Use of Color in Your Website's Design

One of the main elements of website design is usability. This means that not just a few, but all kinds of users including those who may be partially-sighted, or color blind should be able to use it easily. If you cater to a variety of customers including those with vision impairments, you should make sure that your website is suitable to all, or at least most of the customers who search for you on the internet. Here are a few tips on how you can make the best use of color on your business website.

Contrast

One of the main factors that affect the usability of your website is the color contrast or the difference between the colors used on your page. As the contrast required can be different for different parts of the page, you can use a contrast test to check if the page is giving the desired impression.


Colors and Patterns

You can choose from a variety of colors depending on the browser and the web designing software that is being used. Ideally, you should restrict the number of colors to 5, and try to use them consistently on all the web pages. The background is usually white and has to be plain, with a contrasting color (usually black) for the text. Although, you can use the chosen colors to depict different elements, it is better to stick to a white background and black text color to get make an important point noticeable.

Do not use designs and patterns for background as it can make reading the text difficult. Also, avoid using too many colors on one page and don't expect the users to guess your message with color connotations.

Different Types of Colors

Although you can choose any color you want for your site, there are a few basic guidelines for using color in a website design.

* For your content color, stick to the standard black text on a white background, as it is one of the safest and most professional combinations
* You can use bright colors such as red and green for the centre and colors like blue, yellow, black and white are best for the margin, to provide maximum visibility to users.
* Choose darker shades of colors like blue, purple, red and lighter shades of orange, yellow and green to make them distinct from each other.
* Brighter colors are better and comfortable if you want users to stay on the webpage for longer periods
* Bright colors are most suitable to emphasize important promotions and offers
* Colors like burgundy, blue and dark green give out an impression that the business is well established and solid

However, avoid using colors like red and green, blue and yellow together and don't use grayscale for important graphs and diagrams.

Viewing Environments

Make sure that your website design is suitable for both viewing environments - low ambient light and bright ambient light.

* Use lighter text in white yellow or red, with a medium -dark background of blue, green, grey or red for low ambient light
* For a bright ambient light, use dark text of blue or black on a background of white, or paler shades of yellow, magenta, blue or green