This is part three in our on-going series about how colours affect business. We first wrote about what colours can mean for your logo. Last month we did a feature article on how colours in your office can affect employees’ moods and productivity. Today’s article is about how you can use colours on your website to increase conversions.
As we have already established, colours bring out a lot of feelings and have a psychological effect on people, especially online buyers. Shopping online is very visual since the other senses have been taken out of the equation, so colours can have quite an impact – both negative and positive on an online shopping experience. In some circles, there is a debate about colours of web design impacting the purchasing process; however, when you think about it and all of the other subliminal and psychological effects colours can have, it makes sense that they could have an effect on conversions. In fact, studies have proven that certain colours can increase conversions.
Here are some details on 5 of the main colours used in web designs:
Red can mean different things, depending on how it is used and how it is interpreted, so when designing a website online red should be used sparingly and with caution. It can represent stop, blood and war on the negative side of things; but it can also mean love, energy and is a universal sign for sales too. When used online, it can also mean that something is important or you want to call attention to it.
Yellow is the brightest colour to the human eye and in just about every culture is used to represent the sun. Because of that, yellow can mean sunny, cheer, and happiness. However, like most colours, yellow has a dual meaning and can be seen as cowardly. When designing with the colour yellow, use caution not to use it on a white background because it is hard to see and do not use too much yellow because it can cause eye fatigue and cause website shoppers to leave if they get tired or overwhelmed.
Blue is probably the most popular colour used in web designs since it can bring out positive emotions. Blue is calming and cool and also can invoke thoughts of loyalty, strength, trust, and health. Blue increases levels of productivity so you should try to use blue in your checkout process to capitalise on that. Too much blue might be too calming and result in feelings of complacency, so make sure to use it in moderation.
Orange represents youthfulness, warmth and happiness. Since orange is a combination of red and yellow, it invokes many of the same feelings. It is best used in websites targeting kids, gaming, or recapturing youth and beauty. In the same way that red increases heartbeat, orange increases oxygen and stimulates brain activity of website visitors and gets them thinking about your products. Travel sites also do really well with orange colours.
Green also has many different meanings, so caution should be used to make sure that you are portraying the right image. Environmental nutritional, safety, pharmaceutical and banking companies usually do well with green since it can represent the Earth, military, or money. The negative aspects of the dual meaning could also be that green might represent greed or envy. In website designs, green can often mean “go”, so using green for buy buttons and checkout buttons can definitely have a positive impact on your conversions.
Testing Your Designs is Important
In all of the areas where we discussed that colour could have either positive or negative effects, it is imperative to test out your designs on different focus groups comprised of your target audience. This will tell you whether you have the right design colours and elements in the right places or not. A/B alternate testing will also help you refine your colours and design to get the best possible design for your particular target customers.
If you require further information or have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to give a member of the GoPromotional team a call on 0800 0148 970 or simply email us today.
