Ever notice what Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other popular websites nowadays have in common? Yes, it’s the color of their theme: blue. Wonder how this color does suddenly become the favorite of all successful online sites? Does having a blue profile design influence your blog anyhow? In this article, we will try to answer these questions and learn some best practices from the dominant players on the web.
Color and Branding
People commonly associate things with color. For instance, when you think of Starbucks, you think green—even though coffee is either black or brown in color. When you think of Coca-cola, you immediately think of red—although the drinks and beverages it offers are not made largely with this bold color. These colors are already associated with the brand behind the company. Memory recall is what plays best with color, stimulating our brain cells and senses.
With these given examples, you should realize by now that color plays a large role in promoting one’s brand. So if you have a business, selecting the right dominant color that would fit most to your brand is truly essential. How you would communicate this as a message and positive image for your customers is another vital point.
What “Blue” Means
Each color pertains to different feelings and different meanings. While yellow is about being bright and happy, white is purity and serenity. Now, many website owners choose blue for their theme is because this color is perceived to be a color that will make the brand appeal to be trustworthy, secure, and fiscally dependable.
Blue is a favorite choice not only by website designers and administrators but also by the common people walking around the streets. Take a moment to look outside the window of the bus or from your homes. Count how many people are wearing blue and you will be amazed at the number. Aside from black and white, blue is the second or third commonly worn color as shirt and pants of both women and men. While blue comes in different shades and tones, it sends one same message—and that is stability that inspires trust.
Blue is the color of the seas and the sky. It is a cool color that is calm to the eyes, making people reserved and worry-free.
Blue is Dominating on the Web
Experts and web design enthusiasts often review the top websites every year. And they have found out that most of the brand and sites that made it to the top 100 use the color blue. Although red is another bold color that is used by many, but it never gets to the number that blue has covered.
These top hundred sites are not composed of small to medium enterprises and startup business but by successful companies like global web powerhouses which are able to perform effective marketing. We can assume that they have made their branding research and a good study on how people behave and respond to colors and the portrayal of images of their brands.
To get closer to home, an idol we are all familiar with is Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. He was asked why he chose blue for his site design. Surprisingly, he had not chosen it because of any other essential meaning but because he is color blind. Mark Zuckerberg lets millions of people across the globe stare at a blue website to engage with their networks because it’s the only vivid color he can see!
If you want to save up, you can try using a different color or join the many other companies who have spent a lot in trying to differentiate their image from others but still catch attention amongst competitors in the same industry. It’s not that colors are running out and we are left with limited resources, but if you know that blue is the color of success, wouldn’t you want to follow the same trail?
Use the Right Hues to Influence
Since color is a factor in commercialization, it influences the content that is visible to the readers. Quick associations indicate that light blue is for good heath, stability, faith and depth. Websites which are designed with dark blue theme in contrast are those who are rooting for knowledge, power, trust and integrity.
If you are too tired of using blue all the way from the background, header, sidebars, footer and navigation panels, you can try some combinations for your text and images in your website. Combine blue with another color and you get diverse effects. Light blue, when mixed with orange or pink, showcases cheerfulness; blue and green spells natural; light blue and darker colors signify a comforting look; blue and yellow is for attraction; blue plus light brown indicates eco-friendliness; and dark blue mixed with white conveys freshness or crispiness. Furthermore, blue and gray or silver always look elegant and stylish; light blue and white is somewhat connected to a romantic vibe.
Note that there are two types of hue groups to choose from. Either you stick with warm or go with cool hues. Both of them imply different meaning and influence. Warm colors are more inviting and encourage active response for readers; on the other hand, cool color choices are soothing and calming, which intend to bring more passive interactions and reactions to people’s brains.
However, if want to sidetrack a bit and think that you can influence others by choosing to be stark different, no one is stopping you to choose pink, orange or purple as your overall color website theme anyway. Just make sure that these colors are relevant to your niche and will not distract viewers and their perception of your business. A safe tip is to choose a color palette whose colors are near to the colors you use in your business logo, to create a professional mood for your website.
Wrap Up
One of the primary colors, blue is now not only for the boys and masculine folks—as we often think it is. Blue is mainly used as a color of professionalism and security. There is some magic and wonder in there but analysts think that blue just factors in a sense of calm and friendliness for everyone. This is why many famous websites and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter use it though with varying shades.
Though color is a large part in your website, you should not give too much effort and time in identifying this as you need to also work on the other important pieces such as your content and optimization techniques to enhance the readership of your website.