Picking a colour scheme for you Website might sound simple enough, but there’s a lot more to it than you may initially think. For starters, not everyone is a skilled designer with an eye for great colour combinations that can generate a specific feeling or emotion.
Sure, you could just throw some of your favourite colours together, but while this might just seem like a harmless decision at the time, it could have a significantly negative impact your Website’s results. When it comes down to it, colours really do matter. In fact, 85% of online shoppers base their purchasing decisions on colour!
In order to effectively communicate your brand, your offerings and your Business as a whole, you need to put a lot of thought into your colour selection. If you haven’t heard of ‘optimised colours’ before, these are colours that influence audiences and evoke particular thoughts and feelings. Humans are essentially vision-driven beings and what we see has a massive impact on all aspects of our lives, including how we perceive a product and whether or not we purchase it. For this reason, it’s vital that you make the right colour choice for your Website, as this will give you the very best chance of appealing to your customers!
Why Is Colour So Important?
Colour is one of the first things that catches your visitor’s eye when they land on your Website. As well as this, it’s also a powerful way to guide your Website audience through the sales process. Colour can have so much of an effect on a Business’s bottom line in fact, that a whole theory has been developed to help people understand its significance and market their Business to the best of its potential. People just like you!
Devised by numerous leading designers and visual researchers, The Colour Theory covers topics based on contrast, complementation and vibrancy. It also works off colour psychology and the reasons behind why certain colours create specific moods and spark different emotional responses.
Now, as a Small Business Owner looking to optimise your Website to its maximum potential, this is very important information to have. You need to choose colours that reflect your Small Business’s message, best promote your products and services and helps to strengthen your brand.
So keep reading, because we’re about to tell you exactly which colours you should use, with well-known examples of Businesses applying these to their own Websites and sales strategy.
Blue:
Means trust and transparency. Ever noticed why a lot of organisations who seek client trust, such as those that deal with financial or personal security, use the colour blue. PayPal, Facebook and American Express all utilise blue in their colour schemes to create a sense of professionalism and highlight the security of their Business.
Red:
Promotes excitement and urgency. Coca-Cola and McDonalds are prime examples of using the colour red to generate eagerness in their customers. Red stimulates appetite and also generates a ‘need now’ idea. Using red is a great way to stimulate the customer into quick and easy purchases.
Green:
Symbolises wealth, health and tranquillity. Green is commonly associated with nature and all things natural. It’s also commonly linked to the colour of paper money, specifically in the US. The colour green is used by a lot of eco-friendly and health-orientated companies. But it’s also used by gas and oil company, BP. They cleverly use the colour green to generate environmental friendly ideas in the minds of their audience.
Yellow:
Is regularly associated with optimism, creativity and cheerfulness. It’s a colour that often grabs the customer’s attention before any other colour. It mostly represents happiness and youthfulness, and can elevate your Site visitor’s mood enough to potentially spark a sale!
Black:
Reflects luxury and sophistication. Think black Rolls-Royce cars, or high-end fashion labels like Chanel and Prada. They use black to convey simple elegance. The colour black also represents strength and stability, so could be highly beneficial for a Small Business owner who offers security services, or provides safety equipment.
How to Use Colours for Your Business
Even though you might feel that your Small Business needs to use the rainbow to create the required results, it’s important to use colours sparingly when it comes to your Website. Too many colours could send confusing mixed messages to your potential customers! By combining just a few colours with hues such as black, white or grey you’ll create a streamlined and coherent Website that has clear branding and memorable aesthetic.
It’s also important to consider your particular audience. There are certain colours and colour combinations that create different thoughts for different ages and genders. Purple is favoured by females and people aged 50 to 70. But it is also the least favourited by males and people younger than 18. To really achieve that overall aesthetic, knowing your audience and researching their aesthetic preferences is crucial.
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With more and more people discovering Businesses Online, it’s now more important than ever to be utilising everything you can to best optimise your Website to win their attention - choosing the right colour does exactly this! It will help you to stand out from the competition, strengthen your brand and even influence the way that people feel when they land on your Website.
Let’s face it. We’re not all designers. We don’t all know how and when to correctly use colour to entice potential customers. Thankfully, Sites n Stores have a skilled team of creative Graphic Designers who know how to make colours work best for your Small Business Online. We know how to draw in your customers and leave them feeling satisfied with your Small Business, so give us a call today on 1300 796 530 and take your Website to new heights!