Color Theory for Web Designers: How to Choose the Right Color Scheme for Your Website

Without a doubt, the first impression matters. It matters a lot! Basically, the first impression is the thing, which makes people decide if they are interested in your services. As you may know, a website owner has less than 10 seconds to grab the viewer’s attention. Therefore, you have to make sure that the appearance of your online project is a groundbreaking one. You know these days there are a lot of attractive websites but not all of them are popular. Why is that? Well, the answer is simple: not all the web designers know how to choose the right color scheme. So, how can you make a winning choice? For these simple reasons, in this post, we are going to help one with their final decision making. Would you like to use a properly created color scheme for your website? In this case, don’t miss our recommendations!

Why Do You Need It?

In fact, a visually pleasing design is not the only thing a properly chosen color scheme affects. To say more, the amount of time a prospect spends on your online pages depends on its color palette. Logically, the same thing is with the regular customers. To make a long story short, the right color scheme makes people return to your site again and again.

Given these points, let’s figure out how you can create a groundbreaking color scheme!

Color Wheel

Obviously, you will start with the color wheel! Any scholar knows that this is a basic element for finding a needed color combination. Shortly, the color wheel is the foundation of the color theory. The wheel can be visually divided into two parts: the cool part and the warm one. What is more, all the colors the wheel contains can also be divided into three groups: red, yellow, and blue. Using these shades, we create various additional colors like purple or green.

To sum everything up, the color wheel shows you how to create and combine different colors. That is why this wheel should be your first working tool. Originally, there are six main sectors in the wheel. Still, it can have twelve, twenty four, and more sectors. All the new colors will be the results of primary and secondary mixing. For example, blue-violet.

Main Parts of the Color Wheel

As you already know, the warm and cool colors make two main parts of the color wheel. Thus, the first half of the circle contains the next colors.

  • yellow
  • orange
  • red
  • and the bigger part of brown-based colors.

On the other hand, there is a cool half of the color wheel. It has such colors as:

  • blue
  • green
  • purple
  • and the shades of gray.

So, which half should you use to design a marvelous website? Honestly speaking, there is no answer. All the colors are beautiful in their own unique way. Needless to say, your choice depends on your corporate style and things like that. Still, it also depends on the effect you want to be achieved. At the outset, each color brings a viewer a particular feeling. It creates the atmosphere of various ideas and thoughts. With it, the cold colors bring us calm and relaxing feeling. At the same time, the warm tones create a friendly or romantic atmosphere. They are used to stimulate people.

Well-known Color Schemes

Basically, there are a couple of popular color schemes. Each of them was based on the color position from the color wheel. Here is the most usual color scheme – the complementary one.

Complementary Color Scheme

First of all, the complementary color scheme allows you to mix two contrasting colors. Both of them are located in front of each other. Thus, you combine the opposite shades. It creates a simple but strong contrast.

As you can see from the picture above, complementary mixing offers you to combine blue and orange, soft yellow and light purple, etc. Would you like to use this way to design your online project? In this case, we recommend you to add various neutral tones. For example, use such colors as soft gray, beige, and light brown. Needless to say the classic white and black colors will always look nice. You can use them as a background for your bright color scheme.

Analogous Color Scheme

Here is another simple color scheme, which is frequently used. In a word, the analogous color scheme is the way of mixing three shades. The last ones are located next to each other as you can see in the image below. For example, it could be sky blue, light green and soft yellow. Also, you can choose a less contrasting combination of colors. For example, use various shades of purple. Without a doubt, these colors will harmonize with each other thanks to the close neighborhood.

Color Triad

Beforehand, color triad is a successful combination of three colors. It is easy-to-use, so people like it. Originally, according to color triad, you are able to choose any three colors. They should be equidistant from each other. Taking the proper colors will not be complicated. Use the lines to connect the chosen colors, so you will get an equilateral triangle. Talking about the original color wheel, here are your combinations.

  • Yellow-orange, red-violet, and blue-green;
  • yellow-green, orange-red, and violet-blue.

To sum everything up, color triangle provides you with a rich, contracting color combination. Using this technique, you need to take your main color and the additional tones. As soon as you find balance, you will create a winning contrast to present your visual content.

Split-complementary Color Scheme

What does this scheme offer you to do to create the right color scheme for your website? Firstly, select the color, which you are going to use as the main one. Secondly, select two colors that are located close to the complementary color. Check the illustration below to understand what kind of triangle you are going to get. For example, use deep orange as the main tone. Therefore, green and blue will be your additional colors. Unquestionably, split-complementary color scheme is much more contrasting than a complementary one.

Rectangle Color Scheme

As you can see from the illustration below, in this case, you will have to use two pairs of complementary colors. Connecting the lines, you get a tiny rectangle. Who may want to use rectangle color scheme? Actually, it is a magical variant for those website owners, who dream of designing a creative website. It could be a charming background for an online gallery, fashion blog or stylish magazine. Talking about this color scheme, your main task will be making accents. It will help you to highlight the needed components.

Monochromatic Color Scheme

Without a doubt, the name of the scheme tells a lot about the colors in question. In a word, the monochromatic scheme is the technique of combining various shades of one color. The thing is that using the scheme, you can easily combine the light tones with the darker ones. Thus, it is not necessary for you to choose the neighborhood colors. Still, you can design the right color scheme with the help of only soft (or deep) colors.

Finally, now you know all the popular color schemes. As you can see, there is nothing complicated at all. Using one of the shown techniques, you have a chance to construct a visually pleasing website for your business.

So, now it is time to look at the results of the professional color mixing. It is not a secret that today photographer WordPress themes are must-have for any beginner. For these simple reasons, we choose for you 10 design and photography templates. All of them are from TemplateMonster. These ready-made products allow you to manage a top-notch website rapidly.

ProMotionic – Promotion Agency WordPress Theme

To start with, ProMotionic has analogous color schemes in its design. Thus, there are several tones of purple. Also, you can see that basic white was used as an additional color.

ProMotionic - Promotion Agency WordPress Theme

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Demo

Master – Creative Multi Purpose WordPress Theme

Master is a gorgeous example of how you can create a shining contrast easily.

Master - Creative Multi Purpose WordPress Theme

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Demo

Magic – Multipurpose Creative WordPress Theme

As you can see, Magic is a creative WordPress template, which has split-complementary color scheme. The main colors are bright yellow, bright blue, and bright pink. How can all of them look so harmonizing? That’s what color mixing about!

Magic - Multipurpose Creative WordPress Theme

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Demo

Hair Stylist WordPress Theme

Here is another simple but effective design for your business project.

Hair Stylist WordPress Theme

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Demo

RedDragon – Martial Arts Shop Magento Theme

Red dragon is another illustration for complementary color scheme. Here we can see deep blue and deep red colors as the main ones.

RedDragon - Martial Arts Shop Magento Theme

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Demo

Giftior – Gifts Store Magento 2 Template

Giftior shows that the right color scheme can consist only of one main and one additional color.

Giftior - Gifts Store Magento 2 Template

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Demo

ShirtIX – T-Shirt Shop Responsive Magento Theme

ShortIX shows us how to create a strikingly-colored design with monochromic color scheme.

ShirtIX - T-Shirt Shop Responsive Magento Theme

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Fashion Store Magento 2 Theme

This fashion store template is the result of color triad.

Fashion Store Magento 2 Theme

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Thunder – Basketball Club Premium Moto CMS 3 Template

Thunder is a one more example of complementary color scheme.

Thunder - Basketball Club Premium Moto CMS 3 Template

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SEO Master – SEO & Digital Marketing Agency Joomla
Template

To end with, SEO Master shows how to create the right design for your website using blue tone and monochromic color scheme.

SEO Master - SEO & Digital Marketing Agency Joomla Template

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