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Increase Website Conversion with the Right Colors

Written by Travis Martin | June 29, 2013

Back to first grade internet marketing class kids! We’re not going to make this hard. This blog is simple and to the point. We’re going to explore the POWER of color and how it can increase website conversion.

Before you read this by yourself you might want to get your website designer and have him or her read this with you. Having the right colors on your site can make a dramatic difference. Colors can evoke emotions, thoughts and even smells. Having the right colors on your website is a must. Let’s go through some colors and their meanings shall we?

Colors and Their Meanings

Black
protection, dramatic, serious, classy, formality, secrecy, death, evil, mystery, strength, authority

Blue
tranquility, love, loyalty, security, trust, intelligence, coldness, fear, masculinity, calming, truth, heaven, confidence

Brown
friendly, earth, outdoors, longevity, conservative, dogmatic, stability, simplicity

Gold
wealth, prosperity, valuable, traditional, greed, dreamer, extravagant, prestige, wisdom

Gray
security, reliability, intelligence, solid, conservative, gloomy, sad, mourning, moody

Green
money, growth, fertility, freshness, healing, envy, jealousy, guilt, disorder, life, renewal, balance, harmony

Ivory
quiet, pleasantness, pureness, warmness, weak, unstable

Orange
courage, confidence, warmth, friendliness, success, ignorance, sluggishness, superiority, sunshine, joy, invigorating, attraction

Pink
healthy, happy, feminine, compassion, sweet, playful, weakness, femininity, immaturity, sense of well-being, romance, love, friendship

Purple
royalty, nobility, spirituality, luxury, ambition, creative, offbeat, surprising, restful, fun, mystery, moodiness

Red
love, energy, power, action, strength, passion, heat, desire, determination, courage, anger, danger, warning, rage, war, impatience

Silver
glamorous, high tech, graceful, sleek, dreamer, insincere

Tan
dependable, flexible, crisp, conservative, dull, boring, conservative

Turquoise
spiritual, healing, protection, sophisticated, envy, femininity

White
goodness, innocence, purity, fresh, easy, clean, winter, cold, distant

Yellow
bright, energy, sun, creativity, intellect, happy, joyous, uplifting, coward, irresponsible, unstable

What Now?

Ok, so that was a long list of a bunch of colors and their meanings you had to read through but it’s going to be worth it to learn how they can help increase website conversion, trust me.

In the next two steps, we’re going to help you realize what message you’re sending your web site visitors when they visit your site.  

Step 1:

Pop open your website and take a look at the top three colors of your site. This should include:

  1. Your Logo Color
  2. Website Background Color
  3. Header Color

Write these three colors down and write their meanings next to them.

Step 2:

Take out your company’s mission statement/goals and see how close they compare to your color scheme meanings.

For example, if you’re a non-profit company that serves homeless people in your city and your site has a bunch of Silver (glamorous, high tech, graceful, sleek, dreamer, insincere) and Purple (royalty, nobility, spirituality, luxury, ambition, creative, offbeat, surprising, restful, fun, mystery, moodiness) do you think you’re going to relay the right feelings to your viewers? You’re certainly not going to help increase website conversion this way.

Using the homeless shelter example, when people come to a site they are subconsciously evaluating your website from the way it looks, the way it feels and the amount of relevant and valuable information they can receive. If your website color scheme looks like it represents a swanky, white collar company, you’re probably not going to give off the friendly and warm approach to the customers (people who want to support the homeless) that you’re going after because they won’t be able to relate or feel the emotion you want.

It’s good to remember that colors can carry feelings, intense emotions, memories and even smells. Your goal is to create a site that is not only full of rich, relevant and up to date content, but a site that displays a visual appeal that correlates with your company’s message or “feeling” you’re trying to relate.

Video Example

Here is a video that explains what colors mean and how they can have an impact on your conversion rate. It’s not the shortest video you’ll watch today but it is jam packed with great advice and A-B test studies of color changes on sites and the difference it made to increase website conversions.

Take what you have learned and go apply it to your website. Colors will make a huge difference in your visual appeal and, if done right, can even help increase website conversion.

Proper internet marketing is made up of a bunch of different techniques and principles. Color is one of those. Get this right and you’ll have an advantage over those who chose colors that look pretty but don’t relay the right message to viewers.