How to choose the right colours for your website

Colours are a powerful tool in web design and branding your company. They can be used to evoke emotion, which is pretty damn important if you're trying to sell something. With that in mind, let's take a look at which colours would best suit your business' style and website.

Red

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Red is a passionate, lusty and aggressive colour. It's ideal for companies that want to appeal to people who are (or, more importantly, want to be) sexy, feisty and empowered. Businesses that use red include Virgin and Christian Louboutin (famed for the red soles on its shoes), both of which totally have that whole sexy, feisty thing going on.

Orange

Orange isn't a common choice for branding, as it's sometimes seen as unreliable (hello easyJet). But it does have some things going for it: it incorporates the boldness of red and friendliness of yellow, which is no bad thing. Used in conjunction with a safer, more professional colour such as blue, it can be used to represent a fun and professional business.

Yellow

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Yellow is the colour of happiness and optimism and is common in brands that want to be seen as fun and friendly. McDonald's and IKEA are standout examples of this, both of which are known for having a playful side.

Green

Green is a peaceful, earthy colour and is ideal for companies that focus on health or want to portray themselves as ethical and environmentally-friendly, such as Starbucks. Organic food companies and holistic health practices are ideal candidates for green branding.

Blue

Blue is the professional colour of the branding world. If you want to be seen as trustworthy, reliable and experienced, blue is the way to go. Not surprisingly, banks use blue liberally in their colour schemes.

Purple

Remember these 1980's cigarette ads? Purple is the colour of sophistication and decadence, perfect for representing companies that sell indulgent items such as chocolate and beauty products. Can you say Cadbury's?

Pink

Pink is widely known as the “girly” colour and so is often used for women-specific brands. Think Victoria's Secret, Race for Life, and anything related to breast cancer.

Black

Black represents power, and is common in sports and fast cars – both of which are things designed to make you feel powerful. Nike is a prime example as is, er, pretty much any sports car brand. Vroom!

White

White is associated with cleanliness and purity, so is ideal for use in the health and childcare industries. Logos aside, white is the best colour to base your website on. In web design, using a lot of white space will make your site easier to navigate and read.

Choose Your Colour

You should think carefully about what you want your website to represent and what you want to make your customers feel before deciding on your colour scheme. You should also steer away from using too many colours – no more than three, ideally. And, when in doubt, use the colour wheel to pick complimentary colours (the ones opposite each other are complimentary).

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