Matching colours for web design is something many people struggle with.

Far too often people go with their own tastes. Little consideration is given to the value the right colour scheme can add to your brand and message. Or how choosing the wrong one could negatively impact both your business and search-engine rankings.

In this guide, you'll find how to take inspiration from the biggest brands on the planet and how to find the perfect match for your website.

The Importance of Colour

In 2006, a scientific study found that people make judgements on other people or products within just 90 seconds. A significant portion of this assessment (62% - 90%) is based on the use of colours.

Psychologists have been researching the effects of colours since the 1950's. Although it is not an exact science, they agree that different cultures have different colour preferences. As do men and women, and people of different ages.

Trust In Blue

In further research performed by Joe Hallock, blue was found to be the favourite colour for both men and women. It's also the colour many people associate with trust.

Brown was found to be the least favourite colour for both sexes. However, there are subtle differences.

23% of women were found to like purple, while almost the same number (22%) of men flagged it as their least favourite colour.

Both sexes also disliked yellow, and Hallock's research also found that older people dislike orange.

Think Of Your Audience

Every website has an intended audience or potential customer base. Your combination of colours should complement this.

If you were running a funeral parlour, it's unlikely a colour scheme of lime-green and lemon would go down well. Conversely, if your product was apple cider it wouldn't feel out of place.

This may be an extreme example, but considering the demographic of your audience and the colours they are drawn too (and finding popular Pinterest pins can help with this) to choose a winning combination.

4 Methods For Choosing Website Colours

Here are three methods (and three free tools!) to help you choose the right colours.

Be Inspired By BrandColor

• Companies spend millions on getting their brand image just right. And with the help of BrandColors you'll find dozens of the biggest brands and websites in the world such as Alibaba, British Airways and Disney.
• There is a great copy-function which automatically copies the hex-code for the particular colour to your clipboard.

Eye Dropper (Chrome Extension)

• With the help of Chrome's Eye Dropper extension, you can visit any website and grab the hex-code for any colour on their webpage.
• Simply hover the tool tip over the specific colour and copy the code to the clipboard. This makes it a really quick (and free!) web design colour picker.
• If you are using Firefox, “ColorZilla” has the same functionality.

HTML Color Picker

• If you would like to take a more “hands-on” approach, the HTML Color picker is a great place to start.
• It helpfully displays hex codes next to an easy-to-use colour pallet. This allows you to use some trial-and-error and get creative.

Hire A Best Web Designer

• If you are running a business, you might consult with a web designer. As we've established in this brief guide, the right first impression is important and colours play a significant role in this.
• Hiring a web designer could save you a lot of time. Their professional eye can also help you find a colour scheme your audience really identifies with.