Choosing Colors for Your Site

Since we have no idea what "two shades lighter than Navy" is, we request you select three colors for us to begin building your site with. We will need a color for the page background, a primary color, and an accent color. These three colors will make up the "theme" of your site. See our thumbnail samples page to see how three colors are used to develop a color theme. Many times these colors are present in such things as your logo, pictures, products, etc.

If the colors are not obvious, you may try finding theme colors by clicking HERE to select your page background color, primary color, and accent color. Step 1 - Click in the area of your major theme color. Step 2 - View suggested theme light colors in a draft Web page. Step 3 - View suggested theme dark colors in a draft Web page. Record the hexadecimal number (i.e. #fcrcfd) for each color.

Or, another alternative is to visit Kuler by Adobe and use some of the color themes they've already put together for you. Using this tool you may search the themes by keyword (such as "Lodge" or "Red"). One may also narrow the search a bit with the links on the left side. Or one may just click through as many themes as you have time for.

Or, if you'd just like to see some colors, their names, and their hexadecimal number you may visit our color selection page.

Color can have a profound impact on your prospective buyers, clients, or guests. The incorrect colors can negatively impact your sales or reservations, while the correct colors may trigger positive emotions motivating your visitors to buy or confirm a reservation from you.

Color can affect how we feel and influence what we think. In general, bright bold colors tend to stir us up, while the softer pastel colors calm and relax us. Responses to colors can vary by age, gender and cultural background.

Colors will affect how a potential buyer reacts to your Web site. Carefully select your color scheme for your Web site. Here are some guidelines to help you make good color choices. Bear in mind these are guidelines, and there are no hard and fast rules. Just use common sense.

Consider your audience. For example, if your Web site primarily targets men, then you will want to use strong, bold colors. If your target audience is women, then choose soft, pastel colors. If your focus is on children, choose bright, vibrant colors.
Choose colors that are appropriate for your Web site's topic. For example, green may work well for Web sites about starting a home business, making money, and reducing debt.

Keep the number of colors down to two or three, and no more. This does not include photographs which can have a whole range of colors. Make sure all of the colors you use work well together and do not clash.

Communicate your message with easy-to-read text. Use colors for your text that contrast with the background color so your text is readable. For example, a dark font on a light background is easy to read.

Consider the mood you want to create. Remember that emotions trigger sales and reservations. Persons buy what they want - not what they need. The list below will show you how colors may affect us in different ways.

  • Red - Action, energy, strength, passion, fire, heat, power, attention-getting. Can also mean love and romance. A strong masculine color. Red is a good color for a call-to-action. Red is cheerfulness, excitement, and warmth. Pink is a soft version of red. It is most associated with romance, calming affect; a feminine color.
  • Blue - Confidence, travel, freedom, truth, professionalism, wealth and power. Also tranquility, dependable, acceptance, patience, understanding, cooperation, comfort, loyalty and security. It is one of the most calming colors and is associated with the sky and the sea, intelligence, reassurance, and trust. Blue has also been known to be an appetite suppressant, so it would not be good for cookbooks or recipes but you can consider it for diet books.
  • Green - Money, wealth, prosperity, calm, health, food, nature, hope, growth, freshness, soothing, sharing, and responsiveness. Green symbolizes spring, renewal, and fertility.
  • Orange - Health and vitality, autumn, youthfulness, fire, steadfastness, courage, confidence, friendliness, cheerfulness, warmth, excitement and energy. Has been known to stimulate the appetite. Vibrant and warm, orange is associated with autumn and the earth.
  • Yellow - Light, purity, understanding, caution, brightness, intelligence, joy, organization, Spring. Yellow often represents sunshine, warmth, light, energy and happiness.
  • Purple - Dignity, sophistication, creativity, spirituality and mystery. Deep purple is associated with royalty and richness, while lavender is associated with romance and nostalgia.
  • Brown - Credibility, stability, the hearth, home, the earth, wood, comfort and strength. Brown can be used as a neutral or a warm color.
  • Black - Space, night, authority, dramatic, classy, committed, serious, power, elegance, and sophistication.
  • White - Purity, peace, perfection, fresh, easy, cleanliness, goodness, and spirituality. Worth noting here, white represents life and marriage in Western cultures, but it represents death and sorrow in Eastern cultures.
  • Grey - A conservative color, symbolizing security, maturity and reliability.

Take advantage of the impact color can have on your online sales or reservations and choose colors that will create positive responses.