Designing your own Web Site - why the Right Color Scheme is Vital by Brian McGregor

Did you know that most visitors to your website will form an instant opinion about you and your offering? The opinion is generated subconsciously, and there is nothing the site visitor can do about it.

How can this be?

Well, it's isn't to do with the words you've written. The opinion is formed before the visitor has read a single word on your site.

The quality of your pictures and images on the web page won't make any difference either. It doesn't even matter if what you're offering is really great, and is at a fantastically attractive price. The instant opinion is formed as soon as your web page appears in your visitor's browser.

What is it that can have such an effect on your website visitors?

The answer is colors.

Visitors to your website will form an instant opinion based on the color scheme you use on your page.

This is because our reaction to color is psychological and intuitive. We are all affected by color, and there's nothing we can do about it. This is why companies spend millions on getting exactly the right the colors for their products and marketing. They understand the psychology of color, and make sure they are using the appropriate colors in their business propositions.

The reason why this is important for you and me today, is that the same color psychology applies to our websites.

On web pages there are some color combinations which will have visitors clicking away from the page very quickly. Which would clearly be bad if your page is selling a product, and you want your visitors to read your compelling sales copy!

The good news, however, is that there are other color combinations which will actually make the page visitor more sympathetic to you, and to your proposition.

The psychology of colors isn't new. It's been around for many years. In our subconscious, we all have emotions conveyed to us by color. Depending on the colors used, it might be a good feeling - or it might be a bad feeling. It could be a sense of warmth, trust and belonging. Or it could be a sense of coolness, distrust and rejection.

Here are some colors with the feelings and emotions they convey:

RED
Sense of power, energy, strength, love, leadership, danger, excitement etc

ORANGE
Steadfastness, courage, confidence, friendliness, cheerfulness, playfulness, comfort etc

YELLOW
Caution, brightness, intelligence, curiosity, playfulness, cheerfulness etc

GREEN
Money, health, healing, food, nature, life, harmony etc

BLUE
Tranquility, peace, harmony, love, acceptance, trustworthiness, stability etc

PURPLE
Royalty, nobility, wisdom, dignity, independence, ambition etc

BROWN
Earthiness, nature, tribal, comfort, durability, reliability etc

BLACK
Dramatic, power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, style etc

WHITE
Purity, innocence, fresh, easy, simplicity, cleanliness etc

The key for your website is to make sure your color scheme is consistent with your proposition. If the subconscious mind of your visitor has trouble in reconciling the mixed message, they won't even try. And you will lose that valuable visitor.

The point to take away from this is that you need to make sure you use the right color scheme on your website, and you'll maximize the money you make. The colors on your website have the power to mean the difference between profit and loss.

Author Resource: Brian McGregor is an internet entrepreneur and business consultant, and author of the ebook CASH COLORS. If you're designing your own web site, CASH COLORS shows how to make your web page colors work for you, as opposed to against you. http://www.cash-colors.com

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