Establishing a kick-ass color palette for your Wix website will set the tone for the design as well as for the emotions visitors experience when they visit your website.
Even as you’re thinking about the layout and flow of your website, you should also be intentional and strategic about its color scheme.
Here are four tips on how to create a color palette for your brand or website:
Have a basic understanding of color theory
You know how when you’re getting dressed you make sure your shoes, outfit and handbag (if you carry one) colors go together? That’s color theory in action! Simply put, color theory is determining which colors harmonize or look good together.
In order to find harmonizing colors, we use the rules of color combination on the RGB color wheel. It consists of 12 hues on the red-green-blue (RGB) spectrum, designed for use online.
Let’s take a brief look at four types of color combinations using the color wheel.
Complementary - These refer to two colors on opposite sides of the color wheel. E.g. green and pink. Complementary colors are high contrast, high impact and bold.
Monochromatic - These refer to shades, tints and tones of a single color. For example, three different blues. They are subtle but give your projects a harmonious look and feel.
Note:
Shade - darken color by adding black to a base color
Tint - lighten color by adding white to a base color
Tone - add a black/white or gray combo to a base color
Analogous - this refers to choosing colors that are side by side in the color wheel. Purple-pink-blue is an example of analogous combo. Analogous combos are also versatile.
Triadic - This refers to choosing three evenly spaced colors on the color wheel. Purple-orange-green and green-blue-pink are examples of a triadic color combo.
These combos are usually high contrast but versatile.
Tetradic - This refers to 4 colors evenly spaced on the color wheel. This scheme works best if you pick one or two dominant colors and use the others as accent colors. It’s important to note that the more colors you try to use, the more difficult it becomes to balance your colors.
Want to know what colors look good together? Canva's Color Wheel makes color combinations easy.
Know the meaning behind the colors you want to use
Don’t underestimate the immense power of color. It has the power to impact our moods, emotions and even our behaviors. As color expert Jennifer Guerin says, it’s important to understand the psychology and cultural associations of each hue.
Without realizing it, consumers are attracted to or repelled by certain colors. Two people from different cultures or with different life experiences can experience different effects from the same color.
For example, in North America red is associated with danger, passion and importance, while in China it’s associated with good fortune and in South Africa, it’s associated with mourning.
Therefore, it is important to understand your target market when choosing colors for your website. Color can influence everything from a customer’s perception of your brand’s personality to a customer’s decision to make a purchase on your site. It’s that important!
I used cobalt blue as one of the main colors in my website’s color palette. Some of the qualities I love about this hue are that it’s artistic, intuitive, energetic and uplifting. As a creative web designer, cobalt blue expresses the qualities I want my brand to communicate.
You can learn more about colors and what they represent here.
Don’t use too many colors
When you use too many colors it becomes overwhelming to the user's eye. I recommend using no more than 4 colors max on your website.
My rule of thumb for using your color palette is this: Have two main colors and use the other two as accent throughout your site. Accents would be CTA buttons, line accents and other smaller elements. The main colors will be used in larger elements like backgrounds and headings.
Don't overthink it!
Start with a color or colors you had in mind and build from there. Remember, color is part art and part science so have fun with it.
Still need help with your color palette? My good friends at JG Color Studios are color experts that can create three options for you based on your service industry, design goal and branding. Contact jen@jgcolor.com or visit their website at jgcolor.com
