I’m going to guess since your reading this blog post that you’ve asked yourself something like ” how many colors should I have on my website?”. To give you the short answer it doesn’t really matter too much how many colors you include in your brand palette. That being said 2-8 colors is generally a good rule of thumb. The most important thing to remember is when adding colors to your website that you stick to your brand color palette.
The bigger problem than how many colors is what types of colors you should have on your website.
You want to have a variety of colors that will work for different areas of your website. For example, if you had all light colors in your palette and then went to add them to your website there won’t be enough contrast. Which is going to be hard to read the text because it’s a light color on top of another light color.
It’s also important to note that you need to choose colors that complement each other, appeal to your ideal client and match the vibe that you want someone to feel when they interact with your website. One way to help you do this is to pay attention to color phycology.
Different colors have emotions associated with them and digging into them can be a little overwhelming but here’s a basic overview:
Brand Color Palette Phycology 101
Red – Boldness, Energy, Strength
Example: Target
Orange – Confidence, Urgency, Cheerfulness
Example: Crush Soda
Yellow – Optimism, Clarity, Excitement
Example: Nikon
Green – Peace, Growth, Nature
Example: Whole Foods
Blue – Trust, Dependable, Loyal
Example: Twitter
Purple – Creativity, Royalty, Wisdom
Example: Welch’s
Pink – Feminine, Compassion, Youthful
Example: T-Mobile
White- Simplicity, Cleanliness, Minimalism
Grey – Balance, Formal, Professional
Example: Apple
Black- Classic, Elegance, Luxurious
Example: Puma
Brown – Honesty, Organic, Natural
Example: Hershey’s
6 Types of Colors You Should Have in Your Brand Palette
Shade of White
You need a shade of white on your website for light backgrounds and some text but it doesn’t have to be a true white (#ffffff). You can also use a light shade of cream, beige, tan or even a very light shade of basically any color. For example, if you have a lot of pink in your brand you could use a very light pink for your shade of white if it makes more sense for your branding.
Shade of Black
You also need a shade of black on your website but again it doesn’t have to be true black (#000000). You could use a dark shade of grey, brown, navy or even a very dark shade of another color in your palette. For example, if you have purple in your color palette you could use a very dark shade of purple that almost looks black.
One or Two Light Shades
You’ll need another light shade on your website that’s slightly darker than your shade of white. This could be a shade your main color or it could be a more neutral color depending on your brand vibe.
One or Two Dark Shades
You’ll also need another dark shade on your website that’s slightly lighter than your shade of black. This could be a shade your main color or it could be a more neutral color depending on your brand vibe.
One or Two Accent Colors
You’re going to need accent color(s) on your website that contrast with your other colors. You can use these colors website buttons and links and other elements that need to stand out. This is to make sure that your call to actions stand out and don’t blend in with your other colors.
Optional One or Two Neutrals
Depending on what other colors you’ve added to your palette you may find you need a neutral color or two on your website. This again really depends on what kind of brand vibe you’re going for.
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