[FREE ebook] Is your online shop in the right colour?

What kind of shop would you like to enter on the high street?

When designing your online shop, you have a whole lot of colours at your disposal. Still, it may not be the best idea to make your shop a virtual rainbow, unless it’s a toy shop, or a gloomy store that nobody wants to enter … unless you sell heavy metal music gadgets…

Online stores are a bit like actual stores on the high street: if you were after toys for your kids, you wouldn’t like to enter a toy shop that is dominated by black and grey colours. You would get a similar impression from a website offering toys. The wrong colours would make you feel there’s something not quite right…

Hence, take your time to read about the effect various colours may have on the marketability and conversion rates of your online business. Let’s start with a few facts and pointers. Below we’d like to highlight how you can use colours for particular elements of your website and how they will inspire website visitors.

Facts & tips

• Bright colours are suited for call-to-action, having the potential to increase conversion rates.
• Colours like red, orange, green and yellow inspire to act, show vibrancy and are attention grabbers.
• Darker colours like grey, brown and purple are less likely to engage your buyers, leading to lower conversion rates.
• eCommerce websites using brighter colours for call-to-action elements tend to record high sales.
• Don’t overuse the same colour: if you use various shades of blue for the background, buttons and headers, your customers may find it very unattractive.
• Think about how you want to represent your brand, not only on your website but also across the marketplace where you offer your items.

Examples of eCommerce templates

Below we will show you examples of templates that you can use for your webstore. Depending on what values you want your business and products to communicate, you have various colour options.

Sell the right colour: brown

This colour is perceived as strong, reliable and reassuring to shoppers. It is associated with trust.To use this colour for your online shop, you can, for instance, use templates provided by Shopify. The eCommerce template for brown is called Radiance.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: orange

Orange brings to mind energetic warmth, ambition, passion, originality and fresh beginnings. It goes well with blue. The colour orange conveys a sense of urgency. This is why Amazon uses it for limited time offers. The eCommerce template for orange is called Contrast.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: yellow

Yellow is a real attention grabber, but it is important to use it in moderation so as not to turn customers off. Yellow exudes a sense of happiness and inspires excitement when making purchases. It is advisable to use yellow if you want your visitors to explore further or take action (call-to-action buttons). Take Amazon as an example: their ‘Add to Cart’ Button is yellow. The eCommerce template for yellow is called Flyer.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: green

Green is organic, natural and easy on the eye. It has a positive association that makes us feel positive, safe, relaxed and harmonious. Green makes website visitors feel calm, comfortable and relaxed. It also brings to mind money so can be associated with prosperity.The eCommerce template for green is called Adaptable.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: pink

Pink may be primarily associated with femininity, but can also influence men in a positive way, exuding kindheartedness, love and romance. With its soothing effect, pink can offset more aggressive colours, such as black, orange and red. The eCommerce template for pink is called Broadway.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: red

Red is associated with the most primal emotions of shoppers, bringing to mind love, life and confidence. Still, remember not to overdo things with this colour, otherwise visitors may find it overwhelming. The eCommerce template for red is called Rustic.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: white

White stands for clarity, purity and wholesomeness and is an integral part of all websites. Remember to include empty white space around your content. This is a very powerful colour – if you think about the most powerful website ever, Google, it’s white! The eCommerce template for white is called Social.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: purple

Purple brings to mind royalty, wealth and power. The eCommerce template for purple is called Carleton.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: blue

Blue inspires feelings of peace, trust and productivity. It is a common colour, but don’t use it too much if if your website has to do with the hospitality industry, especially restaurants, as blue is said to decrease appetite! The eCommerce template for blue is called Monochrome.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: grey

Grey is synonymous with seriousness and a conservative mindset. If you choose the right shades, you can use grey as a background for other bolder colours like red, orange and royal blue. The eCommerce template for grey is called Corporate Edge.

Source: Shopify

Sell the right colour: black

Black stands for dominance, strength, luxury, confidence and power. Thus, if you sell trendy, luxury and high-end items, using this colour may be a good option, also combined with other stylish colours such as gold or silver. If used excessively, though, black can give off a vibe that is a bit gloomy so moderation is the key here. The eCommerce template for black is called Faust, especially for high-end shops.

Source: Shopify

Colours attract specific types of online shoppers…

According to Kissmetrics:

• Red, orange, black and royal blue attract impulse shoppers: good for fast food, outlet malls and clearance sales.
• Navy blue and teal attract shoppers on a budget: good for banks and larger department stores.
• Pink, sky blue and rose attract traditional buyers: good for clothing stores.

To find out more about the power of colour in eCommerce, check out our article Sell the right colour: the power of colour in international eCommerce.

For more comprehensive information on the colour in the world of online sales, download our FREE guidebook.

In a nutshell….

Pick the colours that will convey an appropriate message for your existing and potential buyers as well as website visitors. In this article we have highlighted which colours can be recommended, depending on what you want your website to communicate and who to attract.

Some colours will be more suitable than others for your online business, its type and the items that you’re selling. In eCommerce, though, there is not one single colour that can be regarded as the ultimate choice.

 

Hence, you can use a combination of colours, depending on what you want to achieve and what the objective of your marketing plan is. Remember that despite the importance of colour, it is not the only factor that can make or break your  sales deals. After all, website navigability, the overall design/aesthetics, speed, convenience and efficiency are extremely important when it comes to higher conversion rates.

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