Colors

I recently had a discussion with someone regarding building themes and custom templates. I had just completed a prototype template for a new client. I decided on shades of orange to run throughout the design. The colors as well as the font sizes are actually not thrown together. Depending on the type of website and the targeted audience of the website, I choose certain colors for many reasons.

The shades of orange template was created in part to compliment the logo. The other and most essential reason is the impact that colors have on people. The psychological effects of color can create a very positive user experience when colors are used properly through a website. Colors stimulate the senses. While perceptions of color are somewhat subjective, there are some color effects that have universal meaning.

Several ancient cultures, including the Egyptians and Chinese, practiced chromotherapy, or the use of colors to heal. Chromotherapy is sometimes referred to as light therapy or colorology and is still used today as a holistic or alternative treatment.

Several examples of the color orange from centuries ago through today:

• Orange was used to heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.
• Orange calls to mind feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth.
• Orange is often used to draw attention, such as in traffic signs and advertising.

As a kid I grew up in Philly. Though I don’t live there anymore I still consider it home. I remember the police cars were red. For days all of the newspapers and television stations talked about how the PPD planned on changing the color of all their cars and wagons from red to blue. Why? The negative psychological impact that red has on people. Red is considered a “hot” color. Red is most often associated with emergencies, stress, blood, STOP.  Red sports cars are stopped more frequently than any other color car. An example of a cool and calming color is blue.

I love the concept of Splashes of Color. Sometimes a background in a solid color or even a gradient can be simply too much. That’s when I think on splashes of color. It’s really no different than designing a room in a house.

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The color structure of the room above is black and white, a very strong stand-alone color combination. When you begin to add elements of purple here and there, the room takes on an absolutely different appearance. The colors add excitement and certainly change the mood of the room into something fun and takes the edge off the boldness of black and white.

When a template is created, quite a lot of the same thought goes into its design. Not only are colors on a psychological level considered, we think of the demographics of the users that will visit the website. In the case of the sample template this article refers to, the visitors will range from children in their 40’s to seniors. It you haven’t got the market from the last sentence it’s for an assisted living facility! Vision usually changes when a person reaches their 40’s and as a result, the font size becomes an important factor when developing the template. All of our designs are responsive, meaning they scale to mobile devices. We tweak the code in our mobile layout accordingly as well.

In today’s world, people simply don’t read. (If you gotten this far, kudos to you!) Take notice today, people respond to large icons and images rather than taking the time to read. If your current website is overloaded with text on the front page, and there’s nothing to grasp the attention of a potential client, Houston, we’ve got a problem! The social icons are also an important part of any website and business.  Should they be a feature that is prevalent on your website or should they be somewhat low-key? There are many variables to consider.

The front page is the most important page of your website. This is the page where you need to engage your audience and entice them into reading what you want them to read.

The image of our prototype includes a simple navigation menu. Whenever designing the main nav or any navigation for that matter I always employ the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) theory. The menu is structured much like an outline and ordered in order of importance. It also features a rotating banner that depicts a very happy life that is nothing short of high quality. Beneath the rotating banner are “Promo Blocks”. These blocks feature some of the important aspects of assisted living. What’s even better is that you or your staff can very easily update these blocks yourself! They can change regularly and feature anything you want to showcase.

The ability to blog on your website is important. Every article serves a dual purpose; the first is that it engages your audience. The second is that each article becomes “inventory” for the search engines. The more articles you write, the more relevant searches will kick back to your website.

When we build a website, all of the fundamentals are in place. The marketing tools are limitless. Imagine creating a team of magazine writers from the clientele that live at Long Beach Assisted Living! With a fully functioning website, you’ve just created a serious tool for one really cool recreational project! What can better sell a facility than the people living there and writing about their incredible experiences?! Nothing!

It’s easy to be mediocre, but it’s incredible to be on the top of you game. Get with WebAuthorings to design and develop your website.