Color plays an important role when it comes to B2B web design. Your website is where prospects have their first encounter with your brand, and therefore form their first impression of your brand and company.
In this article, we share the top 5 questions you should be asking yourself about color when designing your B2B website.
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Are you creating a visual hierarchy with your color combinations?
Your website content help dictate color. Headlines and call-to-actions need to stand out right away. This means high contrast—think opposite or complimentary colors, like black and white, or blue and yellow. Using color, along with proportion/size aids in guiding a user to where you want them to go.
Below is a simple example of good use of color in a headline and a call-to-action button in a website design. Both are high in contrast against the white background, and the button is nice and bright—making users take notice and encouraging them to click.
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Are you using color effectively to help convert potential clients?
Much as an air traffic controller uses high-contrast, bright lights to guide a plane to a safe landing or take off, high-contrast, bright, inviting colors direct website visitors where you want them to go. You can use color to guide users to specific pages or contact forms on your B2B website.
Below is a great example of effective use of color to guide a user’s choice throughout their website visit. JCA uses a bold, energetic orange for their “Start a Conversation” button in their “sticky” menu. Users are able reach out and contact JCA easily, anywhere on the website.
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Is there enough contrast for easy readability?
Making sure there is high contrast throughout your B2B website design is important for a variety of reasons. One reason is readability: the higher the color contrast, the easier it is for people to read the letter forms on your site. Increasing readability makes people want to continue to read and stay on your site longer, giving you more opportunity for conversions.
Contrast ratio also pertains to website accessibility. ADA compliant sites use easy to read letter forms and images that are high contrast and easy to see.
Another thing to think about is “dark mode” on mobile devices. This setting gives you the option to view your screen with a dark theme, predominantly black background with white text as you wind-down in the evening. Higher contrast sites usually convert to “dark mode” better.
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Are these colors appropriate for my target market/industry?
Color is a powerful marketing tool because it can evoke strong emotions and associations. For instance, green and blue usually evoke feelings of calm, strength, and health. This is due to their association with the life-giving properties of plants, water, and air. Industries and companies that need to manifest these attributes often use blue and/or green in their logo, and B2B website design. This helps in building the overall brand story or “vibe” that a company/brand wants to put forward. Make sure that the colors you are using are appropriate, and effectively speak to your target markets.
The logos below evoke positive feelings and perceptions using color.
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Are the color combinations inviting to look at?
There are some color combinations that cause eye strain or anxiety. So-called vibration happens when two bold similar colors (usually with the same intensity/tone) are placed next to each other. The text in these color blocks is extremely hard to read and frustrating to the viewer. Stay clear of these types of color combinations on your B2B website.
Asking yourself these 5 questions will help you harness the power of color and effectively convey your brand’s message, create conversions, and gain retention.
