Website Colors That Turn Off Your Customers
Website Colors That Turn Off Your Customers
Using too many colors or the wrong combination of
colors could alienate or turn off customers completely. Out of any
form of non-verbal communication, color is the quickest way to communicate
a message and meaning.
Many studies have been done on the psychology of color
and the subconscious emotions that they create. Studies have shown
that color can help improve recall, comprehension, and understanding
by 75%. In fact, color accelerates the ability to learn by 20% by
keeping readers focused and improving retention.
Choose Colors with Care.
Marketers spend oodles of time and money determining the colors
to best market their product: the colors that will prove the highest
amount of return on investment. You may want to hire a professional
web designer to help you.
Make sure the web designer you hire is not just a programmer, but
also a graphic designer and/or marketer. After all, the reason why
99% of all websites fail is because it was created by a technician,
rather than a marketing expert.
So, What Colors are Best for Your Website?
That is hard to say. Again, you may want to hire a professional
to help you. However, the following tips will help you understand
the underlying meaning behind color so you may be guided to make
the right choice. Keep in mind that depending on its value or intensity,
one color can give very different emotions.
Red - Stimulating. Exciting. Energizing. Appetizing. When you eye
sees red, chemical responses in your body cause your blood pressure,
pulse rate, and adrenaline to increase. Fire engine red is more
energetic than a more traditional burgundy.
Pink - Happy. Romantic. Spirited. Youthful. Best used for less
expensive and trendy products. Vibrant pinks are common in the cosmetic
industry. Bubble gum pink can be considered immature, but fuchsia
or magenta are considered more sophisticated.
Orange - Friendly. Adventurous. Energizing. Inviting. Of all the
colors, orange is the hottest. Similar to red’s arousing effect,
orange is often associated with bright sunsets or fall foliage.
Orange contains the drama of red with the cheeriness of yellow.
Neon orange tends to be load and is the most disliked color, but
a more tempered vivid orange is highly effective for point-of-purchase
graphics and specials.
Yellow - Warm. Sunny. Cheerful. Vibrant. Yellow is equivalent to
enlightenment and imagination. This color is especially effective
for food service industries because of the -association to bananas,
custards and lemons. Pale yellow is an excellent choice for point-of-purchase
materials (materials at the cash register or reception area) because
the eye sees the highly reflective yellow before it notices any
other color.
Brown - Rich. Sheltering. Durable. Sensible. Brown is an earth
tone and is related to the earth’s nurturing qualities and
stability. Generally speaking, brown provokes a positive response,
but the wrong shade could lead to customers relating it to dirty,
which could be detrimental for a product in the fashion industry,
for example. Brown works well with food products since customers
also relate it to root beer, coffee and chocolate.
Blue - Cool. Trusting. Serene. Consistent. Similar to the earthy
color brown, blue is related to the sky and water, both dependable
constants in our lives. Blue is an ideal color for websites, especially
e-commerce websites. Many banks and financial institutions use blue
in their marketing because it makes customers feel more trusting.
Blue also can generate a cold, distant, corporate feeling, the opposite
of generating a personal relationship with the customer.
Green - Refreshing. Healing. Fresh. Soothing. Green offers the
most variety of choices out of all the colors of the rainbow. Green
works well for personal hygiene or beauty products because of its
soothing and flattering tones. Most people link green to nature;
they think of foliage or grass. Mint green is seen as fresh while
bright greens are associated with grass. Emerald greens are elegant
and deep greens are linked to money and prestige. Green is also
combined nicely with many other colors and can also work as a neutral.
Purple - Elegant. Sensual. Regal. Mysterious. Purple is seen as
sensual and spiritual as it combines the sexuality of red and the
sereneness of blue. It is best used with creative products, new
products, or cutting edge products. Deep purple is associated with
regal sophistication and lavender has a more subtle nostalgic appeal.
Neutrals - Classic. Quality. Natural. Timeless. The neutral tones
of beige, gray and taupe emulate the psychological message of dependability
and timelessness. They are regarded as safe and non-offensive and
will not go out-of-date as they are always in style.
White - Pure. Bright. Pristine. Simple. While white can signify
clean elegance, it can also be considered generic and stark, unless
you have stylish graphics to compliment the white.
Black – Strong. Classic. Mysterious. Powerful. Black is most
closely associated with the night. Black is seen as powerful, dramatic,
elegant and expensive. In food packaging, a customer will actually
pay more for a gourmet image. Although black is associated with
mourning, its positive associations far outweigh its negative. Warning:
too much black can be overkill.
About the Author Christie Turley is
a web marketing expert and author of the Not-So-Dumb Blond Internet
Guides. RATE YOUR WEBSITE with her complimentary online Web Site
Diagnostic tool and BOOST your Web Profits: http://www.NotSoDumbBlond.com/web-diagnostic.htm
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