I have been surfing the net, which I often do, and have
come across some pages that you either need sunglasses
on to look at, or are so dark with tiny fonts that
these eyes, at least, can't read them. Do you know the kind
of site I mean? I think the one that bugs me personally
the most is the black page with the dark red font.
Recently I visited a site like this. The woman
wrote beautiful poetry, but one couldn't read it
unless you ran your mouse across it. I gave up
and surfed off into the world wide web.

Or, what about a page where colors seem to fade into each
other making text impossible to read? Why on earth would
anyone present themselves in this way? One's first impression
when visiting a website is a lasting one; your web site is
your presence to the world wide web. Remember: if your site
is not pleasing to the vistor, they only have to click away
to another site.

Big business has been aware of color and its effects on people
for a long time. Fast food restrauants often use red to hurry
the people through. Colors are closely connected with emotion
and quite often your vistors will have an immeditate emotional
reaction to your site which will decided whether or not they
stay and look around for a while or quickly click away. Since
colors are so closely connected with emotions, you can use them
to your advantage in advertising and when you create your site.

We all already know a lot about color whether we whether we
realize it or not. I saw red! Instant anger. Some shades of
red also convey passion. I saw green! What do you mean by that?
Were you envious? Other shades of green give one a feeling
of growth, nature. Blue is usually considered a cool color,
but certain shades are very calming and reassuring. Yellow is
usually a happy color, very warm. Black denotes fear and
depression; white, purity and innocence.

Now that you realize how much you know about color, why not use
it to your advantage when creating a website? Think about what
you are saying to your visitors with the colors you use. At least
for your website, image *is* everything. That first
impression matters more than anything else on your site. For if
a visitor does not linger long enough to read your fantastic
offer, you can't make the sale.

=====About the Author=====

Judi Singleton is the owner and webmistress
Jassmine's World http://www.jassmine.com, and the
editor of Jassmine's Journal, a free weekly ezine filled
with articles and tips for living a more healthy and
prosperous life. Subscribe free at:
http://www.jassmine.com/jassminesjournal.html.

This article may be reprinted as long as the
text is not altered, and this resource box is
included.

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