Colors Colors Colors
Out on the web there are only a handful, 216 to be exact, of colors that are considered “web safe”. Limiting sites to using just these colors assures the same visual appearance and support across almost all hardware and browsers.
Limiting the palette of a website to these 216 colors makes for difficult web design though. The selection of color combinations is small and often looks out of date or tacky. The solution is to expand out from the restrictive web colors for the bulk of a website’s design. Only the most foundational elements should retain safe colors. The most common use is black text on a white background, which utilizes safe colors and is the most familiar way for viewers to read print. Visually, a departure even from this standard is not a bad idea as most real reading material is not printed on brilliant white paper, but often a slight off-white or cream color. A white background on a monitor can strain the viewers eye, so changing a color value form #FFFFFF to #FBFBF0 can be very beneficial to your site’s viewers.
Website color schemes are nearly limitless when considering all the possible color values, which can lead to an over zealous palette fairly quickly. The current trend in web design is fewer colors and simpler layouts. Monochromatic layouts can make a bold clean statement about a site. Colors should be chosen early on as they can be built into many aspects of a site. Dark background sites give an artistic feel, while a light or white background gives a clean fresh image, much like Apple’s marketing or the Nintendo Wii.
Overall, when considering a palette remember fewer colors are better, and subtle color changes can have a dramatic effect on a site’s visual appeal.
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