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?
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.
Pop open your website and take a look at the top three colors of your site. This should include:
Write these three colors down and write their meanings next to them.
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.
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.