The goal of this article is to help you choose the right colors for your website.

Color usually depends on our personal experiences and preferences but there are also some universal signals. Choosing the right color can be a very challenging task. Individual differences can vary based on gender, age and culture. In a study titled “Impact of color on marketing” researchers found that up to 90% of snap judgments made about products can be based on color alone.

Here is a quick guide to help you pick the “right” color based on psychology.

🏳 WHITE

Positive: Hygiene, sterility, clarity, purity, cleanness, simplicity, sophistication, efficiency.

Negative: Sterility, coldness, barriers, unfriendliness, elitism.

〰 GREY

Positive: Psychological neutrality.

Negative: Lack of confidence, dampness, depression, hibernation, lack of energy.

⚫ BLACK

Positive: Sophistication, glamour, security, emotional safety, efficiency, substance.

Negative: Oppression, coldness, menace, heaviness.

🟨 YELLOW

Positive: Optimism, confidence, self-esteem, extraversion, emotional strength, friendliness, creativity.

Negative: Irrationality, fear, emotional fragility, depression, anxiety, suicide.

🍊 ORANGE

Positive: Physical comfort, food, warmth, security, sensuality, passion, abundance, fun.

Negative: Deprivation, frustration, frivolity, immaturity.

🤎 BROWN

Positive: Seriousness, warmth, Nature, earthiness, reliability, support.

Negative: Lack of humor, heaviness, lack of sophistication.

🐷 PINK

Positive: Physical tranquillity, nurture, warmth, femininity, love, sexuality, survival of the species.

Negative: Inhibition, emotional claustrophobia, emasculation, physical weakness.

🍒 RED

Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, ‘fight or flight’, stimulation, masculinity, excitement.

Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.

♾ VIOLET

Positive: Spiritual awareness, containment, vision, luxury, authenticity, truth, quality.

Negative: Introversion, decadence, suppression, inferiority.

🍏 GREEN

Positive: Harmony, balance, refreshment, universal love, rest, restoration, reassurance, environmental awareness, equilibrium, peace.

Negative: Boredom, stagnation, blandness, reservation.

📘 BLUE

Positive: Intelligence, communication, trust, efficiency, serenity, duty, logic, coolness, reflection, calm.

Negative: Coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness.

Choosing an appropriate color combination in the design process is considered one of the most important (yet often overlooked) elements in creating a successful website.

Quick tips

Focus on the target audience
Be mindful of the background color as well as the font color
Color chooser tools can be very helpful

Don’t use too many colors, usually 2–4 are enough
Get some inspiration and make some research before your final decision

To sum up

Every color has its purpose. Choose your colors wisely. If you are not sure how to pick the right one or the right combination to be afraid to ask a specialist to help you. Make your own research too. Check your competitors.

👋Hello, I'm Eleftheria, a developer, public speaker, and chocolate lover.

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Color psychology in web design