While colors might be the last thing you paid attention to when creating your blog, they play a significant role in creating a long-lasting impression. Having an attractive and perfectly well-defined color palette for your website not only enriches your blog’s outlook but also showcases how serious you are about the stuff you put on the blog. Colors have the power to create a connection with your viewers. Therefore, it is important to select colors that clearly define your goals and suit your audience’s preferences.
Importance of having a particular color palette for your blog
The first thing when people notice when they visit any website is the color scheme. It is not by choice, but the mind is automatically drawn and registered to notice and get attracted by these colors. Therefore, it is only beneficial to use these color variations in favor of your blog. Apart from that, having a limited color palette can help create a specific brand identity that would help your customers find you among a pool of competitors. Here are some other reasons how colors affect your blog:
Colors evoke feelings
Colors, when put together, tend to resonate with each other making a picture or image prettier. The perfect combinations look highly pleasing, while colors that don’t complement each other can make your website look dull and unattractive. Every color signifies a feeling. This is called color psychology, which we will discuss later in this post.
Helps in creating a brand identity
As mentioned earlier, colors help set you apart from your competitors. Ever wondered why McDonald’s complete menu is filled with reds, yellows, and whites? It is their staple color pallet, which they use in every product. Hence, every customer can instantly recognize a McDonald’s product wherever they spot them.
Colors reveal your personality
The sort of colors you choose for your blogs will necessarily reveal your personality to the reader. If you go for subtle colors, you will come off as soft-natured, sensitive, and open. On the other hand, if you go for colors such as red, maroon, and black, people will relate to your bold and strong personality. That is why it is important to put up the correct colors on your blog if you want to connect with your readers.
The Color Psychology: Understanding what different colors mean
In layman’s terms, color psychology is the science of how colors play a major role in affecting human behavior and thoughts. Since colors are tricky to play with, it is essential to use them the right way. A good method to determine your blog’s perfect colors is by understanding what each color in the monochrome signifies. Let’s learn the significance of each color and how different brands use them to deliver their messages:
Red: The color red stands for bold, attraction, and power. That is why you would notice that every ‘call-to-action’ segment of a website is imprinted on a red color. It impels viewers to take action. A real-estate logo often has red colors as it signifies seriousness. It is also related to love and aggression; that is why Valentines’ day offers paint websites in red colors.
Orange: Orange colors basically signify energy, enthusiasm, and warmth. It also signifies a feeling of friendship and bonding. Since orange is the autumn season’s primary color, it evokes a feeling of joy and excitement. An education logo often has orange colors because it is associated with kids and small children. Orange is often associated with physical activity, therefore you would notice orange colors in sports ads and children’s products. The color orange determines urgency but in a more subtle way.
Yellow: Have you ever wondered why warning signs use the color ‘yellow’ instead of any other color from the monochrome? It is because of the color’s brightness, which instantly grabs attention and signifies a strong message. Be careful of using too much yellow on your blog. The color can also bring negativity since it evokes feelings of anxiety and fear.
Green: Green usually signifies a feeling of calm, relaxation, health, and growth. Green is associated with so many positive feelings because nature is filled with green color. Hence, designers tend to use green colors to signify relaxation and calmness. Tourism sites, travel blogs, and websites related to nature mostly use green color to signify prosperity, calmness, and wealth.
Blue: Blue color majorly signifies a feeling of trust, reliability, and calmness. When you look at a blue color, you would be reminded of the sky, which again is a part of nature. Hence, using light blue shades in your blog provokes a sense of calmness and serendipity. Blue color is also known to provoke a sensation of comfort. While blue might be a good color for your blog, try to use it wisely as it also signifies sadness. Therefore, it is essential to balance it well.
Purple: The color purple dictates luxury, wealth, loyalty, bravely, and value. It is often associated with positive emotions, but too dark purple colors can come off as negatives.
Black: Blogs and websites associated with class, mystery, suspense often contain a lot of blacks in them. It is very important to use black colors in the right contrasting manner otherwise, it can create a negative impact on the users.
White: It is no news that white color is associates with purity, innocence, hope, calmness, clarity, and wholeness. A lot of white is used in a cleaning logo because it signifies cleanliness and purity. It is mostly used as a background in websites with other colors. However, too much use of whites in your blog might make it appear bland and empty, so be careful with the usage.
How to select the best colors for your blog?
Choosing the perfect color for your blog is essential yet difficult. Here are some tips that might come in handy:
- Choose colors that won’t tire you: It is very easy to get tired of colors. Therefore, you must choose a color that you naturally love and won’t ever get tired of.
- Use colors in your niche: Every niche has specific colors. Go through your competitor’s blogs and websites and understand the color scheme they are playing with. Try to replicate the same but in a unique way.
- Use a color palette generator: An ideal tool which allows you to select the perfect color scheme for your blog. Really handy for people who won’t wanna experiment with all kinds of colors.
- Stick to your color strategy: Once you’ve selected your color, try to stick to it on every page of your blog. Consistency plays a major role in determining your blog’s mood.
Conclusion
The internet is a colorful place, and a lot can be achieved by playing around with the right set of colors. Don’t underestimate the power colors have over your blog and take them seriously. Try not to use every color in the monochrome and experiment a lot with your colors; this should get you the perfect color scheme complementary to your blog!
By Ruchelle Palmer: digital business and marketing psychology, social media manager and freelance writer.