What Makes Your Website Stand Out - Color Palette

Part 1: Your Color Palette Isn’t Just Pretty—It’s Strategic

If you picked your website colors because they looked nice together, I hate to break it to you—but that’s not enough. Your color palette has a job to do. It’s not just there to look cute—it’s doing psychological heavy lifting: shaping first impressions, guiding user behavior, and influencing trust without saying a word.

This post kicks off a blog series where I’m building a sample homepage for a fictional jewelry brand that’s moving off Etsy and onto their own platform. The brand is elegant, grounded, and rich in story—so I started with a color palette that could carry all of that.

Here’s how I approached it...

Limit Your Palette (Seriously)

Palette by @poiesis_designs

Just because Canva gives you every color doesn’t mean you need to use them all. One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to do too much with color. The result? Chaos.

This palette is a great example of discipline: five strong, harmonious shades—each with a purpose. Here's how you might use them:

• Primary Red (#a93134) – Calls to action, important highlights

• Deep Gray (#4a444d) – Body text, muted backgrounds

• Charcoal/Black (#181418) – Headers, nav bars, footers

• Accent Maroon (#6a1b20 / #3a1016) – Hover states, dividers, detail work

Keep it tight. Color is more effective when it’s predictable. The more consistent you are, the stronger your brand becomes.

Your Colors Set the Tone (And the Mood)

This palette doesn’t whisper—it speaks with confidence. The deep red (#a93134) and black tones (#181418, #3a1016) immediately set a tone of strength, elegance, and depth. This isn’t your average pastel-and-sans-serif vibe. It’s intentional, dramatic, and bold.

Color psychology is real:

• Red can signal passion, urgency, energy, or assertiveness.

• Black and deep grays bring in sophistication, stability, and edge.

It’s a great fit for the sample jewelry brand I’m designing around—a business with rich product stories and a strong identity. These colors create a feeling of intimacy and richness that align with how the brand wants to show up.

You Need Contrast—And Not Just for Looks

This set uses dark and light contrasts really well. The saturated red pops against charcoal and black backgrounds, making it easy to create buttons, headers, and calls-to-action that actually stand out.

Too often, websites use soft color combos that blur together—this one doesn’t make that mistake. It’s high contrast, high impact, and accessible (huge win).

ADA compliance recommends a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text. I test every pairing to make sure it passes.

Not sure if your contrast is strong enough? There are free online tools to test it—and I’m happy to take a quick peek for you.

Use Color to Guide, Not Distract

Your palette should create flow. Use bold colors sparingly—for buttons, important links, or emphasis. The rest should feel clean and supportive.

If everything is bold, nothing is bold. If everything screams for attention, visitors get overwhelmed and check out.

In the homepage I’m designing, red is reserved for high-value actions like “View the Collection” or “Read the Story.” Charcoal sections create space for content and photos. The result? A calm, clear visual path that leads users where we want them to go.

Carry Your Palette Across the Site (and Beyond)

Once you pick a palette, use it everywhere—website, email graphics, packaging, business cards. Consistency builds trust and makes your brand recognizable at a glance.

In this homepage, I’m building consistency into every detail—from hover effects to button borders to photo tones. Even the alt text and icon colors reflect the palette. It doesn’t have to be loud, just intentional.

Pro tip: Save your palette in your design software or website editor so it’s always handy. Bonus: create a mini style guide you can reuse for future content.

If your current website colors aren’t making the impression you want—or you’re not sure if they even work together—send them my way. I’ll take a look and give you some honest, practical feedback. No pressure, no jargon—just a fresh perspective (and maybe a suggestion or two).