Web Color Palettes

What are web color palettes?

Colors are very important for web designers and graphic designers. Designers describe the colors we describe as blue, red and green in daily life with codes such as #fff002, #426215. No matter what type of coding project you're undertaking, you'll likely start working with colors at some point. This will be especially helpful if you learn to code using HTML, as many people do to design web pages.

What does Hex code mean in colors?

Hex code is a way to represent a color in RGB format by combining three values. These color codes are an integral part of HTML for web design and remain an important way to represent color formats digitally.

Hex color codes begin with the pound sign or hashtag (#) followed by six letters or numbers. The first two letters/numbers correspond to red, the next two to green and the last two to blue. Color values ​​are defined in values ​​between 00 and FF.

Numbers are used when the value is 1-9. Letters are used when the value is greater than 9. E.g:

• A = 10
• B = 11
• C = 12
• D = 13
• E = 14
• F = 15

Hex color codes and RGB equivalents

Memorizing some of the most common hex color codes can be helpful to help you better predict what other colors will be when you see the hex color code, not just when you want to use those exact colors.

• Red = #FF0000 = RGB (255, 0, 0)
• Green = #008000 = RGB (1, 128, 0)v
• Blue = #0000FF = RGB (0, 0, 255)
• White = #FFFFFF = RGB (255,255,255)
• Ivory = #FFFFF0 = RGB (255, 255, 240)
• Black = #000000 = RGB (0, 0, 0)
• Gray = #808080 = RGB (128, 128, 128)
• Silver = #C0C0C0 = RGB (192, 192, 192)
• Yellow = #FFFF00 = RGB (255, 255, 0)
• Purple = #800080 = RGB (128, 0, 128)
• Orange = #FFA500 = RGB (255, 165, 0)
• Burgundy = #800000 = RGB (128, 0, 0)
• Fuchsia = #FF00FF = RGB (255, 0, 255)
• Lime = #00FF00 = RGB (0, 255, 0)
• Aqua = #00FFFF = RGB (0, 255, 255)
• Teal = #008080 = RGB (0, 128, 128)
• Olive = #808000 = RGB (128, 128, 0)
• Navy Blue = #000080 = RGB (0, 0, 128)

Why are website colors important?

You may think that you are not affected by colors, but according to a study, 85% of people say that color has a big impact on the product they buy. He also says that when some companies change their button colors, they've noticed a sharp increase or decrease in their conversions.

For example, Beamax, a company that manufactures projection screens, noticed a massive 53.1% increase in clicks on red links compared to blue links.

Colors have a huge impact not only on clicks but also on brand recognition. A study on the mental impact of colors found that colors increase brand recognition by an average of 80%. For example, when you think of Coca-Cola, you will probably imagine vibrant red cans.

How to choose a color scheme for websites?

In order to decide which colors you should choose on your website or web application, you must first have a good understanding of what you are selling. For example, if you are trying to achieve a higher quality, high-end image, the color you should choose is purple. However, if you want to reach a wider audience, blue; It is a reassuring and soft color that is well suited for more sensitive topics such as health or finances.

The examples above have been proven by many studies. But the color you choose for your website depends on the complexity of your design and the types of color combinations. For example, if you're using a monochrome web design palette, you may need seven or more shades of that color to get enough variety on screen. You need to set colors for certain parts of your site, such as text, backgrounds, links, hover colors, CTA buttons, and headers.

Now “How to choose a color scheme for websites and web applications?” Let's take a look at it step by step:

1. Choose your primary colors.

The best way to decide on a primary color is to examine the colors that match the mood of your product or service.

Below we have listed some examples for you:

• Red: It means excitement or happiness.
• Orange: It denotes a friendly, fun time.
• Yellow means optimism and happiness.
• Green: It means freshness and nature.
• Blue: stands for reliability and assurance.
• Purple: Represents a distinguished brand with a history of quality.
• Brown: It means a reliable product that can be used by everyone.
• Black means luxury or elegance.
• White: Refers to stylish, user-friendly products.

2. Choose your additional colors.

Choose one or two additional colors that complement your main color. These should ideally be the colors that make your main color "stunning".

3. Select a background color.

Choose a background color that will be less “aggressive” than your primary color.

4. Select the font color.

Choose a color for the text on your website. Note that a solid black font is rare and not recommended.

The best web color palettes for designers

If you cannot find the color you are looking for in the Softmedal web color palettes collection, you can take a look at the alternative color sites below:

Color selection is a long process and often requires a lot of fine tuning to find the right colors. At this point, you can save time by using 100% free web applications that create the relevant color schemes from scratch.

1. Paletton

Paletton is a web application that all web designers should know. Just enter a seed color and the app does the rest for you. Paletton is a reliable choice and a great web app for those who know nothing about design and for beginners.

2. Color Safe

If WCAG is any concern in your design process, Color Safe is the best tool to use. With this web application, you can create color schemes that blend perfectly and offer rich contrast according to WCAG guidelines.

By using the Color Safe web app, you ensure that your site complies with WCAG guidelines and is fully accessible to everyone.

3. Adobe Color CC

It is one of the free Adobe tools created for public use. It is an elaborate web application where anyone can create color schemes from scratch. It allows you to choose from many different color models that best suit your needs. The interface may seem a bit confusing at first, but once you get used to it you should have no problem choosing beautiful color options.

4. Ambiance

Ambiance, a free web application, offers pre-made web color palettes from other color sites on the web. It works like a traditional web app where you can save colors to your profile and create your own schemes from scratch. All these web color palettes come from Colorlovers. The Ambiance interface makes browsing easier and puts more focus on color interplay for UI design.

5. 0to255

0to255 isn't exactly a color scheme generator, but it can help you fine-tune existing color schemes. The web app shows you all the different hues so you can mix and match colors instantly.

If you find it difficult to create a usable color scheme, you can review some of the above applications.

The best web color palettes

The following sites use a variety of web color palettes to great effect. They are carefully selected for the emotions they evoke and the emotions they convey.

1. Odopod

Odopod was designed with a monotonous color palette, but aimed to avoid looking boring with a gradient on its homepage. Large typography offers great contrast. It is clear where visitors want them to click.

2. Tori's Eye

Tori's Eye is a great example of a monochrome color scheme. Here, the effects of a simple yet powerful color palette centered around shades of green are seen. This color scheme is usually easy to pull off, as one shade of one color will almost always work with another shade of the same color.

3. Cheese Survival Kit

Red is an extremely popular color for a website color palette. It can convey a rich mix of emotions, making it versatile. As you can see on the Cheese Survival Kit website, it's especially potent when used in small doses. Red is softened by more neutral colors, and blue helps with CTAs and other areas where the business wants to draw the visitor's attention.

4. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is an example of a website that uses the color palette freely. Dark blue acts as the predominant color, but variations exist all over the site. The same goes for the colors orange, pink and turquoise.

Most frequently asked questions about colors

1. What is the best color for a website?

Blue is definitely the safest choice as it is the most popular color with 35%. However, if your competitors are all using blue, it might make sense to "differentiate" your offer and brand. But you need to make sure you don't overwhelm visitors.

2. How many colors should the website have?

Consider that 51% of brands have monochrome logos, 39% use two colors, and only 19% of companies prefer full color logos. From here, you can see that websites with 1, 2 and 3 colors make more sense than trying to create a website with rainbow colors. However, brands like Microsoft and Google believe in the advantage of working with more colors as they use at least 4 solid colors in their designs.

3. Where should I use the colors?

Eye-catching colors should be used sparingly, otherwise they will lose their effect. This effect needs to be in conversion points like "Buy Now" buttons.