Web Design 101 - Determining Your Colors

You've got your domain name, you know where it will be hosted and now you want to create your web site. Where to start? You can start by picking your colors or by sketching out a general site layout. We'll start with colors.

If you have a company logo, it is a good place to start when determining your color scheme. If not, a photo or graphic that you plan on using at the site can be an inspiration too. You will need one main color to act as an anchor for the design. You can pick one from the logo/photo or one that will compliment it.

Once you have a main color, go to ColorSchemer Online. You can plug in your primary color and then color schemer will give you a page of 16 colors that perfectly compliment your main color. You can even lighten or darken the entire scheme.

Pick your main color plus two to four accent colors. These will be your base for your web elements - like buttons, headings, table/container backgrounds, etc. Depending on the theme of your site, you may want a few more colors from the same grouping too.

I recommend trying a few different color schemes and getting input from others. Chances are, you will go back to the color scheme you tried first, but you may get more impact if you go outside your initial idea.

Need ideas using pre-done color schemes? ColorSchemer also has pre-picked palettes that can be pretty inspiring.