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The Psychology Behind Web Design

Technical Report · December 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.17394.56001

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The Psychology Behind Web Design

Sarosha Imtiaz

McMaster University
 A website is a powerful tool which can be used to implement a wide array of marketing

strategies to grow a business. The design of a website itself is a crucial element in establishing

trust since 94% of users do not trust poorly designed ones and leave without taking action

(Sillence, Briggs, Fishwick & Harris, 2004). This decision is made quite quickly, in fact, researchers

claim it takes 50 milliseconds to make an impression once on a website (Lindgaard, Fernandes,

Dudek & Brown, 2011). Websites with low visual complexity (the simpler, the better) and high

prototypicality (how representative a design looks for a certain category) are more likely to be

perceived as appealing design (Tuch, Presslaber, St​ö​cklin, Opwis & Bargas-Avila, 2012). Everyday,

consumers use the Internet to purchase goods and services, gather product information or even

browse for entertainment.

Websites have naturally led to the creation of online shopping environments which are

used by consumers to understand or further explore its content and products. Some factors that

enhance user experience are cues as navigation buttons, the overall spacing of screens, product

information, transactions and shipping information (Demangeot & Broderick, 2007). These enable

consumers to make sense of the website, describe its services/products and make it easy to

purchase them. Other cues which encourage consumers to further explore the environment

include visually aesthetic icons and layouts that invoke the feeling of shopping and links to

additional product information alongside relevant user reviews. (Demangeot & Broderick, 2007).

Therefore, it has become critical to understand how consumers perceive online environments,

especially for marketing professionals who want to keep upto date with the latest digital trends.

By adopting psychology based design tactics, website owners can provide an engaging

experience for their users (Elder & Krishna, 2012). A website should accurately depict its products

to encourage mental interaction from their visitors (Verhagen, Boter & Adelaar, 2010). Once users

can envision themselves interacting with a product, they become more likely to purchase it (Elder

& Krishna, 2012). Furthermore, testimonials and user reviews have proven to be powerful

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messages that can convince over 63% of customers to buy a product (Wang, 2002). Endorsements

made by influencers and experts in the field are valuable as people are conditioned to seek the

opinions of authority for guidance (Robins & Holmes, 2008). By surfacing multiple testimonials,

website owners can craft a positive perception in the minds of their audience (Wang, 2002). Their

audience also looks at the contextual information associated with the review such as the

reviewers reputation, exposure and relevance to the product (Hu, Liu & Zhang, 2008). If a

business owner is working with higher level partners/influencers, their logos are usually displayed

to gain credibility and trust (Robins & Holmes, 2008). For example, if a site uses a payment portal

that people respect on the web, their logo is prominently displayed prior to purchase for instant

trust and assurance.

Implementing other tactics which invoke feeling of scarcity and urgency have shown to

increase sales (Herpen, Pieters & Zeelenberg, 2005). Scarcity can be used in marketing to invoke

anxiety and leverage the fear of a shortage in order to sell more (Venkatesh, 2000). A limited time

offer or a time sensitive discount both use urgency and the concept of fear of missing out (FoMO)

to convince visitors to act (Cialdini, 2006). Scarcity can also be used to increase the perceived

value of a product since a limited supply conveys that other people are interested and can

consequently make a customer purchase it quicker and with less thought (Herpen et al., 2005).

The concept of anchoring an option plays a key role in the consumer decision making process

(Dodonova, 2009). This can be applied on the pricing page of websites by placing the cost of one

pricing tier dramatically higher than the other. The higher tier allows the users to perceive a

greater value for a lower priced tier, especially if the offerings are relatively the same (Dodonova,

2009). Another example of anchoring commonly seen is sales promotions where the price of the

product before and after the discount are emphasised. This makes a visitor more inclined to

purchase it since they are saving money by buying at a better value (Dodonova, 2009). A known

tactic that many retailers use on their sites are “end of the month sales”, where subscribers get

emails reminding them that a big sale will be coming very shortly and invoke feelings of

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anticipation in their customers (Fogg, 2009). In addition to getting people excited about their sale,

they also use this opportunity to grow their subscribers list and get more people registered to

nurture a potential sale. These tactics trigger pleasurable emotions that users associate with a

brand and eventually buy from them (Fogg, 2009). Business owners also apply reciprocation which

is the idea that if you give something to a prospective customer, they will give you something in

return, i.e. a sale (Flemming, 1998). Similarly, when free gifts are offered before or with a

purchase, prospects tend to feel committed to a brand and are more likely to stay loyal.

Website owners can leverage human psychology when designing layouts by using the

Gestalt Principles. This is a way for any website environment to establish visual hierarchy, which is

the arrangement of elements in a way that implies importance (Demangeot & Broderick, 2007). It

is the core technique that draws attention to a call to action (CTA) on a page and is a reason why

headlines are always bigger and bolder than the subline. There are eight distinct methods to show

visual hierarchy in design principles which are: size, contrast, similarity, symmetry, unity, grouping,

style and colour (Djamasbi et al., 2011). Each of these methods play a crucial role in designing an

effective website and are discussed in detail below.

Size is a primary technique to show dominance on a screen, page or page section

(Djamasbi et al., 2011). An example of visual hierarchy using size and dominance can be seen on

various blog posts across the web which have “Previous” and “Next” buttons to explore additional

content. The “Next” button should theoretically be bigger and bolder compared to “Previous”

button, since it will be seen as the more prominent option and will urge users to continue reading

the blog.

Comparing how one colour stands apart from another is called contrast. High contrast is

when colours easily stand apart from each other while low contrast is when they do not. Low

contrast makes text or objects distinguishable from the background which is important for reading

and consuming content. Contrasting elements draws attention to certain regions, thus a call to

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action (CTA) will convert the best if it contrasts with the rest of the page (Petrie, Hamilton & King,

2004). Researchers claim that a primary, contrasting CTA has to appear multiple times on a

website, since more placements result in a higher likelihood to capture attention (Josephson &

Holmes, 2012). For example, visitors might miss a CTA in the upper right corner, but they might

see and interact with the same CTA at the bottom of the page. Also, the timing at which a CTA

appears impacts interaction since visitors may not be ready to take action at the top of the page,

but more comfortable by the time they reach the middle or bottom of the page (Josephson &

Holmes, 2012). This is due to the mere exposure effect which is why people develop a stronger

affinity towards a stimulus if they are repeatedly exposed to it (Bornstein & D’Agostino, 1992).

Research shows that visual fixations can influence choice behavior since users are more likely to

choose a certain option if they spend more time viewing and contemplating it (Armel, Beaumel &

Rangel, 2008). A website’s target plan should be in the centre of the page as it captures attention,

adds visual contrast, and when a stimulus is visually salient, people spend more time looking at it

(Parkhurst, Law & Niebur, 2002). Researchers have found a center-stage effect which is why

objects/elements centrally located attract more attention and influence users to choose that

option (Atalay, Bodur & Rasolofoarison, 2012). It is important to identify this central target plan as

“most popular” to encourage users to naturally choose that option. This is because humans

experience an innate desire to follow the crowd or the socially accepted path (Asch, 1956).

Similarity plays a large role in perceiving related items based off size, colour, proximity and

shape of the objects compared to others on the page. A marketer can orient a visitor's gaze

towards a call to action (CTA) by adding visual cues like arrows or using images on a website where

the model is looking at the CTA itself (Djamasbi, Siegel & Tullis, 2012). The direction of the face is a

powerful visual cue that directs the attention of a visitor (Djamasbi et al., 2012). We have a

natural, inborn tendency to follow people’s gazes and this tendency is an evolutionary trait that

helped us learn about the world and is ingrained in our amygdala (Emery, 2000). This increases a

visitor’s processing fluency and helps them quickly understand that they are supposed to click on

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it (Djamasbi et al., 2012). Using asymmetrical designs can gain interest and direct focus to one

section of a page over another. Symmetrical designs, on the other hand, help visitors remember

content better (Tuch, Bargas-Avila & Opwis, 2010).

Unity holds designs together both visually and conceptually. For example, visual unity can

include a group of elements that are all aligned to a common axis while conceptual unity can be an

image of a diamond, a mansion, and a pile of money which is unified conceptually around wealth

(Couper, Traugott & Lamias, 2001). Features that impact user satisfaction while using websites

include easy navigation, accurate information, an attractive screen background, overall colour use,

and screen layout (Zhang & Von Dran, 2000). Conventional navigation menus, which have links

located on the top or the side of the page allow users to easily browse a website. Website owners

usually provide breadcrumbs or sequence maps in complex interfaces, like shopping

environments, to prevent users from facing difficulties and abandoning their site (Palmer, 2002).

Users also prefer to know the number of steps within a sequence, such as filling a form or buying a

product so designers should consider being more attentive to user interface and personalization

features while developing a website (Palmer, 2002). Examples of these features include the overall

colour and layout, the arrangement and content of information displayed on the screen,

techniques used to correct wrong inputs, and an easy to use shopping cart (Kumar, Smith &

Bannerjee, 2004).

Grouping elements together can reduce the cognitive load on a visitor since it is easier for

them to process information on a page and understand it better (Graham, 2008). Encapsulation is

a design technique which provides immediate separation of a group of elements from the rest of

the page and is very powerful in directing a visitor's attention (Cober, Brown, Keeping & Levy,

2004). It is important to simplify choices to take on a website by limiting the number of options

(Schaik & Ling, 2011). Psychologists William Edmund Hick and Ray Hyman conducted choice

reaction experiments to assess cognitive information capacity. They found that increasing the

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number of choices consequently increased the time that it took to make a decision logarithmically

(Hick, 1952; Hyman, 1953). Following this theory, website owners should force users to either

accept or reject a CTA (Schaik & Ling, 2011). If visitors are given the choice to reject an option, it

prompts them to reconsider the benefits that they are giving up, which can trigger loss aversion

(Levin, Schreiber, Lauriola & Gaeth, 2002). They accept the offer because they do not want to lose

the perceived benefits. With more options, people are often less likely to make a decision (Hick,

1952; Hyman, 1953). This can be applied when creating One Step or Two Step opt-in calls to action

(CTA’s); where One Step presents input fields directly on the page and Two Step displays a link or

button which then proceeds to a page with input fields. These input fields capture information

such as the name, email or phone number of their visitors. Two Step opt-ins are more powerful

because when users click the initial button in the two-step process, they are more committed to

accomplish a goal (e.g., create an account, receive bonus content, etc.). Once they reach the

second step, they experience a dilemma. They clicked a button because they were interested in

the CTA, so if they do not complete it, their behavior will be inconsistent with their attitude. Thus,

they feel cognitive dissonance and will want to solve it, in this case, by completing the opt-in

(Veen, Krug, Schooler & Carter, 2009). To simplify the decision making process for a consumer,

website owners can add a decoy option (Zhang & Zhang, 2007). Decoys are targeted towards

being an absurd option to users and therefore increases the chance they pick another option more

beneficial to the website owner (Rooderkerk, Heerde & Bijmolt, 2011). An example is a study with

Economist magazine where they had three subscriptions: OPTION A: Online subscription for $59,

OPTION B: Print subscription for $125, OPTION C: Online and print subscription for $125 (Cialdini,

2006). At first glance, OPTION B seems like a mistake since no rational human would choose to

purchase it while the online and print subscription was the same price, effectively none were

bought. However, OPTION B shifted choice share away from OPTION A allowing more people to

chose OPTION C, the more expensive subscription, generating more overall revenue.

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 A website owner can place additional emphasis on one piece of information over another

by changing its style. It is an easy way to make one piece of information stand out from other

pieces that are similar (Djamasbi et al., 2011). Affordances are visual clues in an object’s design

that suggest how one can use it (Robertson, 2016). For instance, the 3D style of some buttons

makes it clear they are meant to be clicked and these styled buttons have high affordance. On the

other hand, low affordance does not clearly indicate action and some examples include ghost

buttons or links which rely solely on their proximity with other content on the page for

comprehension (Robertson, 2016). ​Call to action (CTA) buttons should be designed using 3D

characteristics which include borders, shadows and bevels as these cues represent depth and

make it seem like a clickable button (Cebi, 2013). It is also important to have different hover

states such as fading, transparency or increasing in size to indicate action being taken (Cebi, 2013).

When a stimulus subtly changes in the environment, for example the hover state, a visitor

develops a stronger affinity toward that stimulus, invoking action (Shapiro, Nielsen, 2013).

Common website styles include the E, F and Z patterns (Castagnos & Pu, 2010). The Z-Pattern is

applicable to almost any web interface since it addresses the core website requirements such as

hierarchy, branding, and calls to action while the F pattern is for text heavy sites such as a search

engine page (Nielsen, 2006). The Z-pattern is perfect for interfaces where simplicity is a priority

and the call to action is the main focal point. However, forcing a Z-pattern for a website with

complex content may not work as well as the F-pattern, but a Z-pattern can help bring a sense of

order to simpler layouts and increase conversion rates (Castagnos & Pu, 2010).

Lastly, of all the visual hierarchy methods, colour is the most impactful on website design.

Colours are a powerful communication tool and can be used to invoke action, influence one’s

mood, or even cause physiological reactions (Singh, 2006). Experts have found that although

colour can have an influence on our feelings and actions, these effects are due to personal,

cultural, and situational factors. Up to 85% of consumers base buying decisions on colour (Singh,

2006). Given the impact of colour, one would expect colour psychology to be a heavily studied

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area, but researchers claim that little theoretical or empirical work has been conducted on colour

psychology and the work that has been done has been driven mostly by practical concerns, not

scientific rigor (Elliot & Maier, 2007).

There are two areas that are relevant to the understanding of the effects of colour in

e-commerce. The first relates to the effects of colour on purchase-related behavior, and the

second relates to the effects of colour in website design (Elliot, 2015). All colour effects

undoubtedly depend on certain conditions – culture, gender, age, type of task, variant of colour,

etc. – and understanding these conditions will represent an important marker of maturity for this

literature (Elliot, 2015).

General Colour Theory

Colour is vital in creating effective designs that appeal to consumers. The human eye is

able to see over 7 million colours (Aves & Aves, 1994). These colours are originating from the basic

blocks of the primary, secondary, and tertiary colours. The primary colours consists of the three

basic hues red, blue, and yellow. Tints, shades and tones are created when white, black and grey

are respectively added to a pure colour. These tints, shades and tones help create the colour

wheel (Levkowitz & Herman, 1993). ​Neutrals are subtle shades from the palest colour range such

as beige or cream and are used for balancing vibrant or rich colours. There are eleven basic

universal colour words in the English language which have fundamental psychological properties

regardless of any shade, tone or tint. Each of these colours invoke positive or negative

psychological reactions which are dependent on the the colour combinations used (Wright, 2009).

According to the Munsell System, colour has three basic properties: hue, value, and

chroma (Fairchild, 2013). Hue is the colour name, value is the level of brightness and chroma is the

level of saturation. Variation in any or all of these properties can influence decision making,

cognition, or behavior, yet only hue is considered as the only theoretically viable option since it is

the most experimentally salient colour property (Fairchild, 2013). Value and chroma also

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undoubtedly have implications for psychological functioning which yet need to be studied

(Kareklas, Brunel & Coulter, 2014). Studies have shown that brightness and saturation also have

substantially greater effects on emotions than hue (Rider, 2009). Colour perception is not only a

combination of value, chroma, and hue, but also of factors that are not taken into account, such as

the distance and angle the colour is seen, the amount and type of ambient light, and presence of

other colours in the background (Fairchild, 2013).

A study from the University of Toronto showed how people using Adobe Kuler preferred

simple colour combinations that relied on only 2 to 3 favorite colours (Donovan, Agarwala &

Hertzmann, 2011). Since each colour has a meaning that adds or takes away from a brand

message, a web audience prefers simplicity because it makes content easier to understand. Many

designers rely on 4 popular schemes; monochromatic, analogous, triadic and complementary

colour schemes. Monochromatic colour schemes use different variations of the same hue. Due to

its simplistic nature, monochromatic colour schemes are very useful in communicating simple

messages or even conveying a sophisticated brand (Rider, 2009). Analogous colour schemes use

similar hues in close proximity on the colour wheel. This scheme has been known to increase the

visual harmony of a design because of the similarity in hue (Rider, 2009). Triadic colour schemes

use three colours situated at a 120 degrees interval on the colour wheel. This works well since one

colour can be chosen for a background and the remaining two can be chosen for content due to

the contrast. Complementary colour schemes use colours on opposite sides of the colour wheel

and have high contrast. A complementary colour is mainly used to gather attention towards an

element, for example, a call to action (CTA) button. By choosing a colour that contrasts with the

surrounding content, a CTA button will naturally guide attention toward it (Petrie et al., 2004).

When it comes to invoking action, It is not that a red button or green button that converts better,

but a contrasting button colour on a website. This is because our eyes are naturally drawn toward

stimuli that are visually salient (Parkhurst et al., 2002). This can be accomplished by increasing the

visual saliency of a CTA button by choosing button colours that contrast with the rest of a page.

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This contrast will naturally attract attention from visitors and increase their processing fluency

(Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009). Also, increasing the amount of whitespace increases processing

fluency and creates prominence and readability (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009). This allows the act

of clicking a button to enter a visitor’s mind easily and generate a pleasant sensation in their brain

to make the interaction seem more appealing, and thus they will be more likely to engage with it.

There are many ways to track the changes of mood resulting from a difference in colour

through both the body and brain. The body sends out waves which consist of magnetic fields, also

known as a person’s aura, and the brain sends out waves which are essentially electrical currents

(Birren, 1984). When colours are seen, the brain tells the body, mainly the heart, how to react.

Blood pressure and breathing rate are the results of the brain telling the heart how to respond to

certain colours (Birren, 1984). One colour may speed up the heart rate, while another slows it

down. Apart from brain waves and auras, there are tests which anyone can take such as the

Luscher Test, which organizes nine colours based on one's choice and preference (Birren, 1984).

Colour Psychology

Science recognizes four psychological primary colours, based on the way that colour is

processed in the eye and the brain which are red, blue, yellow and green (Wright, 2009). These

four colours relate respectively to the physical, mental and emotional areas of psychology. Beyond

that, the other seven spectral hues have distinct psychological properties of their own. Although

the principles have long been accepted, more recent work demonstrates that colour perception

and colour preference are not a matter of response to one colour in isolation, but to all the

colours presented cumulatively (Wright, 2009).

“Colour Affects” is a logical and methodical approach created by psychologist Angela

Wright in the early 1980’s. It applies to interior and product design, web design, uniforms,

packaging, corporate identity and branding. The “Colour Affects” system works on two distinct

levels (Wright, 2009). One is based on the psychological properties of each hue such as red, blue,

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green etc. The other is the combinations of specific shades, tones and tints that achieve a balance

of good design and the desired psychological effect. The system has almost twenty years of

successful application behind it and major corporations such as Shell, Motorola, Procter & Gamble

and The Body Shop to name a few attest to its effectiveness, most notably in sales of their

products and reduction of expensive design time (Wright, 2009).

There are three theories that shape our colour preferences. Evolution states that since

females were the gatherers, they developed the ability to identify red and yellow food sources

(Alexander, 2003). The Gender Schema states that from a young age, males are guided toward

blue, whereas females are guided toward pink (Alexander, 2003). The Ecological Valence theory

states that based on our experience, we attach positive emotions to certain colours (Palmer &

Schloss, 2010).

Studies have shown association between colours and emotions. They designated yellow,

orange, and blue as happy colours, and red, black and brown as sad colours (Cimbalo, Beck &

Sendziak, 1978). These findings also replicate across all age groups and had the same type of

sentiment associated with each colour (Cimbalo et al., 1978). Atmospherics such as sizes, shapes,

and colours help create attention, convey messages, and create feelings that might increase the

probability of a purchase (Kotler, 1973). There are three identified computer-mediated

atmospheric cues that could have a positive influence on website users organismic states: the

websites information richness, its visual aspects such as colour, background patterns, fonts and its

social elements such as shopping agents, web-counters and online communities (Eroglu, Machleit

& Davis, 2001). The effects of such atmospherics have been demonstrated to influence emotional

responses and behavioral intentions (Alpert & Alpert, 1986).

Past experiences have an impact on how each colour is perceived (Palmer & Schloss,

2010). For example, the colour green can vary from being associated with wealth to an investor

and healthy vegetables to a farmer. The context of a colour is vital in how it is perceived (Schmidt,

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Ruskell & Kohl, 2013). In a dating context, red creates feelings of passion and attraction. This is a

key reason why women find men to be more attractive in online dating if those men are wearing

red in their pictures. However, in the context of achievement, we associate red with failure due to

the frequent use of red pens in grading. This is also the reason people perform worse on

achievement tasks (e.g., IQ tests) after being exposed to the colour red (Schmidt et al., 2013).

Research proves that semantically congruent colours help process information faster (Kealy,

2000). It is important to differentiate elements that trigger an error by using the colour red or a

star and this can be seen when input fields are marked incorrect. Around 8% of males are

colorblind, so it is important to not convey meaning through colour alone (Chan, Goh, & Tan,

2014). Offering additional cues like an “X” or a star when things are incorrect are more important

rather than only differentiating with the colour red.

Colour produces two reactions, an arousal reaction and an evaluative reaction. Arousal is a

physiological state and is characterized by higher adrenaline, blood pressure, and heart rate.

Multiple studies have shown that warm colours increase arousal (Crowley, 1993). An evaluative

reaction is a key way of determining whether a consumer likes a website’s colour scheme. Figure 1

shows a positive linear trend between evaluation and colour wavelength and that people tend to

“like” colours with shorter wavelengths (Crowley, 1993).

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 Figure 1:​ Crowley’s "Two Dimensions” model - hypothesis regarding consumer response to colour (1993)

Colours are influential depending on the emotional and semantic meanings that are

associated with them (Kealy, 2000). A study was conducted to understand the association

between a type of product, hedonic or utilitarian, and its colour. Hedonic goods are desirable

objects purchased for luxury purposes that allow the consumer to feel pleasure, fun, and

enjoyment from buying the product (Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000). On the other hand, utilitarian

goods are purchased for their practical use and are based on the consumer's needs (Dhar &

Wertenbroch, 2000). Research has proven that functional colours enhance utilitarian products and

social-sensory colours enhance hedonic products (Bottomley & Doyle, 2006). These findings

conclude that functional colours are gray, black, blue and green while the social-sensory colours

are red, yellow, pink and purple (Bottomley & Doyle, 2006). People develop a stronger affinity

toward products when colours are congruent with them (Palmer & Schloss, 2010). If the design of

a company’s website is complex or heavy on content, then reducing colour levels by shading and

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tinting will increase content consumption. If their design is simple or light on content, then

increasing colour levels will increase content consumption (Levkowitz & Herman, 1993).

Colour research in the design of websites relates mostly to website usability. The usability

stream of research focuses primarily on readability and legibility of the site. Website designers

indicate that colour is a key characteristic in improving the segmentation of the information

displayed on the screen (Tan, Tung & Xu, 2009). Other researchers studied the readability of

websites with various foreground and background colour combinations. They primarily used

response time as a measure of readability and found that a contrast between background and

foreground colours significantly affect response time (Hill & Schraff, 1997). It is considered a

curvilinear relationship, with maximum readability for medium contrast. They also found that the

direction of the contrast dark on light or light on dark made a difference, with dark text on a

lighter background being more legible (Hill & Schraff, 1997).

Colour Symbolism

There have been numerous attempts to classify individual colours to consumer responses,

but colour is too dependent on personal experiences to be universally translated to specific

feelings. However they still play a fairly substantial role in purchasing and branding. Research has

shown a connection between the use of colours and customers' perceptions of a brand's

personality (Aaker, 1997). Colours represent brands such as Facebook’s distinct blue, Coca-cola’s

red, Shell’s yellow, or Cadbury’s purple. The high importance placed on colour by website

designers and manufacturers show they understand that colour has strong emotional loading and

is able to prompt a swifter response than either the written work or imagery (Tutssel, 2000).

Most marketers use colour to convey the personality of their brand. There are 5 key

dimensions of brand personality: Competence, Excitement, Ruggedness, Sincerity and

Sophistication (Aaker, 1997). ​An experiment was conducted to examine how colour affects

consumer perceptions by analyzing how they react to different coloured logos (Labrecque &

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Milne, 2012). A summary of their findings indicate what emotion each colour is associated with

(Labrecque & Milne, 2012). The colour red predominantly represents love, power, strength, anger,

has an arousal effect, promotes anxiety, excitation and is associated with fear. The colour orange

is considered energetic, fun, confident and is used to grab attention. The colour yellow represents

happiness, friendliness and optimism. Using yellow too much can make a consumer more critical

and anxious, so finding the right balance to use on a website is important. The colour green

represents balance and harmony and is associated with the environment, life and the concept of

growth. Blue is the most liked colour across the world and represents trust, competence and

reliability. It decreases arousals and causes one to relax but can also be perceived as cold,

unfriendly and sad. The colour purple represents loyalty, luxury, mystery and magic. Using it too

much can cause introspection and be distracting. Pink is a soft, feminine, gentle colour that is

soothing. Using it too much can be draining, show lack of power and even be immature. Brown

represents the outdoors and the concept of ruggedness. It can also bring feelings of loneliness and

isolation and is considered a boring colour. The colour black represents sophistication, elegance

and seriousness but on the other hand is associated with negativity and death as well. Black is a

great colour to use for high contrast and easy legibility. The colour white represents purity,

cleanliness, equality, peace and innocence. It is a great colour for simplicity but using it too much

can cause feelings of isolation and emptiness. These findings are commonly accepted, but it also

needs to be understood that these associations are made with the hue and neglect value and

chroma which generate stronger effects (Fairchild, 2013).

The difference between colour symbolism and colour psychology is an important one.

Colour symbolism is a conditional response since it derives from our conscious associations

(Wright, 2009). It is focused on the different beliefs about colour that culture, religion or history

determine. This is an entirely different process from colour psychology, which is what happens on

15
an unconscious level (Wright, 2009). For instance, the colour purple symbolizes royalty, but in

terms of colour psychology, it sparks creativity, imagination and wisdom.

In a survey, people were asked to choose the colour they would first associate with

particular words such as Trust, Security, Speed, Cheapness, High-Quality, High Tech, Reliability,

Courage, Fear and Fun (Hallock, 2003). A summary of the findings are shown below in Figure 2.

Figure 2: ​Result of Hallock’s survey in a graphical format to show the percent of participants association of

individual colours with specific words (2003).

The results indicate that participants commonly associate the colour blue with words like Trust,

Security and Reliability while yellow and orange are seen as colours which represent the word

Cheap. The colours red and black both represent Fear, but also have other associations since red

also represents Speed, while black on the other hand is associated with High Technology and

Quality (Hallock, 2003).

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 Recommendations for the use of colour in websites have emerged based on

commonsensical arguments such as colour should be balanced, low saturation pastel colours

should be used for backgrounds, and designs should not use more than 2 or 3 fully saturated

intense colours, but these claims need more evidence (Sutcliffe, 2004). The role of colour in

website design needs to be better understood, both from an academic and a practical perspective.

From the academic standpoint, there is a need for theoretical development of issues related to

colour and from the practical perspective, it is necessary to develop recommendations for the use

of colours in websites.

Warm and Cool Colours

While the perception of different colours is somewhat subjective, there are some

psychological effects that have a universal meaning. Colours in the red area of the colour

spectrum are known as warm colours and include red, orange and yellow. These warm colours are

known to invoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and

hostility. Colours on the blue side of the spectrum are known as cool colours and include blue,

purple and green. These colours are often described as calm, but can also bring feelings of sadness

or indifference.

Colour has the ability to subconsciously capture a human’s attention ​and is used to trigger

behavioral responses which range from encouraging the sale of a product, sharing content, or

subscribing to a blog (Eroglu et al., Machleit & Davis, 2001). To achieve that goal, colours that

increase arousal are effective, such as warm colours with high saturation and low brightness

(Bakhshi & Gilbert, 2015). Since these colours trigger impulsivity, they tend to increase behavioral

responses. People are also more likely to share images that contain warm colours and less likely to

share images that contain cool colours. The heightened activation of the brain may be the factor

which sparks a greater impulse to share (Bakhshi & Gilbert, 2015).

17
 Warm colours, such as red and yellow, increase arousal more than cool colours, such as

green and blue (Birren, 1984). Physiologically, warm colours tend to exhibit excitatory effects

such as higher blood pressure, higher respiratory rates, rapid eye blink frequency, and greater

hand tremor etc. Similarly, from a psychological standpoint, warm colours are associated with

elated mood states, activity, vitality, anxiety etc. while cool colours have an opposite effect

(Bellizzi & Hite, 1992).

Cool colours decrease arousals and encourage shopping behaviors, while warm colours

increase arousals and lead to impulse buying (Mattila & Wirtz, 2008). Arousal increases impulsivity

because it inhibits cortical functioning (Walley & Weiden, 1973). People spend much less time

rationalizing or debating and are more likely to act now​. Overall, research indicates that cooler

colours are reflective of increased levels of shopping as it is demonstrated that blue has a calming

effect and decreases perceived wait times (Gorn, Chattopadhyay, Sengupta & Tripathi, 2004).

Generally, information is processed in two ways (Chaiken, 1980). One is heuristic

processing which is a quick and simple-minded analysis. The other is called systematic processing

which is a thorough and rational analysis of information. If a website owner has weak arguments,

they would use heuristic processing. This requires using warm colours to increase arousal and

distract visitors by decreasing their cortical functioning in order to generate action quickly

(Bakhshi & Gilbert, 2015). If a website owner has strong arguments, they would want people to

use systematic processing to spend more time understanding the information. They would use

cool colours to decrease their arousal and allow them to take their time and understand the

content easily (Bakhshi & Gilbert, 2015). In situations where consumers compete with each other

to buy a scarce or a limited-edition product, firms may increase consumers’ willingness-to-pay by

exposure to red versus blue backgrounds (Bagchi & Cheema, 2013).

There have been studies on the emotional responses to cyber-banking interfaces which

include colour as a factor (Kim & Moon, 1998). In general, they reported that visual design factors

18
of the customer interface could be used to induce a specific emotion. They also showed that

cooler colour tones correlated with greater trustworthiness. They conducted an experiment by

creating two websites with identical elements but differed in colour; blue and green. The results

indicated that 65% of subjects preferred the blue website over the green website (Kim & Moon,

1998). ​The majority of studies done prior to this compared websites with distant colours on the

spectrum, but this study tested adjacent spectral colours. A website colour is an important

determinant of store choice, even when the colours are close to each other on the spectral range

(Lee & Rao, 2010). Findings such as these cannot be generalized since research has shown that

product characteristics are important in understanding issues related to electronic commerce

(Kiang & Chi, 2001).

Colour Differences By Culture

Different colours can carry unique values in certain cultures to invoke a specific emotion

(Elliot, 2015). For example, many Western European countries see the colour white to represent

purity and innocence, but on the other hemisphere, it is seen as a symbol of mourning. In the

West, families dress in black for funerals and throughout time have unconsciously recognized

black as an appropriate colour for mourning (Birren, 1984). In Asia, orange is a positive, spiritually

enlightened, and life-affirming colour, while in the United States, orange symbolizes road hazards,

traffic delays, and fast-food restaurants (De Bortoli & Maroto, 2001). The Ndembo in Zambia do

not even acknowledge orange as a colour (Tektronix, 1988). In a cross-cultural study, it is found

that blue was the most preferred colour across cultures (Wiegersma & Van Der Elst, 1988).

Another example showed that the colour blue is voted as the most liked colour in Western

countries, especially America but in East Asia is considered to be a cold colour and carries

associations of evil and sinister behavior (Schmitt, 1995).

Therefore, marketing professionals need to be aware of the perceived importance of

colours and their interpretation in any particular geographic area (Singh, 2006). Researching

19
culture-specific colours before choosing to either distribute their product or create marketing

campaigns targeted toward specific ethnicities is essential. Colour choice can backfire if it

possesses harmful meanings in that culture.

Colour Differences by Gender

Males and females are impacted by colour in different ways. A study found that both

genders favour the colour blue with 57% of men and 35% of women preferring it over other

colours, though it is more heavily favored by men (Hallock, 2003). Men dislike brown the most

while women dislike orange the most. The main reason these colours are disliked was because

they are seen as “cheap” (Hallock, 2003). Women prefer tints while men prefer pure or shaded

colours (Hallock, 2003). Orange and yellow grow increasingly disliked as both genders get older

(Hallock, 2003). Men are also more tolerant of gray, white or black than women (Khouw, 2002).

The average female preference is highest in the reddish-purple region, and falls rapidly in the

greenish-yellow region, whereas the male preference is primarily in the blue-green region

(Hurlbert & Ling, 2007). Males also prefer high value and high saturation, contrarily females prefer

low value and low saturation (Radeloff, 1990).

Men are more likely to buy products when prices are displayed in red as it becomes a focal

point of attention, thus the only information they use to evaluate their purchase (Puccinelli,

Chandrashekaran, Grewal & Suri, 2013). They also believe innately that red prices are associated

with savings. Generally, women are able to see more colours than men and this means that they

are more aware of slight colour differences within a colour range (Copeland, 2013). When

choosing a colour for an audience consisting of primarily women one must carefully choose

colours that are not too raucous. If one is attempting to sell a luxury product, they will want to

avoid colours that are seen as cheap. Taking into account how colour plays a significant role in

one’s purchasing behaviour, website owners should design their websites to suit their traffic.

20
 In conclusion, the psychology of web design is based on the overlap of design principles

and human behavioral factors. Over the last decade, e-commerce has increased dramatically and

so has the importance of understanding effective web design practices for marketers, designers

and researchers. It appears that the next evolution for design is geared toward small screens and

sites that are responsive (Cyr, 2014). With this growing trend of having to capture a user's

attention is a short period of time, design has become integral to captivate users. The quest for

further knowledge pertaining to how culture, gender and age impact technology use and

satisfaction heavily implies that these relationships are dynamic and subject to constant change

(Simon, 2001). An enhanced understanding of subtle details related to specific user groups will

eventually fulfill the expectations that services offered will be relevant to each group. Researchers

expect that websites with a diverse set of users will cater to their target groups with designs which

resonate differently for each and will ultimately create a more personalized experience for all

consumers (Cyr, 2014).

21
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