Using Bright Colors Effectively in Web Design: Tips for a Visually Appealing Site

Tweet

Web sites often use bright colors to attract attention but is there such thing as too much of a good thing? Yes! Too many bright colors on a website is not only distracting but can make it difficult to read. Triad and complimentary colors can give you the brightness you are looking for but should be used sparingly to achieve the best goal. Often when a first time web designer wants a bright page, they will choose all of the bright colors but this is not the best method if you want visitors to keep your page open for very long.

There are several ways to get the effect of bright colors on your website while still keeping the page appealing. Contrasting colors such as red and green or blue and orange will appear brighter when placed near each other. These colors are found opposite each other on the color wheel and are known as complimentary colors. Using as few as two or three colors on your webpage will make your page more appealing while still keeping it bright. Another method to a bright page is using triad colors. These can be found by forming a triangle over the color wheel. This will help you select three colors that are an equal distance apart on the wheel. A color combination such as red, yellow and blue will give you the brightness you are looking for.

Text should always be easy to read when using bright colors on a website. Contrasting text should not be used since it makes it hard on the eyes. Take into consideration that it is difficult to read a bright red text on blue and much easier to read white on a darker blue. To help design the best bright page for your site start by selecting a primary color. This color works best if it is a neutral and will be the base color of your website. A secondary color is chosen that will work well with the base color. It is often a similar color and not contrasting. This will set the mood of your webpage. A highlight color is usually a bright or contrasting color that stands out and can be used to draw attention to certain areas of your webpage.

Warm colors are often considered bright colors. Analog colors which are colors near each other can give a bright effect if the colors are chosen in bright hues. Red, orange and yellow can cheer up any page. If you really want the webpage to stand out, using black as a background will make just about any color pop. Bright blue color against black can give you the effect you are looking for but not suggested you use it for all over text. Remember that using bright colors that are not complimentary can give your page an unstable feeling with high tension. Prepare your website wisely when selecting bright colors.