How to Use Color in Online Copywriting and Website Design
Peter Rubel asked:
Have you ever wondered why extroverts wear bright clothing and introverts wear subdued colors? Why people have a favorite color? Why online sales page headlines are always red?
OK, so there are some questions we may not be able to answer. But do you think color has an affect on how you feel?
Waves of visible light hit the retina in your eye. A chemical chain reaction sends a signal down the nerve to the brain. This signal has an effect on the brain that is more than just triggering an interpretation of the scene the eye sees. Hormones and moods are affected depending on visible color.
You may be thinking that individuals and cultures may differ in their reactions. I know a Chinese woman who lived through the Pol Pot genocide in Kampuchea in the late 1970s. She hates wearing black. Why? Because that was the preferred clothing color of her persecutors. In her case, the trauma triggered an intense emotional reaction and color associations in the brain. No black, thank you.
The odd thing is that studies show certain colors are associated with particular mood reactions in a wide spectrum of people.
If you are into online web design and copywriting, that’s good news. We all buy things from emotional motivations. From color therapy or chromotherapy, for example, we learn that:
1) Blue tends to stimulate relaxation, peace, a lower heart beat, and trust. It is also said to inspire creativity. Violet and green are similar.
2) Red has the opposite reaction. Red stimulates energy, action, a higher heart beat. Yellow is similar to red, but to a lesser extent. Pink, by contrast, has a tranquilizing effect.
3) Black and violet tend to suppress appetite; orange to stimulate it. Black also typically stimulates self-confidence.
Perry Belcher, for example, has found that a light blue background (outside the black-on-white text area) best increases conversions in website sales copy (clicks, sign ups, and sales). Similarly, a light gray background converts better than a white one, if you don’t want to use the superior light blue. (Bright or dark blue is too harsh.)
Like it or not, red headlines have been tested and convert best. Amazon’s orange “Add to Cart” button with a blue border has proven to convert to more clicks on that button than competing color schemes.
But I can’t help wondering if color schemes are tested uniquely in mono-cultural or “mono-demographic” markets whether some differences will not show up. Color symbolism in context, for example, may alter results. As always, split testing in time shows any statistically measurable difference.
But why not begin with what has proven to work best and see if you can improve on it?
If I may end with a word of caution: Play fair. Color schemes are better seen as helping to remove unnecessary hindrances to doing business than they are as tools to manipulate suckers. In the long haul, your business will do better using color with the former goal in mind than the latter. In the long haul, honesty is the best policy.
And of course, color does not force anyone to do anything; it is only a possible subtle influence. If you have anything to do with online copywriting and website design, try it.
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Have you ever wondered why extroverts wear bright clothing and introverts wear subdued colors? Why people have a favorite color? Why online sales page headlines are always red?
OK, so there are some questions we may not be able to answer. But do you think color has an affect on how you feel?
Waves of visible light hit the retina in your eye. A chemical chain reaction sends a signal down the nerve to the brain. This signal has an effect on the brain that is more than just triggering an interpretation of the scene the eye sees. Hormones and moods are affected depending on visible color.
You may be thinking that individuals and cultures may differ in their reactions. I know a Chinese woman who lived through the Pol Pot genocide in Kampuchea in the late 1970s. She hates wearing black. Why? Because that was the preferred clothing color of her persecutors. In her case, the trauma triggered an intense emotional reaction and color associations in the brain. No black, thank you.
The odd thing is that studies show certain colors are associated with particular mood reactions in a wide spectrum of people.
If you are into online web design and copywriting, that’s good news. We all buy things from emotional motivations. From color therapy or chromotherapy, for example, we learn that:
1) Blue tends to stimulate relaxation, peace, a lower heart beat, and trust. It is also said to inspire creativity. Violet and green are similar.
2) Red has the opposite reaction. Red stimulates energy, action, a higher heart beat. Yellow is similar to red, but to a lesser extent. Pink, by contrast, has a tranquilizing effect.
3) Black and violet tend to suppress appetite; orange to stimulate it. Black also typically stimulates self-confidence.
Perry Belcher, for example, has found that a light blue background (outside the black-on-white text area) best increases conversions in website sales copy (clicks, sign ups, and sales). Similarly, a light gray background converts better than a white one, if you don’t want to use the superior light blue. (Bright or dark blue is too harsh.)
Like it or not, red headlines have been tested and convert best. Amazon’s orange “Add to Cart” button with a blue border has proven to convert to more clicks on that button than competing color schemes.
But I can’t help wondering if color schemes are tested uniquely in mono-cultural or “mono-demographic” markets whether some differences will not show up. Color symbolism in context, for example, may alter results. As always, split testing in time shows any statistically measurable difference.
But why not begin with what has proven to work best and see if you can improve on it?
If I may end with a word of caution: Play fair. Color schemes are better seen as helping to remove unnecessary hindrances to doing business than they are as tools to manipulate suckers. In the long haul, your business will do better using color with the former goal in mind than the latter. In the long haul, honesty is the best policy.
And of course, color does not force anyone to do anything; it is only a possible subtle influence. If you have anything to do with online copywriting and website design, try it.
Free Marketing and SEO Resources
