Thinking about colors brings a feel of happiness to one’s mind which generally has a soothing effect. We all have our favorites when it comes to colors. Red, green, yellow, blue the list is endless… Some of us associate colors with situations while some people tend to relate it to places, fragrances, instances and happenings.

Colors are the symbol of expression; there are a few cultures in which colors are used to cure people – just as one uses words to express oneself, colors are used as an expression for communication, symbolizing a unique language for association, bonding and at times emitting emotions.

When it comes to website development, online selling, blogging, social networking colors pay an extraordinary role. On the web we sell perception by show casing our website – the more attractive the website, the more attention it gets. The general layout, the logo, the color combination of the site plays a major role whether a person coming to your website would come back to it again or not. It is majorly all about the psychology of colors which works here.

Colors like symbols have meanings – the interpretation of each is different. There is a generalized definition for most, where some have specific meaning associated to them with respect to how it is perceived in their region. Let us list down the generalized meaning and interpretation of universal colors association focusing on the positivity of colors:-

1 – Yellow is a clear attention-grabber and mostly associated with liveliness and the feeling of happiness. It is energetic.

2 – Orange radiates cheerfulness, enthusiasm and creativity, but what is very often important when designing web sites, it is also associated with affordability.

3 – Red is mostly associated with boldness, excitement and desire. It is a powerful color, whose negative associations due to traffic lights, alarms etc. should not be underestimated.

4 – Pink is usually associated with romance and tenderness, but it has also been shown to have a calming effect. After adjusting, the calming effect usually transforms into agitation.

5 – Purple has traditionally long been associated with power, nobility and wealth. It is also strongly associated with wisdom and spirituality, as well as magic and mystery.

6 – Blue is one of the most liked colors, especially by men. It is linked with depth and stability, professionalism, honor and trust. Blue raises productivity, and diminishes the appetite.

7 – Green is the color of nature and everything natural. It is identified with safety and optimism, durability and reliability, harmony and freshness. It is a calming and stress relieving color.

8 – Brown is a reassuring color of endurance, relaxation and confidence. It can be thought of as conventional or rather sophisticated and solid.

9 – Gray provokes feelings of conservatism, traditionalism and seriousness.

10 – White signifies purity and innocence. Further associations are cleanliness, newness and simplicity.

11 – Black is, especially in design, an elegant and stylish color which can imply sophistication and strength, or provoke feelings of mystery. It is also associated with depth or gloom.

Source: http://www.sabinanore.com/design/designers-handbook-of-colors.php

The above can easily be used as a guide for designing your website. Advertising a business on the web is a visual and psychological medium. The information about your company on your website has by far the greatest psychological impact on your visitors and thus becomes your most important communication and sales tool.

“Colors are seen as warm or cool mainly because of long-held (and often universal) associations. Yellow, orange and red are associated with the heat of sun and fire; blue, green and violet with the coolness of leaves, sea and the sky. Warm colors seem closer to the viewer than cool colors, but vivid cool colors can overwhelm light and subtle warm colors. Using warm colors for foreground and cool colors for background enhances the perception of depth.”

Source: Pantone, Inc.

Whenever a organization thinks about expanding itself and making itself visible through the internet the most important thing to account not only the functionality of the website but the look and feel. No doubt what you sell in the market should be important enough to attract people – however if you design a website which leaves a positive impact would certainly help you increase visits to your site. A good and everlasting impression sells like anything. The important psychological aspect of your website that is often overlooked is the colors.

The following links would help you understand the importance of colors while making a website

http://blog.themeforest.net/tutorials/the-importance-color-in-web-design/

http://www.thunderdata.com/website_business_101/website_color_importance.html

The background color of your website, the color of your header, the color of your text, headlines and sub-headlines etc. can all have a psychological impact on your visitors.

Here is a list of some of the common colors and what type of psychological emotion they invoke in people:

1 – RED is associated with love, passion, danger, warning, excitement, food, impulse, action, adventure.
2 – BLUE is associated with trustworthiness, success, seriousness, calmness, power, professionalism.
3 – GREEN is associated with money, nature, animals, health, healing, life, harmony.
4 – ORANGE is associated with comfort, creativity, celebration, fun, youth, affordability.
5 – PURPLE is associated with royalty, justice, ambiguity, uncertainty, luxury, fantasy, dreams.
6 – WHITE is associated with innocence, purity, cleanliness, simplicity.
7 – YELLOW is associated with curiosity, playfulness, cheerfulness, amusement.
8 – PINK is associated with softness, sweetness, innocence, youthfulness, tenderness.
9 – BROWN is associated with earth, nature, tribal, primitive, simplicity.
10 – GREY is associated with neutralality, indifference, reserved.
11 – BLACK is associated with seriousness, darkness, mystery, secrecy.

You can use the above as a guide when choosing colors for your website. It really boils down to your target audience and what psychological message you want to convey through colors. For example blues and white backgrounds work best for business sites. Maternity sites should consider some pink. Golf or lawn sites should consider green. Similarly food sites should consider red – these are all examples for you to consider if you wish to be successful in using colors intelligently for your business.