Creating a color palette for a site: tips from SECL
Colors are an important part of your website. In addition to helping you structure information, colors can help you show your core values or give a precise effect. Therefore, when creating your site, you will need a color palette to help you organize everything. Here is our day’s question: how can one create a color palette for a website? Guys from SECL, pretty experienced in the field of website creation, shared their experience with us.
Why use a color palette on your website?
First of all, it is important to have sufficient contrasts between the background and text to facilitate reading and to use colors that attract attention to important elements such as titles or buttons. Also, it is advisable to use only a few different colors if you want the look of your site to be manageable.
But what about the color palette? A color palette is a set of different shades. Your brand image must have a color palette if you have a business. Indeed, it is always recommended to use the same brand colors, whether on your logo, website, or promotional items, so that they can easily be associated with your company. Now, how to create a color palette?
How to create a color palette
As a rule, a color palette is composed of 5 different shades. Each color in your palette has a specific purpose. You can use a variation of the same shade as well as complementary colors.
Before you start choosing your colors, it is important to ask yourself what the desired effect is. How do you want visitors to feel when they visit your website? Do you want a refined, calm, or dynamic effect? What are your values, and who is your target clientele? It would also be interesting to know the meanings of colors. Everyone knows that green is the color of nature, but did you know it is also the color of hope?
Choose a dominant color
Let’s start with the most important color of your brand image, the dominant color. This is the main color of your color palette, the one you will use most when working on your creations, but also on your website. For example, if we think of McDonald’s, we immediately have the red in mind. On the contrary, if we think of Facebook, blue is the dominant color. What shade would best represent your company and its values?
Choose a secondary color
Now let’s move on to the secondary color. As its name suggests, this is your brand’s second most-used color. You can choose a similar or very different shade; it’s up to you. Indeed, it could be interesting to choose a secondary color that has a great contrast with the dominant color. The secondary color will support the first color. Its meaning must also work well with your corporate values.
For example, if you create ecological products for women and your main color is green, you could choose purple or pink as your secondary color.
Choose an accent color
The third color in the palette of your website is the accent color. It is a shade that will stand out from the first two colors; its goal is to draw attention to specific elements of your site. For example, you may decide to use the accent color on important buttons or titles. Therefore, it is a color that will be used very little on your website.
An easy way to find the accent color is simply to use the complementary color of your dominant option. If blue is the main shade of your palette, then you could use yellow or orange as an accent. Use a chromatic circle if necessary.
Choose the other two colors
Now is the time to define the last two colors of your palette. At this stage, ask yourself what would be missing to achieve the desired effect with the chosen shades. For example, you can choose neutral shades such as gray, white, or black. This may be relevant to the text or background of the sections of your website. You can also decide to take a variation of your main color. If your dominant color is a very bright red, then you could choose a more pinkish or orange-red.
Do different tests; then, when you have an interesting palette in hand, use it with your website. You will see if it works. Don’t forget to have enough contrast between some of the colors in your palette to make your texts easy to read.
Some tools to help you create your color palette
If you don’t know where to start or which colors to choose, it’s not a problem! Many online tools can help you create a color palette easily. Let’s take a look at several nice examples.
Coolors
Coolors is one of the best tools when it’s time to create a color palette. Indeed, in a few clicks, you will have access to their generator but also to many already existing pallets.
Adobe Colors
Adobe Colors is a bigger tool. Indeed, this tool will offer you different color combinations, whether similar, monochrome, complementary colors, etc.
Pantone
If you are looking for trendy colors for your website’s color palette, Pantone can help you with it. Every year this American company designates the color of the year.
In conclusion, creating a color palette for your website is not rocket science. Start by asking yourself what effect you want for your site, find out about the meaning of the colors, then choose the shades that suit you most. Have fun!
