The Importance Of Colors Used In Creating Websites
Colors are very important in the creation of websites. They
give a non verbal message to those who visit the websites,
perhaps one that speaks more loudly than the verbal one that is
given there. Some years ago, it was discovered that colors
themselves actually influence how a person feels and how they
react in various situations and to various things.
For instance, back in the early 1950's, hospitals started having
their nurses wear colors such as light green, light blue, and
turquoise, rather than the usual stark white, because it was
realized that these colors were warm and soothing and made the
patients feel calmer. Hospital rooms were also painted in those
colors, rather than in the neutral grays, tans and whites which
had been the usual colors up until that time.
When you think of circus posters, you think immediately of reds
and blues and yellows, colors which made you feel excited, the
same sort of thing was done with movie posters, advertising
movies which were going to be coming soon. The idea was to get
the potential customer to feel excited about the circus or about
the movie and want to be sure and be there and not miss out on
anything.
This same sort of thinking is also used in the construction of
our websites. What kind of feeling do you want to bring to the
person who visits your website? If you are constructing a family
genealogical website for example, one upon which you plan to
sell genealogy software or family trees, then you may want to
use warm colors, colors that will make the visitor feel soothed
and comfortable and bring back memories of early homes, and of
mom and dad and apple pie and holidays together, that sort of
thing. If your website is one on which you wish to sell a
different sort of product however, you may want to incorporate
the use of brighter, more garish colors such as red, blue and
yellow, colors which will get the visitor excited about what you
have to offer, get them enthusiastic and encourage them to want
to be a part of what you have to offer.
Some colors, when mixed together to create another color, such
as red and blue to create purple, carry both the warm and the
cooling aspect, a lot depending on the shade. Red, blue and a
touch of white, create a color of purple that speaks of majesty
and royalty, especially when combined with the color of gold in
the creation of a website.
Each color brings with it its own special attractions and it is
important to use those colors to deliver just the exact meaning
that you want to give to those who visit your website. Shading
is important too. A light blue for example, can be a soothing,
calming color, that will make a visitor to your website feel
relaxed, while a royal blue can be an exciting color, which will
make them want to act upon what they are reading on your
website.
Another thing to think about in constructing your website is the
customer that you will want to attract. If you are constructing
a website that is geared to sell items to ladies for example,
you might want to use colors such as lavender and pink, while if
you were constructing a website geared to sell hunting equipment
to men, you probably would choose to bypass those particular
colors in favor of browns, tans and greens.
If you were constructing a website that you wanted to appeal to
children, who, while they might not be the customers, have a
great deal of influence over those who may be, then you might
want to use the bright colors that would bring forth the
excitement of a circus. What one might term joyful colors. These
colors would do well if you were selling children's books for
example.
It is also important to think about the harmony of the colors
that we put together.
We want them to have an eye appeal to the visitor at the
website, not drive them away. This doesn't mean never using
colors that don't "go together" on the same website, sometimes
we do that because we can use them in a certain way that will
make them work together, but when we do that we need to do it
carefully and make sure that we get the desired results.
Colors are very important in the construction of a website and
we want to be sure that what they say enhances what we are
saying in words and pictures on the website. Make each element
of your website work together to get across exactly the message
you want to give. As strange as it may seem, the right colors on
your website may lead to more "green" in your wallet.