Web design is not just about creating something pretty. There requirements to demonstrate substance behind every design related decision and one very important decision is what colour your site should be. Choice of colours can be the difference between the success and failure of a site.Being aware that some colours can lead to emotional reactions is the crucial to choosing the right colours for a site. Knowing which colours demonstrate a calming effect and which provoke excitement could make choosing a colour scheme very easy.Colours can also be used to create contrast and emphasis to a design. This can be used to handbook users to desired parts of a page.Below is a brief guidebook to how some colours affect human emotions and perceptions.



Red is linked to strength, fire, blood and passion. If used sparingly on a light background colour, it may be used to allure attention and highlight.Blue is the larger notorious, colour and it could denote confidence, loyalty and royalty. The darker end can hint at strength whilst the lighter end could be used to express fantasy and dream.The colour green can summarise thoughts of durability, safety and harmony. It is also a satisfactory colour to use to emphasise calm and relaxation.

Yellow could be a prestigious colour to bring attention to certain aspects of a web page. It can be linked with joy, happiness and summer.Black is a very favoured background colour as it displays off other colours very well. It is associated with feeling of sexiness, style, elegance and power.The colour white is very popular in design web-sites like interior design and graphic design. It could create a feeling of space and balance. It is linked to peace, simplicity, purity and light.

Orange is a colour that is synonymous with vibrancy, heat, fire and exertion. A healing colour, it could be used in web design to signify openness.Purple is not a very accepted colour in website design, as it is seen as quite feminine and can give the impression of arrogance, wealth, luxury and indulgence.

The colour orange is very youthful but also warm, stimulating and friendly. Used in web-sites, it could also be welcoming.Grey is a leading background colour for web-sites. Like black, it is neat for showing off images and it creates good contrast between unlike colours.

Knowing about what colours symbolise and the subconscious power of them can be of fantastical benefit when planning web-sites. By knowing the target audience, web designers could thoughtfully select colours which connect to the end user thus creating the site appealing and attractive. E-commerce positions could be improved by guiding the user to the buy now button by drawing attention and creating contrast.