When choosing colors for your Web site, it is important to think through your choice carefully. The use of colors that are pleasing to the eye might well lead to visitors spending more time at your site, which will lead to greater sales, but a poor choice of color combinations can also have an effect on an individual's mood or prove to be distracting or irritating.



Choose to use warm colors like red to attract attention to a certain portion of your site, to have the person stop at a certain portion, or to give them a warning. If you have a Web site selling candy products, personal care items, or anything to do with romance, you would do well to consider including the color pink. We tend to associate this whimsical color with all things soft, romantic, and girly.

Orange, another warm color, is naturally associated with the fall harvest and trick or treating. Web sites concerning themselves with foodstuffs and nature might find this a good choice. Yellow, used in moderation, is certainly an eye-catching choice. It conveys warmth and energy to a site visitor.

If your taste runs to cool colors, green can be a wonderful choice. It can symbolize many things: money, the environment, natural products, growth, rebirth, starting over, etc. Use green if your site offers financial advice, vitamins, fitness products, garden tools, seeds, and the like.

Yet another choice in the realm of cool color offerings is blue. This classic color gives a certain formality when used. It makes us think of the natural landscape (sky and water) but the word "blue" can also describe a certain type of music or feelings of despair. Those who are drawn to all that is mystical might choose to include purple. The lush, dark shades bring royalty to mind; lavender is a much more whimsical choice.

Black, white, and grey can also be used for Web sites, but are probably too stark to be used exclusively. They would be best if combined with some other complementary color.

Keep in mind in choosing colors for your site that both Macintosh computers and personal computers (PC's) have a palette of 216 colors that they share. Site owners will want to ensure that the site will appear the same no matter what type of computer someone is using to access the Internet.

When choosing colors for your site, here are some suggestions to keep in mind:

Consider the purpose of your site when choosing colors.

Try to choose two or three colors that complement each other; any more than that, and your site will look sloppy.

In considering color choices, go to your local paint store and help yourself to some color samples. Then you can use them to experiment with different color combinations.

Remember, the goal is to keep visitors on your Web page longer, which is more likely to lead to a sale, which is why you are on the Internet in the first place!