Using Colour in Web Design to Influence Perception
TL;DR:
- Colour instantly communicates value and hierarchy without words
- Darker shades suggest premium quality, lighter shades feel more accessible
- Strategic colour use guides users through content naturally
- Strong colour hierarchy reduces the need for explicit labels
- Always test colour combinations and check accessibility standards
Colour does more heavy lifting in web design than most people realise. It's not just decoration – it's a communication tool that shapes how users perceive value, navigate content, and understand your brand.
Think about it like a Monopoly board. The darker properties feel more expensive and exclusive, while the lighter ones seem more approachable. Your website works the same way.
How Colour Shapes User Experience
Users make snap judgements about your site within seconds. Colour is often the first thing they process, before they've even read a single word.
Understanding Colour Psychology
Different colours trigger different responses:
- Darker colours signal luxury, reliability, and premium quality
- Lighter colours feel accessible, affordable, and approachable
- Bold colours grab attention and suggest urgency or importance
- Muted colours communicate subtlety and sophistication
The key is matching your colour choices to what you want users to feel about your brand and content.
Building Colour Hierarchy
Good colour hierarchy guides users through your content without them realising it's happening. Here's how to build it:
Use contrast strategically
Your most important elements should have the strongest colour contrast against the background. This pulls focus naturally.
Create clear levels
Establish three levels of importance through colour intensity:
- Primary actions: Bold, saturated colours
- Secondary content: Medium saturation
- Background elements: Subtle, low-contrast colours
Stay consistent
Use the same colour for similar elements across your site. If your primary buttons are blue, keep them blue everywhere.
This is the bit most people miss – colour consistency builds user confidence. When users know what to expect, they navigate more easily.
Balancing Aesthetics and Functionality
A beautiful site that's hard to use isn't really beautiful at all. Smart colour choices solve both problems at once.
Prioritising Accessibility
Your colour choices need to work for everyone, including users with visual impairments:
Check your contrast ratios
Use tools like WebAIM's contrast checker to ensure your colours meet WCAG standards. Text should have at least 4.5:1 contrast against its background.
Don't rely on colour alone
Always pair colour with other visual cues like icons, typography changes, or spacing. If you remove all colour from your design, users should still understand the hierarchy.
Test with different vision types
Use tools like Stark or Colour Oracle to see how your design appears to users with colour blindness.
Enhancing Brand Identity
Your colour palette should feel distinctly yours. Here's how to nail it:
Start with your brand personality
Are you trustworthy and professional? Try blues and greys. Creative and energetic? Consider warmer tones. The colours should match the feeling you want to create.
Keep it simple
Limit yourself to 2-3 main colours plus neutral tones. Too many colours dilute your brand and confuse users.
Consider your industry
While you don't need to follow every convention, understanding colour expectations in your field helps you make informed decisions about when to conform and when to stand out.
FAQs
How do I choose colours that work for my specific audience?
Start with your brand personality and industry context, then test with real users. What feels premium to a luxury brand might feel cold to a family business. User feedback beats assumptions every time.
Can I create effective hierarchy without using lots of different colours?
Absolutely. You can build strong hierarchy using different shades of the same colour, or by varying saturation and brightness. Sometimes restraint creates more impact than variety.
How do I know if my colour choices are working?
Watch how users navigate your site. Are they clicking the right buttons? Finding important information easily? If users are getting lost or missing key actions, your colour hierarchy might need adjusting.
What's the biggest colour mistake people make?
Using colour inconsistently. When similar elements have different colours, or the same colour means different things on different pages, users get confused fast.
Jargon Buster
Colour hierarchy – Using different colours to show the importance and relationship between elements on a page
Contrast ratio – The difference in brightness between text and background colours, measured as a ratio (like 4.5:1)
WCAG – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the international standards for making web content accessible to people with disabilities
Saturation – How intense or pure a colour appears, from washed out to vivid
Wrap-up
Colour isn't just pretty decoration – it's a functional tool that guides users and communicates value. When you use it thoughtfully, colour eliminates confusion and builds trust.
Start with accessibility and user needs, then layer in your brand personality. Test your choices with real users and refine based on how they actually behave, not just what looks good in isolation.
Remember, the best colour choices are the ones your users don't have to think about. They just work.
Ready to dive deeper into design principles? Join Pixelhaze Academy for more practical guidance on creating websites that work beautifully for everyone.