Do you want to improve your conversion by adjusting your website colours? Do you want to make it stand out above the rest?
We get it! Humans are visual beings, and colours can greatly influence their buying decisions. Did you know that 93% of consumers make purchasing decisions based on visuals alone? And up to 90% of an initial impression comes from colour. Amazing, right?
The truth is that there’s psychology in colour. Once you understand it, you can design a website that grabs attention and drives more inquiries.
Colour psychology examines how colours affect how we feel and behave. Different colours can trigger different feelings and influence our choices, and these effects can vary depending on our personal preferences and cultural backgrounds.
When visitors land on your website, your chosen colours can immediately affect their mood, perception of your brand, and, most importantly, their likelihood of taking action. Let’s discuss how each colour affects your customers.
Red is the colour of urgency and excitement. It grabs attention immediately, which is why it’s often used for calls to action (CTA) such as “Buy Now,” “Sign Up,” or “Shop Now.” Red is also associated with urgency and passion, making it a perfect choice for time-sensitive offers or promotions.
When used in the right context, red can increase conversion rates by encouraging people to act quickly. For example, if you’re running a flash sale or offering a limited-time discount, red can create a sense of urgency, prompting visitors to make enquiries and purchase faster.
However, be cautious with red—it’s a bold colour that can be overwhelming if overused. Pair it with neutral tones like white, grey, or black to balance its intensity. This will allow the red to stand out without dominating the entire website.
Blue represents trust, calm, professionalism, and stability. That is why it is so commonly used in industries where trust is essential, such as banking, healthcare, and legal services. It evokes a sense of safety and reliability, making visitors feel more comfortable interacting with your website.
If your business offers services that require high trust (like financial advice or health consultations), blue is the ideal colour for your website. It will increase the likelihood of visitors feeling confident in your expertise and more inclined to contact you.
Lighter shades of blue evoke tranquillity and peace, while darker blues represent professionalism and authority. Blue can be used for your website’s background, navigation bars, and contact forms to boost trust and make your site more approachable.
Green is typically associated with nature, growth, and wellness. It also means health, financial prosperity, and environmental responsibility. Green is the perfect colour to use if your business focuses on wellness, sustainability, or anything related to growth (personal, financial, or otherwise).
Green can calm visitors to your website. It encourages them to take their time and make thoughtful decisions. Using green in key website areas, such as call-to-action buttons or subscription forms, can inspire visitors to take the next step without feeling rushed.
For example, if you run a sustainable products store, using green throughout your website can highlight your commitment to the environment and resonate with like-minded customers. It encourages them to inquire more about your products and make an eco-friendly choice.
Yellow is often associated with happiness, optimism, and warmth. It instantly lifts moods and creates a sense of cheerfulness. When appropriately used, yellow can make your website feel inviting and energising, encouraging visitors to take action.
However, yellow can be overwhelming if overused, so it’s best to incorporate it as an accent colour. Use yellow for call-to-action buttons or highlight important information, such as special promotions or discounts.
For instance, if you run a travel business, yellow can inspire feelings of adventure and excitement, encouraging visitors to inquire about vacation packages. Pair yellow with other colours, such as blue or grey, to prevent it from becoming too loud.
Orange is a bold and energetic colour that combines the vibrancy of red with the warmth of yellow. It’s often used for calls to action because it stimulates enthusiasm and motivates people to take immediate action.
Orange is particularly effective for promoting events, flash sales, or limited-time offers. If you are launching a new product or hosting a webinar, orange can grab attention and drive visitors to enquire or register.
It is also a great colour for buttons like “Contact Us” or “Get a Quote.” Red and orange can increase urgency, but they do so with a slightly more friendly and inviting feel. The key is to use it in moderation and balance it with softer tones to keep the website looking professional.
Purple is associated with creativity, luxury, and sophistication. It’s the perfect choice for brands that want to convey elegance or exclusivity. The colour also stimulates creativity, making it ideal for businesses in the arts or design industries.
If your website sells premium products or services, purple can help elevate your brand’s perception. It gives off a sense of high-end quality and encourages visitors to inquire about your offerings.
For example, a high-end jewellery store or a luxury travel agency would benefit from using purple in their website design. Purple communicates elegance and exclusivity, enticing visitors to inquire about purchases.
Black and white are timeless, classic colours that convey professionalism and clarity. They are often used in websites focusing on the content rather than the design itself. Black is associated with power and sophistication, while white represents purity and simplicity.
If you want to create a minimalist, professional-looking website, black and white are ideal. Use black for text, navigation, key headlines and white for the background and empty space. This approach makes your website clean and easy to navigate, allowing visitors to focus on the necessary information.
A great example of black-and-white usage is a law firm website, where clarity and professionalism are key. These colours can help visitors find the contact information or forms they need to contact the firm.
The right colours can make all the difference in nudging people to take that action.
Let’s walk through some key strategies for using colours on your website in ways that encourage conversions.
1. Use Contrasting Colours for Calls to Action
Your calls to action (CTAs) are the most important buttons on your website. They are where you want your visitors to take action, such as signing up, contacting you, or making a purchase. To ensure people don’t miss them, use colours that contrast with the rest of your website’s design.
For instance, if your website is mostly light blue or white (which conveys trust and calm), you can use a bold colour like orange or green for your CTA buttons. These colours stand out against blue and white backgrounds, making them noticeable and inviting.
2. Limit Your Colour Palette to Create Focus
You might be tempted to use many colours to make your website lively. However, too many colours can overwhelm visitors, cause confusion, and distract from essential elements like your CTAs.
Stick to 3-5 colours for your website. Choose one or two primary colours for the background and headings. Then, pick one or two accent colours for buttons, links, and key sections. This keeps your design clean and helps guide visitors smoothly through your site.
For example, if you run a law firm’s website, you could use navy blue for trust and professionalism. White works well for the background, creating simplicity and clarity. For CTA buttons, use a contrasting colour like gold, which adds luxury and confidence. These three colours create a clean, sophisticated design without overcomplicating things.
3. Test Different Colour Combinations to Find What Works
The best way to see how colours affect conversions is to test them. A/B testing lets you try different colour combinations and measure which ones get the most clicks or enquiries. This helps you find which colours work best for your audience.
For example, you can test different colours for your CTA buttons—red, green, or orange—and see which gets the most clicks. You can also test background colours or headline colours.
4. Consider Colour Temperature for Emotional Appeal
Colours fall into two categories: warm and cool. Warm colours like red, orange, and yellow spark excitement, energy, and urgency. These are perfect for CTAs, sale banners, or anything requiring action. Cool colours like blue, green, and purple convey calmness, trust, and professionalism. These work well for backgrounds or informational sections.
Understanding colour temperature helps you use colours for maximum impact. Use warm colours where you want action (e.g., a limited-time offer). Use cool colours where you want visitors to feel reassured (e.g., testimonials or trust signals).
5. Create Urgency with Colour
Certain colours can make visitors feel like they need to act quickly. Red is especially good at creating urgency, so it's often used in flash sale banners, countdown timers, and limited-time offers.
Use red to grab attention if you’re running a special promotion or event. But don’t go overboard—red is strong and should be used sparingly to highlight important details, like “Last Chance” or “Offer Ends Soon.”
6. Use Colours to Build Trust and Professionalism
Building trust is key for any business website. Colours like blue, grey, and white convey professionalism, reliability, and calm. These colours don’t scream for attention but establish your brand as trustworthy and credible, which is essential for generating enquiries, especially in industries like finance, healthcare, or law.
For example, a well-designed blue and grey website could help a potential client feel that their services are professional and secure, making them more likely to fill out your contact form or call you for more information.
Imagine you run a tax consulting service. Your website could have a calm navy blue background, white text and headings, and grey for borders and buttons. This colour combo gives off a sense of trust, professionalism, and competence, making visitors more likely to feel confident in reaching out for your services.
7. Use Colour to Highlight Social Proof and Testimonials
Social proof helps build trust and can encourage visitors to become clients. You can use colour to make these reviews stand out and catch people’s attention.
For example, your testimonials section could have a soft green background to make it feel trustworthy and calming. You can use gold or yellow stars to show quality and value if you have customer ratings.
8. Ensure Accessibility with Colour Choices
When picking website colours, it’s important to consider all users, including those with colour blindness or other vision issues. Making your website easy for everyone can help bring in more inquiries.
Make sure there’s enough contrast between text and background colours. Avoid using colours that may be hard to tell apart for people with colour blindness, like red and green together. To test your site's accessibility, you can use tools like the WebAIM contrast checker.
For example, if your website offers legal consultations, use high-contrast colours, like dark blue text on a white background, so everyone, including those with vision impairments, can easily read your content. This will improve the user experience and increase visitors' chances to contact you.
Colours have a powerful impact on how visitors interact with your website. The right colours encourage people to take action and increase your enquiries. Red creates urgency, blue builds trust and green fosters calmness. Each colour influences how potential customers feel and what they do next.
To achieve the best results, test different colours, keep your design simple, and focus on driving conversions. You can make your website more engaging with thoughtful colour choices and turn visitors into loyal customers.
If you need assistance creating a website that converts, SMK Creations is here to help you! Contact us to get a quote!
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