Everyday we see a multitude of colors, from leaves turning in the fall, to the greyish cityscapes being interrupted with colorful billboards. How many of us take these colors for what they are: red, blue, green, pink, yellow, but they are not just there to please our eyes. Colors have a considerable amount of influence on our emotions and behavior. The way we comprehend the world and make decisions is somehow shaped by the hues and shades that surround us.
In marketing, color is considered to be an extremely important factor. It is something that has the power to draw a customer’s eyes and sway purchase decisions. Many experts call this phenomenon the psychology of color and it is something commonly used in web design.
Since your website serves a valuable purpose for your business, it is only sensible to make it as effective as possible. While concerns about the design and content are generally taken care of from the get-go, incorporating the psychology of color is not always a priority. However, if you want to attract and hold the attention of your potential customers and drive conversion, using color psychology can be a huge help.
Psychology of Color and Website Conversion
Aesthetics matter. For customers making purchases online, the number one factor influencing their decisions is website appearance. From the site navigation to overall design, purchase decisions can be held or swayed. That is why it is necessary to make sure that the website has a pleasing appearance. This includes tweaking the website colors to strengthen your brand identity and appeal to your visitors.
Color can grab your potential customers’ attention and influence them to take action. You might ask why. The simple answer lies in the customers’ habit of assessing products through color impression. In fact, it is responsible for 60% of the acceptance or rejection of a product and 80% of brand recognition.
Many brands choose an effective color scheme that is most suitable to their business and the perception they want to present. These brand colors are also used across a variety of channels, including social media accounts, email, and other communication channels. Doing this creates a sense of consistency, making the brand easily recognizable across a variety of social platforms and mediums.
Color not only affects a brand’s perception, the psychology of color can strongly influence a customer’s buying habits. Many customers consider the color of appliances before they make a purchase. The smallest tweak in color can impact the habits of consumers.
A few years ago, Heinz underwent a marketing experiment where they changed the packaging color of their signature ketchup from red to green. This move proved to be effective when they managed to sell more than 10 million bottles in the next seven months.
How to Incorporate Color Psychology into Web Design
Know Your Audience
Colors can affect people differently. Knowing which demographic your audience belongs to can help you choose the right colors for your brand and website.
If you are in the beauty and cosmetics industry, it is widely known that the majority of your visitors will be female. Women often prefer soft colors. For men, the colors blue, green, and black are more effective in getting their attention.
Other demographics include age, culture, and buying habits.
Reinforce Your Brand’s Message with Colors
Colors have meaning that evoke unique emotions. It is important to learn which colors will complement your brand best and communicate your message more clearly to your audience.
If you want to showcase excitement and boldness, the right color to use is red. This shade is known to create a sense of urgency, to the point of increasing the heart rate out of excitement. No wonder red is seen everywhere during clearance sales. For trust and tranquility, you can never go wrong with blue. Banks and businesses choose it to communicate security to their clients.
Using the right colors can awaken the right emotions from your target audience, enhancing the impact of your message.
Compel Your Audience to Take Action
It is imperative that you encourage your visitors to take action. That could be by buying your products, or subscribing to your mailing list. One way to encourage this is by creating prominent call-to-action buttons on your website. So, where does color come into play?
Studies have shown the distinct correlation between CTA buttons, visibility, and rising conversion rates. By utilizing the right colors on your CTA button, you will be able to make it stand out from the rest of your content. Bright, primary colors are the most effective.
Just like a storefront, your website is a crucial part of your business’ marketing strategy. For most businesses now, it is their consumers front door. Start thinking today about harnessing the power of color psychology. It will make your website design more effective and can usher in great financial rewards.
Max Chekalov
Social media and Max, a match made in heaven. Prolific digital marketer with considerable skill in graphic design and writing, his endless thirst for knowledge and communication can be sated only by the dynamically changing world of social media. Always on top of the latest trends and development in social media marketing, Max’s curiosity and vision bring invaluable insight and value to any project.
