THINK ABOUT COLOUR AND DESIGN

Colour and design are of crucial importance when you are in the process of building your website. In the early days of web design, developers seemed to think that the brighter and more varied and shocking the mix of colours; the more effective the website. This is not the case.

A good index (home page or front page) - and remember half your visitors go no further - must please the eye with a sophisticated mix of colour and shape.

Surf the web and see for yourself - a page with shocking pink headlines and bright yellow baubles all over the page gives you a headache and you will click away quickly.

If the page is too busy - small headlines all over and tiny text in bright colours that fight the background - you feel tired; it takes too much effort to carry on, so you click away.

You want to keep your visitor’s attention and guide them through other pages on your website - so treat them with care and respect.

Start out with one or two main colours. If you have a logo, try using colours from the logo and blend them in with a slightly wider mix of colour. Remember the strongest text colours are black on a white background or white on a black background.

Remember too, the magic of colours, and the way that each colour can convey a different message. Colours affect us mentally as well as emotionally with positive and negative sides so the message you want to convey to your visitor must be considered.

What do different colours convey ...