What’s the first thing you think of when you visit a website? What do you focus on?

The chances are it won’t be the colours that have been used – but nonetheless they play a vital role in how you perceive that site. A web designer will often consider which colours will have the best impression on the visitors to that site. If you have ever come across a website that is packed full of garish colours, you will know how quickly it makes you click away to something else.

As you can see, colour actually has far more importance in the grand scheme of things than you may think. Get it right and visitors will stay longer. Get it wrong and people will flee.

Some businesses make good use of colour to enhance their brand. For example, think about those companies that have some interest in green products and saving the environment. They traditionally use some element of green in their logo and website. This is the most obvious example, but there are others too. A business involved in selling toys to children may use the primary colours to indicate that particular marketplace. Pastel colours wouldn’t work as well in this case.

Some people will pick colours for their website on the premise that they are their favourites. But the colours should be chosen for the effect they have on the customer, not how much the website owner likes them. Some won’t have thought about colours at all, which is why hiring someone experienced in website design is often a good move.

Certain colours stand out more than others as well. Red is a classic example. A website holding a fire sale may well use red to grab people’s attention, as well as tying in with the fire theme. But red can also mean danger to a lot of people, so it is important not to put people off. It could be a case of experimenting with using different colours, to see which ones get the best results. And it has been known that changing the colour of an order button can influence the number of orders a website gets.

Some companies spend untold amounts of money on figuring out which colours work best for them. But most of us don’t have access to that kind of cash. That’s why it pays to do a little bit of research on your own.

And don’t be afraid to approach a website designer to find out what they know about colour and the effect it has on marketing. They may be able to give you more advice and knowledge in a short conversation than you would get from weeks of research on your own.

Be aware that the perception people have about a particular colour can change depending on what country they are in too. That is a good point to consider if you have a market that is global, compared to one that is countrywide. But regardless of that, colour can certainly hold the key to more sales.