When it comes to choosing a colour scheme for your website, you can quickly become overwhelmed by the choice!  However, a little known web design fact is that there are actually only a limited number of colours that should be used within web design.  These colours are safe because you can almost always be sure how they will display on a user’s screen, whereas more complicated colours may look odd – though this is not so much of a problem on newer computers as they can display millions of colours with no problems.

Settling on a Scheme

Choosing the right colours for your website is almost as important as the content and graphics themselves.  The wrong colours can jar against your images or even the theme you’re going for so make sure you choose carefully.  It really depends on your audience.  For example, a site about St Valentine’s Day will need to use warm colours evoking love and romance, whereas a site about a dentistry practice might opt for more neutral colours.

Neutral Colours

Whites represent cleanliness and purity and greys represent conservatism and reliability.  A combination of the two is a popular choice for businesses wanting to evoke a professional atmosphere.  Browns represent home, family and earth so might be perfect for a garden centre.  Blacks convey a feeling of sophistication, elegance and power so could be a powerful scheme for a funky new wine bar or restaurant.

Warm Colours

Reds, yellows, oranges and pinks are the main warm colours you can choose from.  Red can evoke lust, passion and anger.  Yellows represent happiness and warmth and oranges are allegedly known to arouse the appetite!  Pinks are usually best for sites associated with femininity, romance and innocence.

Cool Colours

Blue is probably the coolest shade.  It produces a calming effect and exudes trust and intelligence.  A lot of healthcare and financial companies therefore opt for blue schemes.  Greens can represent wealth and good fortune which is why they’re often cleverly used on gambling sites.  Finally purple gives off an air of creativity with the darker shades also being associated