How to Pick a Colour Palette for Your Blog
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How To Pick An Awesome Colour Palette For Your Blog Or Website.
Every time we go onto a blog we are greeted with the website’s colours.
We may like them, or we may not – but what’s important is if it was memorable or not.
Whether we made a specific note of the colours or not isn’t important. The back of our minds remembers these so the next time we visit that website we remember we have seen this before.
This post is aimed at those who need help in choosing a colour palette or colour scheme for their blog, and where to get inspiration on if they don’t have a clue what to pick or where to start!
I am not an expert in branding by any means!
The colour palette you choose for your blog can of course be used for your brand, but we aren’t getting as in-depth here.
For new bloggers who maybe aren’t sure of what colours they want for their brand, this post is just to help you pick initial blog colours.
Chances are if you have a new blog your blog colours will change.
Rarely does anyone start a new blog with a set of blog colours and then carry this colour palette with them as their brand for years to come!
As with anything, it takes time to get a feel for things and whether you feel it suits you and your brand going forwards.
Colour Theory
You absolutely do not need to be an expert in colour theory to design a colour scheme for your blog.
What I would recommend however is to learn a little about it, and use this knowledge while choosing the colours for your own website.
Colour theory – on a very basic level – is a collection of guidelines/rules which are used to portray a message and communicate with your readers.
They are guidelines to follow as to which colours compliment others, and how to choose colours that go well together.
It can also help to show you which colours stand out the most against which other colours.
This is a good resource for more information:
Reading up and learning the basics of colour theory will help you choose a well rounded colour palette for your blog!
Why It’s Important To Choose A Colour Palette For Your Blog
Similar to a brand, you want people to remember you.
You want your audience to recognise your blog so when they come back to it, they are familiar.
Choosing your own palette of colours for your blog makes you stand out.
Imagine you went onto a blog and everything was a random colour.
If you then came across this blog a couple of months later, would you remember it?
Probably not!
Blog colours and colour schemes do change over time as mentioned, but keeping something the same will help readers recognise your website.
Tweaking things is totally okay, but I would avoid doing a total overhaul on your blog colours too often!
The more we see something the more we recognise and trust it. If someone has searched for different information on multiple occasions and your blog has shown up and they have gotten the information they needed, they will see you as a credible source. This helps for growing an audience for your blog as your readers will trust you over a website they don’t recognise.
Your blog is a personal expression of you.When choosing a colour palette for your blog, you can pick colours that you love or are most drawn to.
Favourite colour ever is orange? Absolutely incorporate this!
Once you have chosen your blog colours you can use those colours across social media and Pinterest.
Using the same colours across social media can make your images instantly recognisable.
Without worrying about a full brand kit at this stage as a new blogger, you can still make your images tie in with the colour scheme of your blog.
It takes time out of decision making to have pre-set colours.
Knowing exactly what colours to go for, or which colours to match a new colour to, can certainly speed up the process of creating pins/social media images.
Get Inspiration From Google or Pinterest
Don’t copy someone else’s colour palette of course!
Inspiration for which colours you want for your own website is absolutely okay.
You can try searching for a generic term like “colour combination for website” or “attractive colour combination”. Trying a few different “colour scheme for blog” related search terms should bring up a lot of different ideas for you.
If you know roughly what you want but aren’t quite sure on shades, you can try searching for “pink colour scheme” or “blue and purple colour scheme”.
This should help you narrow down roughly what colours you are drawn to where you can then move on to creating your own blog colour palette.
A bit further down I’ll be showing you how to take one or two colours and turn them into a full colour palette for your blog so don’t worry if you still aren’t sure!
Decide What Vibe You Want Your Blog To Have
If you are finding yourself endlessly scrolling Pinterest or Google and still can’t come up with a rough idea of what you like, another option is to try working out what vibe you want your blog to have.
Depending on your niche, this could play a part in which colours you choose for your blog.
For example if your blog is all about self care, meditation and peaceful living, you may want to choose more muted tones or could search for “harmonious colour scheme”.
If your blog is all about trees and woodland walks in a certain part of the world, you can try searching for “earth tones” or “natural colour scheme”.
If you blog about something bright like Tropical Fish, you may want pops of bright colour all over your blog to match the vibe of your content.
A darker theme may be suited to those who’s blogs are about Space etc.
You get the idea!
You can absolutely create your colour theme around a vibe as opposed to a specific “set”.
Things You May Want To Avoid
There are of course no hard and fast rules when it comes to choosing the colours for your blog, but there are “best practices” you can follow.
Try to not choose too many colours.
If you are wanting people to recognise your blog from a few main colours or an attractive colour combination, having 14 different colours won’t help this!
I would aim to choose 3-4 colours as this is a good amount and will cover most things you will need colours for with your blog.
You can go up to 5 if you’re using a couple of shades of the same colour, but with the stronger colours, I would keep it around 1 or 2 colours.
I wouldn’t recommend going for overly clashing colours.
Now that’s not to say you couldn’t use two different bold colours, but clashing colours can make it harder to read.
User experience is so important, so making sure everything is readable and not overwhelming for your readers is something you should take into consideration.
On the flip side, you will want to avoid colours that don’t stand out at all.
Overly pale/muted colours can be tricky for everyone to see. It can make links and buttons hard to locate and can make text nearly invisible.
There are lots of ways to add in those pale or muted colours, but that also keeps your blog readable to everyone.
If you think it’s “potentially” too pale/visible, I would avoid using it.
We all have different strengths of vision and on a smaller device like a phone, those pale colours may not show up at all.
Use A Colour Palette Generator
The reason I wanted to mention all of the above points first before introducing a colour palette generator is that it’s too easy to get carried away picking loads of fun colours but soon realising they don’t fit the vibe of your blog at all!
Having at least some idea of the colour palette you want – or even one main colour or the vibe – will really help.
Below you will find a few different colour palette generators to help you choose the perfect colour palette for your blog:
Coolors.co
I will start with the colour palette generator I used as it’s so easy to use and doesn’t overwhelm with too many options in terms of shades.
You can of course change the shades on it, but I will show you below what this looks like.
I mentioned this website on my tools and resources page as it’s an amazing resource for new bloggers.
You start the generator, and press spacebar to get 5 random colours presented to you.
You can hit the spacebar again to keep getting new colours!
If you find a colour or two you like, you can hover over these and “lock them” (there are shade options to change these if the colour isn’t quite right but is close).
Then when you next press the spacebar, the colours you have locked will stay but the others will change.
You can go in each colour and manually choose one also.
Colormind
The second option which is most similar to use to Coolors is Colormind.
The boxes for the colours are a lot smaller so you don’t get the same “in your face” effect.
As with Coolors, you can generate different colour palettes and lock the colours you like.
The benefit of Colormind though is that you can upload an image!
From this image it will then generate a colour palette based off of that image.
This means if you find an image you really like from Google or Pinterest, whether it be specific colours or a photo that has the right vibe, you can upload it, and your palette will be created for you.
You can then re-generate the palette if the colours aren’t quite right but it will use the same image for reference.
Colourlovers
Colourlovers is a good option if you are more aware which blog colours you are wanting to choose for your website.
You don’t get a generator but can make your own colour brand palette by clicking each square and choosing each colour individually.
The good thing here is that it shows you multiple shade options for the colour you have chosen, so you can compare a few different shades to get exactly the ones you want.
If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous or are more into colour theory and design, one of the following two websites may be more suited to you.
Both of the below websites are amazing resources to choose an awesome colour palette for your blog, but are a little more advanced/trickier to use to get the exact colours you are looking for.
Adobe Colour Wheel
This Adobe colour wheel colour generator is good if you want to visually see the shades and how they compliment other colours.
You can choose one of the options down the left hand side before starting to drag the circles round the colour wheel.
There is a little arrow under each of the 5 colours and you can click one to choose as your base colour. This will be the base that all other colours and shades will be matched to.
There are lots of ways to modify and change the colour tones under each option.
Paletton
Paletton is a great option for if you are looking for lots of different tones within the same colour.
You can move the 5 small circles within the main circle and can again change shades as you go.
You can add further colours into the mix and can change their corresponding shades also.
It is a great representation of how different the different shades of the same colour can be, and how well they go together (or clash).
I really hope that by the end of this you are able to choose a colour palette for your blog or website!
As a quick summary:
Colours can always be changed down the line, but having a good colour palette made up so you have set colours for your blog will really help in the meantime.
You can of course think about using these colours in your branding which you will stick with for a long time, but if you are a new blogger with a brand new website, choose an awesome colour palette for your blog and go with it!
If you need to use Google or Pinterest for inspiration then you can do this!
Knowing the vibe of your blog can also help and you can look up related terms like “luxurious colours” or “adventurous colours” as this may provide extra inspiration!
Then you can use one of the colour palette generators mentioned above and you will then be set with your colours!
If you have a Canva Pro account you can save your blog colour palette into your Canva brand kit so it’s all saved and ready to go every time you are creating images!
You can save more than one set of brand colours into Canva pro if you do decide to change colours at any point – I think most of us have, at least a couple of times over the years!
That’s it!
You should be all set up with an awesome blog colour palette!
Leave your links in the comments below so I can see what colour combinations you have chosen!
Speak soon!
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90 Comments
Rosie
Great article! I love this! I wish I read this before I set up my blog since I had a hard time looking for colors for it. I resorted to Pinterest research in the end.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I was the very same, it’s so hard to know what to do when you’re new but Pinterest is a great resource for ideas!
Carolyn M
I took my colors from the photo I chose for my page header ising “coolors”
Katherine McLee
Perfect! Coolors is an amazing resource!
Rebecca Barker
Thank you for these tips
Katherine McLee
Thank you!
Pastor Natalie (ExamineThisMoment)
Great ideas for a blog. I love this topic and various color theme suggestions. 🤗
Pastor Natalie (ExamineThisMoment)
Letstakeamoment.com
Katherine McLee
Thank you! Colours can have such a big impact! 🤗
Diana Trinh
This is such a well thought out post! Colors play a bigger factor than what we think.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! They really do!
Vanessa
Thanks for this post! As a a new bloggers this is so helpful. I’ve experimented with a few colors so far but the color palette generator will definitely help me.
Dave Pritty
Cool content 🤩
Danielle
I post a lot of travel content abs my photography usually has a lot of natural colours like greens, browns and blues so I use them as my main colours for my site. Very interesting read!
Katherine McLee
That’s perfect as the colours fit the vibe! Your blog is lovely! Thank you!
Colette Mompoint
Thank you for this! I’ve been trying to find some color pallettes. Bohemian in particular so this helps 🤗
Katherine McLee
I’m glad you liked it! That sounds lovely! Let me know when you choose a colour palette and I’ll have a look! 🤗
Katherine McLee
Thank you!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! It can be such a good tool to help with getting right down to exactly which colours you like!
Vanessa Ojeogwu
This post is very helpful for bloggers. Colour is essential when it comes to business. Thank you for sharing!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I’m really glad you found it helpful!
Lindsey
You have done an amazing job of giving comprehensive and helpful information! This is not really something I have actually given a lot to thought to, but especially for my niche this is a very important. Thank you so much for sharing!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! It can really help people to recognise your website even if the theme or other bits change! The colour palette generators can help a lot!
Julia
Colors are really important to me when I look at a website. It happened more than once to access a site and be bothered by the colors. So this is really useful info.
Katherine McLee
Absolutely, that’s why it’s important we don’t choose overly clashing colours as they can put people off, and can be hard to read! Thank you!
Kirsten Smith
Great info. Thanks for sharing!
Katherine McLee
Thank you!
Affiliate income life
This is very helpful , just love the guide. Thank you so much.
Katherine McLee
Thank you!
Rebekka
These are such great tips! and very colorful
Katherine McLee
Thank you!
Pauline Stephens
What a great post. I use Paletton all the time and especially when I did event design work. Using color in anything is my fav.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! Paletton is a great resource as it’s so clear to see how colours go together!
Nia
Very smart, I havent thought too consciously about a color palette but this is a good idea! thanks for sharing!
Katherine McLee
It can help people to recognise and remember your website, even if the header or theme changes! Thank you!
Fransic verso
I don’t really use Pinterest but I kept trying colors until I got one haha. These are great tips and ways to choose. Thank you for sharing!
Katherine McLee
Haha sometimes we need inspiration! Thank you!
Briana | Next Destination Unknown
Great tips for choosing brand colors for a blog or website! Branding is so important to create uniformity and recognition. I recently changed my brand colors. My original colors just didn’t “feel” right anymore. I used Coolors (love it!) and am much happier with my new colors now.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I did exactly the same, as much as I did like my previous colours, I was just more drawn to my new colours! Your website looks amazing!
Nadia
Good info. Before choosing colors for my site I did use the color theory. It actually took me about 2 years to finalize my colors. When it comes to creating pins for Pinterest, that’s a whole other story, especially if you’re trying to mix it up.
Katie
I love how you laid this all out. Color theory is so important with marketing and building your brand. I still have quite a bit to learn!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! It is so important so that people recognise the different websites and remember ones they have been on before!
Whitney Stewart
A lot of first time bloggers don’t really understand that color schemes and background images can really set the tone for your website. Is it too loud or busy? No simple? No enough or too much? There a lot of factors. Plus you have to think about what colors can compliment the services your trying to provide. Thanks so much for sharing this! It’s all great advice!
Katherine McLee
Absolutely! They maybe don’t realise how important and impactful it can be. Of course things can be changed but having people remember you is key! Thank you!
Olivia
Thanks for all the tips! It’s definitely important to keep a color scheme and all the tools you recommended are so helpful!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Valery
Such a thorough post with helpful tips, organized and easy to understand! Graphic design and coordinating colors is a huge weakness of mine, but I learned so much reading this post! Thanks for your thoughts.
Katherine McLee
Thank you so much! It’s all a learning process! 🙂
MyHollywood
Great tips! And they remind me that I really really need to update the color and look of my blog. It has been way too long without a refresh.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I think things do change overtime but not changing too often is the important part!
David Pearce
Some really good ideas here. I definitely need to take a look at my own colour scheme, which I was pretty clueless about! When work becomes less manic this week I’m going to reboot my colours on my blog. Many thanks for the inspiration.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! Some people fall into their colours naturally – I was not one of those people and have changed since starting lol using the colour generators can help if you need any inspiration!
Tania
I’m in love with Coolors! Thanks for sharing!
Tania
I’ve had this banner that always felt meh and drove me nuts, so I plugged in the key colors and found a much better background color combination from Coolors. Whew, I feel much better now haha.
Katherine McLee
That’s amazing! Seeing the colours all together and seeing which shades and tones compliment each other is so good!
Liv
Loveeee this. Literally never heard of any of these tools before.
Katherine McLee
They are good fun to play with and it’s really cool to see it all visually!
Katherine McLee
It’s such a good tool and good fun!
Valery
Picking out my colors was definitely the longest part for me! I just couldn’t make up my mind! But your tips and advice are so helpful to make it easier!
Katherine McLee
I’m glad you found it helpful! It can help being able to see the colours next to each other to see how they match!
Rena
This is really good info, I also did spend a good bit of time finding my colour palette!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! It can take time but is absolutely worth doing!
Eva Petruzziello
What a great article on picking colors! It was hard for me, but I used some of these tips too
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it! It’s one of those things that can end up taking a lot longer than we initially mean it to lol
Laura
Great ideas! Thanks for all this great information.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I’m so glad it was helpful!
Gloria
This post is great and I love looking at color schemes and thinking about all the possibilities for branding and such. I picked dark blue/purple for my website and blog, but as I look at it compared to many other blogs, it feels a bit amatuer. Yours and just about everyone else’s uses white for the background and it looks way more professional. Why is there so much emphasis on picking a color palette for blogs, branding, website, etc if everyone just goes with white? Or am I missing something about where to use color on my blog?
Katherine McLee
That’s a great question! Firstly I really don’t think your blog looks amateur at all! The dark header and logo/header font is instantly recognisable (and I can say this as I’ve been on your blog quite a few times!). I think a lot of people choose white as a background as it saves any pictures/headers or font colours clashing at all. I’m a fairly indecisive person lol and keeping the background white lets me have brand colours on my website (for now it’s dark teal and gold), but if I wanted to change it, it’s not a huge rebranding as if the whole site was one colour. Some people have a lot of colour as they are set on their branding and that’s amazing too! Check out https://heyjessica.com/ for example who’s blog is full of colour and still looks very professional! I hope this helps and makes sense! 🙂
Kristine
Great info! I was able to come up with my colors right away, BUT when I need accent colors that match the same tones it’s hard to find. Thanks for great info!
Katherine McLee
It can definitely be easier if you already have an idea of colours but getting the colours just right can still be tricky! Glad it helped! 🙂
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Elaine
Thank you for the suggestions. I am always playing around with the way my blog looks and I am sometimes nervous to try new things.. But now I will. Thanks for the inspiration.
Katherine McLee
It can be nerve wracking trying new things! The beauty is that we can always go back to older choices if new ones don’t work out!
Sara j white
I defintely struggle with this part of web design. I’ve gravitated toward using the generators without having any of the background knowledge so these tips are so helpful!
Katherine McLee
The generators are good fun! They are really helpful to show which colours really go together or can give different ideas if you aren’t sure at all what you want!
sanober
This is such a great resource. I had some idea about the colors I wanted to have my blog to have but did not think about the little nuances related to it!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! Sometimes having different inspiration is all we need!
Anita
This is so helpful! I struggle with color palette issues – I think Coolor will be super helpful. Love your posts – I always learn every time I visit.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! It’s so easy to use and you can generate as many colours as you like/need! I’m so glad you find it helpful!
Laura Levitan
Love this blog post about color themes for blogposts. So many great resources with explanations and outbound links to help us choose. Thank you for this great resource!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Blake
Love this! It’s super helpful!
Katherine McLee
I’m really glad you think so! 😀
Ann
Interesting read! I didn’t realize there was sites like Colormind that can help me to choose colors. This has been a struggle for me. Thanks for this info!
Katherine McLee
It can be an amazing help to see how colours can go together and may come up with combinations you never would have thought of! 🙂
Tom
Great advice! I found coolors when I started my blog. It is such a great tool, makes it so easy to cut and paste the correct color values!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! Coolors is a lot of fun and so easy to use! 😀
nicole
Great post with super helpful tips!
Katherine McLee
Thank you so much!
Andrea
This is such a helpful post!! I wish I would’ve came across it when I was designing my site. I changed the color theme several times until I finally settled on one that I liked. I never even knew sites like those existed to help you figure out palettes. I think that would’ve saved me a lot of time! haha
Katherine McLee
Hahaha! It totally depends on if you have an idea of what sort of colours you are wanting or if you have no idea but the colour generators can really help, especially as they are free!