a full list of options.

Instead of searching your brain for every possible color, you can select from a pre-made list. Once you have selected a few colors to test, you will find all the HEX/RGB codes right in front.

What number of colors should you use?

It all depends on how complex your design is and what color combinations you use. To capture enough variety, seven to ten shades might be required if your web design is monochromatic.

You will need to choose colors for certain parts of your website, including text, backgrounds, and link hover colors.

How to choose a website color scheme

Website color palettes should reflect the business’s beliefs, values, and purpose. A website with loud colors can be more casual and evocative, while those with more subtle colors are more formal and formal.

It can be not easy to translate with so many possible color combinations. Let’s take a look at 23 amazing website color palettes that will help you increase engagement.

16 Amazing Website Color Palettes to Increase Engagement (2020).

These websites use a variety of website colors to great effect. These colors are carefully selected for their emotional impact and how they communicate feelings.

1. Mea Cuppa

The Mea Cuppa website has a pleasing color palette. It includes a few jewel tones (ruby, emerald), but otherwise use a neutral monochromatic palette of grays and browns.

The web design palette has a coffee shop feel. It is also reflected in the site’s hero image which helps to create cohesion.

2. The Big Top

BigTop focuses on helping startups network. This site features a unique combination of jewel tones, which range from bright orange and yellow to purple and blue.

All primary colors are cool, making the warmer colors stand out. The homepage screenshot will show that the yellow and orange CTA grab your attention first.

3. Tori’s Eye

The third example is from Tori’s Eye, a Twitter visualization tool. This is an excellent example of a monochromatic color scheme. This is a great example of a monochromatic color scheme that focuses on shades of green.

This color scheme is easy to achieve since one color of color can almost always be used with another color.

4. BarkBox

The dominant pink color of the BarkBox homepage can be seen throughout the site in various shades. It contrasts well with the blue color used in logos and CTAs across the site.

Any website can be improved by using complementary colors to attract visitors’ attention.

5. Cheese Survival Kit

A website’s color scheme should include red. Red can communicate a variety of emotions which makes it versatile. It is especially powerful when taken in small amounts, as shown on the Survival Kit website.

The red is balanced with neutral colors and the blue adds a punch to CTAs and other areas that the business hopes to draw attention to.

6. Nordic Ruby

Nordic Ruby is a conference in Stockholm that has a stunning website in rich jewel tones. This website’s color palette is sophisticated and sets it apart from other less striking designs. 

7. Lake Nona

Lake Nona is a website that is dedicated to a particular place, specifically one close to the water. It’s therefore not surprising that the blue color is represented here. Blue is well-represented by the other neutral colors.

8. LemonStand

It’s not surprising that Lemon Stand would use yellow as its website color scheme. The yellow’s brightness is balanced by the blues and grays.

9. Mint

Mint, a website devoted to financing, uses blues and greens. They convey calmness and peace, as well as trust. The brown family includes neutral shades that are soothing to the eyes.

10. Odopod

Odopod follows the monotone color scheme but avoids looking too boring by using a gradient for its homepage. It’s easy to see where you should click with the large typography.

11. Fiverr

It is possible to notice that many companies reserve certain colors — in this case Fiverr green — only for CTAs. It isn’t available anywhere else on the site. It was not even picked up ColorFav as it is dominated by more neutral colors.

12. Digital Photography School

Digital Photography School is a graphic arts-based business that would have a dominant website color palette. Bright colors draw viewers in. The site’s orange color is used sparingly to make an impact, much like Fiverr.

13. Ahrefs

Ahrefs shows an example of a website that uses its color palette extensively. The site’s dominant color is a darker blue, although there are many variations. The same applies to the orange, pink and teal colors.

14. Millo. co

Millo. co has a simple website color scheme, and it’s better for it. When we visit a site such as this, we know exactly what to do.

15. Brian Gardner

Monochromatic colors are not only for individuals but also companies. Brian Gardner is a web designer who uses a black-and-white color scheme that works well. It is based on his brand, minimalism.

16. Loom

When you want to make the visitor feel at ease, soft colors are a good choice. Loom uses a lot of baby and salmon blue. It works well, especially when you add the darker blue color for CTAs or other elements to the page.

Here’s a handy list of resources to help you choose the perfect website color palette

These 18 color palettes will help you create the right palette for your website.

Do you need inspiration?

1: BrandColors

BrandColors shows how top brands use color to distinguish themselves, tell their brand stories, and let customers know who they are. You can browse alphabetically through a listing of nonprofits, corporations, and startups or search for a brand name.

Are you looking for a pre-made palette?

2: ColorLovers

ColourLovers is an online forum for palette design. It has nearly 2 million submitted palettes by its members. You can search for ‘palettes that contain this color’, browse the site, and follow designers. You’ll often find variations of the same palette that give you many options for hues and saturation.

3: ColoRotate

ColoRotate includes a variety of color schemes that you can browse, choose from, and modify. You can also create your color schemes using a 3D tool. You can also use the colorRotate plugin or iPad app to create your scheme.

Match your brand

What if your logos, images, or branding already exist?

4: Color Hunter

Color Hunter doesn’t have a wide range of functions like the other all-in-one tools on this list. It’s a solid tool that can help you find a specific color. The tool can create a palette from an image you have uploaded. This tool is great for creating color palettes around images that you want your site to coordinate with. You can also reverse engineer the palettes of other sites you like.

5: Pictaculous

Pictaculous can generate color palettes from photos. Simply upload a photo and Pictaculous will suggest the colors that match. Pictaculous can also provide color schemes ready-made to match your photo.

These tools can generate complete color palettes.

6: Adobe Colors CC Color Wheel

The original name of this tool was Adobe Kuler. It started as a simple color comparison site. It’s now a full-power palette construction tool. You can create, compare, and save color combinations using a color sphere. The tool allows you to choose from five color palettes and can generate them with different levels of input, including semi-custom and automatic.

7: Paletton

Paletton allows you to quickly create a color scheme. You can choose from mono, complementary, triadic, or tetradic schemes, as well as analogous or accented analogous schemes. You can then change any color in the scheme to match it.

8: Color Spire

Color Spire will create a color palette for you from one color. Color Spire will suggest a combination of colors that you can use with the chosen starting color. You can also see a preview of the recommended colors, so you can visualize how they would look on a sample website.

9: MudCube Color Spherical

MudCube’s Color Sphere Chrome plugin helps you to harmonize colors and control color blindness. It also allows you to identify hex codes. Color schemes can be exported directly to Illustrator, PhotoShop, and CoIRD.com.

10: Cohesive Colors

Cohesive colors let you take your existing palette and let it be modified by adding an overlay tint of the color of your choice and creating a new palette quickly and easily.

11: Hex Color Scheme Generator

This tool allows you to create colors that can be used in combination with an existing color. This tool is a bit simpler than the other color sphere tools on this list. It works by entering a Hex number or clicking on the color wheel. The tool returns a set with 3 additional colors that match the Hex code.

Building Your Colors

You will need to choose a color for some of these tools. You can start over if you don’t already have branding. BrandColors hasn’t shown you any that you liked.

12: The Color App

You can make fine choices between similar colors using this iOS tool. It allows you to lay them out clearly with some space between them, rather than in gradients like in color wheels or spheres. You can use the entire screen with big color grids (iPad Pro users rejoice! It also allows you to sample colors, calculate RGB, Hex, and HSLA values, and can even create color palettes from scratch.

13: Color

HailPixel’s Color lets you choose the exact color you want and gives you the Hex code.

The color will change as you hover over it. It’s almost like a color sphere that constantly feeds back in Hex codes. You can move across the screen to change color or saturation.

Get the codes for a color

These tools are for you if you haven’t been able to name a particular color you see.

14: SpyColor

SpyColor provides information on any color, including Hex, RGB, and CMYK codes. On each page, the tool displays a variety of scheme types, including complementary, split-complementary, and triadic.

15: HTML Color Codes

HTML Color Codes searches for hex codes to identify image colors in your browser. Select a picture from your desktop, click ‘view image’, and then hover over it to see Hex codes.

Try Your Palette

After you’ve established a color scheme, it is important to determine if it will work for different visitors.

16: Check my Colors

Check my Colors allows you to check the contrast between your foreground and background colors. This will ensure that there is enough contrast for anyone with color deficiencies. This tool is great for color blindness testing your site or finding the best UX combinations. Simply enter a URL and the tool will generate a report.

This runs through all of your code and grades each visual element on visibility.

Matching Images

You have now set up your color palette and know that it is very visible. Now you will need images to match.

17: TinEye

TinEye is more well-known as an alternative to Google Image Search. It can also be used to search for color combinations using more than 10 million Flickr photos that are Creative Commons licensed. This is an easy way to find images with the right color combination.

18: Design Inspiration

Designspiration allows you to choose up to five colors from a full-page color palette. This gives you the chance to see the colors. The site then displays all images with the same color combination in its database. The site displays Hex numbers clearly and allows you to click on individual Hex numbers. Images can be saved to collections and downloaded from the site.

How to use a website behavior tool to analyze the best color palettes

It might seem that you only need to choose a color scheme for your website and then move on. This is not the best way to do business.

It’s not hard to see the point. Your headlines, CTAs, and other elements are tested. Why should color be different?

A website behavior analysis tool such as Kobe Digital is the best way to determine how your audience reacts to your current colors.

User behavior reports such as heat maps can tell you if your colors are catching the attention of those who matter — your customers and prospects.

You can make informed decisions about the color scheme of your website if you have access to raw data.

Imagine you have created a website to appeal to sports fans and that the colors chosen are blue and pink, along with a few neutral grays. Your audience doesn’t like it.

It might not convey your message well enough. For sports fans, bolder colors and darker tones might be more appealing. 

You will not know until you try.

Start Using Kobe Digital

Register for a Kobe Digital account and get a free trial. Log in to create your user behavior reports.

Multiple tests can be run simultaneously so that you don’t waste time, days, or even weeks. Instead, you can collect data in real time and refocus your efforts to find the best color palette.

Conclusion

Your website’s color palette must reflect your brand and appeal to your target audience. Your site could cause people to be dissatisfied with your brand, even if they don’t know it.

Begin with what you love. You can choose a palette that is different from others in your niche to make you stand out. Start testing.

It is easy to modify the colors of your website. You can modify the HEX codes manually if you are familiar with HTML. You can also customize many WordPress themes with customizers, which allow you to change the colors of your theme without needing any code.

You have the chance to make your website as memorable and visually appealing as possible.