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Choosing your website colors can turn out to be way more complicated than it should. You want to make the site look classy, but not boring. Colorful, but not busy. You want it to appeal to women, but not turn off men. This list goes on, and your color choices can play a role in all of these things. Now I could give you a lesson on color theory used by designers, or even the psychological effects of color choices on your website (though I'd have to look all of that up on wikipedia). But the truth is, none of that matters. And even if you knew HOW you were supposed to choose colors on a color wheel to make your website pretty, unless you are artistic and understand these things, your color scheme is still going to look like a mess. Don't lose hope though! There is a very cool and easy way for you to choose stellar website colors. While you may not be artistically equipped to pick colors straight from a color wheel, chances are you still know a good color combo when you see it. You'll find beautiful color schemes in nature, whether it be the green of a meadow and how it contrasts with the blue sky. Or, maybe a particular flower catches your eye. I personally love Japanese kimonos because they are always beautiful and vibrant. They also have very interesting color combinations that frequently go against normal "color theory" and is the reason they are so stunning. So look around you and create "snapshots" of color combinations you like. A great way to do this is to look through photography portfolios or magazines. When you find an image that really jumps out at you, it could be the composition of the colors and how they balance each other, or the feeling they give you. Before you turn yourself loose on Google Images though I'd like to remind you of a few things: 1. Your website and brand is an expression of who YOU are, so don't over think it. Choose what you like, and as long as the design is professional (and you didn't choose puke green with orange text) it's going to look good and appeal to your audience. 2. Don't worry about turning people off. This goes along with number one. If I had a nickel for every time I've heard "I like this color scheme, but I want to make sure I'm not turning men away" I'd be able to support my ice cream addiction no problemo. For a long time my website was primarily purple and green and I still attracted a 30% male audience. It's the quality and the content that people connect with, not whether or not your site is pink. 3. Don't over do it, for the most part choosing just 2 colors (not including black and white) will be enough to give your website pizzazz. Then your designer can work with different shades of those colors to create depth and accent important featured areas. So go forth and bring some color to your website! Holly Chantal is the founder of The Land of Brand, a website design and branding company for coaches and solopreneurs. Go to http://www.thelandofbrand.com and download a free video training on how to use your personality to create a unique brand - because your mom was right when she said you were special.
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website colors, coaching website colors, choosing a color scheme for your website, Holly Chantal, The Land of Brand,
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