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Color Theory and Choices for Color Combination...

Color plays a pivitol role in a potential cutomer's decision to buy or not to buy. All of the colors in a website, from design elements to buttons to catalog images, should work in harmony together to keep the user's attention and entice them to purchase YOUR products from YOUR website!

Color Theory - There are many research articles, books and websites out there that go into great detail about how colors interract with each other and how viewers interpret them. A very simple way to look at it, however, is to realize that when you place one color next to another color, they interract with one another and create the mood for your website.

Choosing Your Website Colors

Stick to 3-5 colors when planning your website:

1. Background Color (When in doubt, use white.)
2. Body Text Color (When in doubt, use black.)
3. Dominant Contrast Color (Headings, borders, predominent color used in design.)
4. Secondary Contrast Color (Provides visual interest or contrast.)
5. Tertiary Contrast Color (Attention grabber color, used sparingly.)

Use Your Company's Logo

Use the colors in your company's logo to help you decide the colors of your website. You may choose to use the same colors as those in your logo or merely complimentary colors, but it is important to keep your logo in mind so your colors work well with it.

Two Helpful Color Theory Terms to Remember:

• Complementary colors are any two colors which are directly opposite each other, such as red and green and pink and teal. These opposing colors create maximum contrast and maximum stability. This can be a bold way to combine colors, especially if you use black as a contrast color... think about your target audience and the mood you wish to convey.
  
  
• Analogous colors are any three colors which are side by side on a 12 part color wheel, such as indigo-blue, blue and teal-blue. If colors are not complementary, they will appear to shift hue toward the neighboring color, softening the overall perception of colors. This is usually a safe way to combine colors.

Tip: Look to nature for examples of eye pleasing color combinations.

View samples of effective website color combinations.

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