How to choose a color palette for your website

When it comes to web design, color is by far the most powerful visual element. Colors can stir emotions even though we aren’t always aware of that. If you choose an effective color palette, you will not only add personality to your website, but you will also have a better chance of reaching your target audience.

I had a hard time finding the perfect color scheme. At first, I had a bright fuchsia and navy color palette. It didn’t really represent me or my brand and I got bored of it very fast. Then I moved on to a peach and mint color scheme that was similar to my current one, only to realize that I wanted brighter colors. After playing with tints and shades for a while, I finally found something I liked and that also represents my brand.

Here are a few tips that will help you choose the best color palette for your website:

Think about color psychology

Color psychology is not an exact science, but each color triggers an emotional and psychological response. The effects colors have on us are often a result of our culture, upbringing, and personal preferences.

Let’s see what colors mean for most of us:

• Red: love, passion, warmth
• Blue: calmness, serenity, coolness
• Green: joy, tranquility, health
• Yellow: happiness, energy, positivity
• Purple: royalty, wealth, wisdom
• Brown: strength, security, warmth
• Orange: excitement, enthusiasm, warmth
• Pink: softness, playfulness, femininity
• Black: glamour, sophistication, exclusivity
• White: freedom, spaciousness, and breathability

Research has shown that men and women are attracted to different colors. Women prefer pastels, while men like bright colors. Also, women don’t like orange, brown, or gray and men don’t like purple, orange, or brown.

Color psychology might help you attract the right audience, but it’s even more important for your blog’s colors to represent your personality.

Identify what you want to communicate

When you choose a color palette for your brand or website, you have to take into account what colors you love, your personality and your niche. Your favorite colors might not always be the best colors for your brand. I love navy and burgundy when it comes to clothes, but when it comes to my brand, I prefer lighter and more feminine colors.

Before deciding what colors to use, you should take a moment and think about what you want to communicate to your readers. If you are writing about weddings, you will attract more readers if you use warm, light colors. Black, gold, and splashes of bold colors will look great on a fashion blog, just like bright colors and playful patterns will make a website for children stand out.

Pick contrasting colors

Monochromatic color schemes can be boring if they are not done right, but complementary colors will enrich your blog’s design. Of course, you don’t want to mix bright red with bright green. Instead, you can use different shades, tints, and tones.

Shades, tints, and tones expand the basic 12-spoke color wheel into an infinite number of colors you can use in your web design. A great idea is to use a pure hue in your color palette, and shades and tints of a complementary color. This way you will avoid the annoying, overwhelming effect of contrasting pure hues.

Less is more

You shouldn’t use all the colors of the rainbow when you choose a color palette for your blog. Limit yourself to two or three primary colors. Besides those colors, your color scheme should also contain neutrals. You can use white, black, gray, browns or tans.

Your primary colors should be used in your logo, images and to add accents to your site. You should never use your bright red primary color as a website background because it can be very aggressive, but you can use it for your links or call to action buttons.

You can also build a secondary color palette with tones of your primary colors and other complementary colors. Though you should only use these colors in your images and branded materials.

How to make a color palette

There are many ways to make a color palette for your blog. My favorite is using a moodboard as an inspiration source. When you choose images for your blog’s inspiration board, you will notice that a lot of them have similar colors. This is a great way to find the perfect colors for your site.

If you are not familiar with creating color palettes in Photoshop or Illustrator, you can use one of these amazing websites:

• Design Seeds
• Adobe Color CC
• Paletton
• 0to255

How did you choose a color palette for your blog? Does your current color scheme reflect your personality and the mood of your site?

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