The Impact of Colour in Your Website.
The internet does not facilitate face to face selling, so your prospective client has to make a judgement of your integrity simply by what and how you present the information on your website.
The type of colour that you choose has a great impact on how people perceive your business. Advertisers have long ago capitalised on psychological research into the effects of what colour has on the consumer. This has been used with originality in many areas, not just in advertising.
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Some employers have used a green colour scheme in the workplace as there has been evidence which suggests that this results in less absenteeism due to illness.
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The locker room used by visiting teams at the university of Iowa was painted pink, as research has shown that pink surroundings reduces aggression…….cheeky eh? The colour scheme that you choose for your website can either entice the browser and encourage him to convert his call to action by a sale or a request of your service, or he could leave it after only a few seconds.
Even if he is not consciously aware of it, your visitor will be substantially influenced in his decision to either continue browsing or exit your site because of poor choice of colour.
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Be aware that there are many people that have colour perception problems (mainly deuteranopia) and may not only not see the colours the way we see them but may not see them at all!
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Use a font that has a high contrast against the background. Black text on a white background, although boring, is the best combination. It is easily read and does not cause excess eye strain.
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Avoid pairing blue text on red background, blue on yellow, green on red, red on green or blue backgrounds as they are difficult to read and causes eye fatigue.
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Choose a colour scheme and use it throughout your website for consistency. Avoid using different colours on different pages.
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Use the same font throughout.
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Be aware that responses to colours vary with different genders, age groups or cultural backgrounds.
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Choose more sober colours for the mature, conversely use bright bold colours to attract the young.
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White stands for purity in our western culture, whereas it represents bad luck in Japan, China and India. Pink on the other hand is appreciated in Japan but considered “unmanly” in India and some European countries.
So if you have a targeted audience, do some research before deciding on a colour theme as it may well play a big part in the success of your site. Blue is a universally accepted colour and is considered one of the safest colours to use.
Some common colours and their accepted meanings:
| Colour |
Positive Aspects |
Negative Aspects |
| White |
Innocent, pure, clean |
Sterile, cold, empty |
|
Red
|
Passionate, brave, strength |
Dangerous, aggressive, domineering |
| Yellow |
Optimistic, friendly, happy |
Cowardly, annoying, brash |
| Brown |
Warm, earthy, mature |
Dirty, sad, cheap |
| Green |
Tranquil, natural, relaxing |
Greedy, inexperienced, jealous |
| Blue |
Strong, trustworthy, authoritative |
Cold, depressing, gloomy |
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