There are at least 1.5 billion websites online today. Learning how to choose the best background colors will make your business’s website stand out more.

Only 200 million websites on the internet are active. Your website’s color scheme plays a big role in whether or not your website attracts and retains traffic.

You’ve worked hard on your business. You deserve to have a website that flaunts your professionalism.

Here’s what you should know about background color coordination for websites:

Consider Your Audience

Keep your audience in mind when deciding on a website color scheme. Consider what emotions you want them to feel when they visit your website.

For example, if your target audience is women, pink and purple are great color choices. However, green or blue would be better choices if you’re trying to target all genders. (Green is a calming color while blue is associated with trust and security.)

Brand Colors

Incorporate brand colors into your color scheme. When a small business website includes brand colors, it boosts brand awareness. It also communicates your brand identity and influences brand perception. 

Use your logo for brand color inspiration. Either way, the colors you use on your website will become part of your brand identity.

Choose Dominant, Secondary, and Accent Colors

Complete color schemes have dominant, secondary, and accent colors. The 60/30/10 rule is the golden color ratio of web design. Websites rank higher on Google when they have a pleasing palette.

Your dominant/primary color should be a brand color. Use it 60% of the time on your website to improve brand recall. It serves as the background for big blocks of text and headers.

A secondary color appears on a website 30% of the time. Use it for page links, H2 text, horizontal line breaks, and active page navigation.

An accent color is supposed to enhance your website’s features, not overwhelm them. That’s why you only use one 10% of the time. Use your accent color to highlight CTA buttons, H3 text, borders, and other fine details.

Use Color Wheel Relationships

Consulting the color wheel for magic color combinations is easier than you think. You just need to know what relationship patterns to look for.

Colors that are opposite from each other on the color wheel are complementary to each other. Triadic relationships form a triangle out of each 4th color on the wheel. Analogous relationships involve anywhere from 2 to 5 colors that sit next to each other on the wheel.

Main Background Color

Choosing your website’s backdrop color is like choosing a room’s wallpaper—you want your visitors to feel comfortable with it. For instance, green and purple represent wealth and relaxation.

Always consider color psychology before committing to a color scheme.

Bold color schemes appeal more to men than women, but simple website backgrounds appeal to everyone. Using white, gray, or another neutral color as your background also draws more attention to your content. 

Win the Internet With Background Colors

Only about 64% of small businesses have a website. Knowing how to choose background colors puts you ahead of the competition.

Speaking of competition, check out the color schemes on your competitors’ websites. You don’t want a color scheme that confuses your brand with another one!

Enhance your business’s online presence⁠—check out our web design services. Your brand will thank you for it.