I recently visited a Goth site that had dark purple letters on a black background. It felt Gothie, but copy was so hard to read that I gave up after a few words. Another site had an almost fluorescent orange background. It was so bright that it hurt my eyes. I left as fast as I could hit Back button. While creators of these sites may think they looked great, in reality they chased people away. What good is having a website if people leave after just a few seconds. Whatever these people were trying to accomplish, it failed. If people leave your web page before they can read your copy or look at products or services you sell, then site is useless, no matter how great you think it looks.

The first thing you need to do is decide what colors will best fit theme of your site. You can then use these colors when you, or a website designer, create your site. A Goth site may include black, dark red and purple, while one for Renaissance Faires could use earth tones and a florist may want pinks, reds and purples.

Here are some common responses that people feel for several colors.

• Black - seriousness, darkness, mystery, secrecy, power, elegance, death, evil, formality.
• Blue - trustworthiness, success, seriousness, calmness, power, professionalism, health, tranquility, knowledge, integrity.
• Brown - earth, nature, tribal, primitive, simplicity, stability, masculine qualities.
• Green - money, nature, animals, health, healing, life, harmony, ambition, greed, jealousy.
• Grey - neutrality, indifference, reserved.
• Orange - comfort, creativity, celebration, fun, youth, affordability.
• Pink - softness, sweetness, innocence, youthfulness, tenderness, romance, love, friendship.
• Purple - royalty, justice, ambiguity, uncertainty, luxury, fantasy, dreams, romance.
• Red - love, passion, rage, anger, joy, sexuality, danger, warning, excitement, food, impulse, action, adventure.
• White - innocence, purity, cleanliness, simplicity, goodness, virginity.
• Yellow - curiosity, playfulness, cheerfulness, amusement, caution, joy.

1) The psychological effect of colors,

2) The effect on readability of your site, and

3) The complementary choice of colors for your background, graphics, links, and text

These are all areas that must be well satisfied to create an effective and professional web site.

Listed below are a few characteristics of color that should always be considered when designing your graphics.

Ø Colors have an effect on our emotions within 90 seconds of viewing.

Ø Color choices can motivate, impress, and persuade your prospect to buy from you.

Ø Colors not only intensify item, they greatly influence our behavior.

Ø The effects of color differ among different cultures.

Ø Color choices alone are sending a specific message to your viewers.

Given fact that people respond more to non-verbal cues than verbal cues, it’s all-important that you choose corresponding colors for emotional trigger you want to trip. The following colors are associated with certain emotions or qualities in North American culture.

White - Suggests truthfulness, purity, clean, devotion, mild, and contemporary. White is best color for a background color on web. For business it can be refreshing and sterile.

Black – Suggests elegance, boldness, power, authority, seductive, evil, sophistication and classic. Black is ideal choice for text on a light background. It is hard on eyes when used as a background on web sites.