Getting your website right is a complex process. The only thing worse than blending in is getting it so wrong that you stand out. That sounds a bit like a contradiction, so let’s get some evidence to back it up. Consider website colour combinations to avoid. Learn from your mistakes before you’ve even made them.
Suppose the world of web design is similar to the world of fashion. Staying on top of trends can make you stand out for the right reasons, but wearing a polka-dot jumper with striped pants, well, it’s up to you.
The application of aesthetics within design is to appeal to as many people as possible, creating a larger pool of potential clients. So try not to alienate by making anyone’s experience difficult, including your own
Light on light 💡
This faux pas happens a lot. We have a feeling it’s due to the way lighter hues look in print, where light-on-light can genuinely work. Taking it back to fashion, cream was so popular last year that it gained around 30 new names. Whether you were wearing eggshell, off-white or even moonrock, you were still wearing cream. So, it’s understandable why people want to replicate these current colour trends.
Unfortunately, for digital, light colours together don’t create any wow factor. The most common occurrence of this website colour combo is when a title runs over onto a background or hero image, the wording disappears into the images light tones, and it’s gone. Losing sight of the text can ironically really stand out as bad web design and planning.
Neon lights 🔆
It’s not the 80’s so let’s leave that neon where it belongs, at fancy dress parties. Neon is fun, of course; a glowstick lightens every occasion, pardon the pun. But, on a website, most of the time it’s a no.
The problem with neon is that it’s hard to read. You don’t want your customers to have to put on sunglasses whenever they visit your website. To turn down their brightness to take on any information you have to offer.
However, if you are set on the neon approach, try stripping away some of the brightness from the colours. Be a bit more subtle whilst keeping the neon theme, you want people to enjoy being on your site.
Over the rainbow
If you know a little about design, you’ll know that every designer typically follows the rules of colour theory, primarily responsible for almost every great piece of artwork.
Rainbow colour schemes break every rule twice over. They can be incredibly overpowering, and although initially alluring, can become off-putting very quickly. Be warned, make sure you have the balance right if you are going for rainbow.
100% black ⬛
When it comes to design projects, our work crosses countless boundaries, from web design to printed graphics. During the crossing of these boundaries, designers can get lost in the use of K black.
K black is simply pure black, colour code ‘#000000.’ Think about black in general, almost every time you see the colour appear; it will be with a mix of other colours to create rich hues and a flexible colour. Pure black isn’t always digestible on the web and should usually be saved for printed projects.
Vibrating colours 😵
Some digital colours are so bright that they create a vibrating effect when they are paired with each other. We are sure you’ll know the saying, ‘red and green should never be seen.’ Well, that’s absolutely true when talking about their highest saturation.
Vibrating website colours are painful to look at; without sounding dramatic, they hurt the reader’s eyes, and you don’t want that. Vibrating colours are often paired in marketing to represent something repugnant or off-putting, don’t let that be your website.
Picking website colours may seem like ‘guess work’, but knowing your demographic, what they want and how they want to see it is a necessary skill. Building great websites is something we are passionate about, so if you have your new website in the back of your mind, get in touch and let’s bring it to life!
Take a look at some more of our blogs for helpful tips, tricks and advice:
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