The Best Colors for Recruiting Websites

Choosing a color scheme for your recruitment website design might not be as black and white as you think.

One of the big questions you might have is, “What are the best colors for recruiting websites?”

Before we can answer that question, the (other) critical question you need to answer is, “Which color is best for MY website?” Because a recruiting firm that places attorneys in New York City will have a different customer base than an agency that works with maritime companies in San Diego.

Color choice for your website should accomplish two goals: first, resonate with the intended audience and second, represent the emotions that your company wants to elicit from that audience.

Therefore, it’s critical to understand the demographic profile and mindset of your customer base before selecting a color scheme. Equally important is deciding how you want the audience to respond when they see your website.  Selecting the right colors can help build relationships with your website visitors.

Below is a list of colors and the emotions and meanings they tend to portray:

• Blue—Blue is associated with honesty, trust, dependability, and cleanliness. It’s the most favored color and therefore, the safest to use. It provides a corporate feel. Blue also slows the pulse rate and reduces the appetite, whereas red increases both the pulse rate and the appetite. Blue is calming and conservative. However, too much blue can be seen as rigid and predictable.

• Red—Red is full of energy, and it’s this intense color that calls for action to be taken and demands attention. It’s associated with action, excitement, passion, and desire. It’s also the universal sign for danger, and can be used to evoke anger. Red can be used to excite and motivate, but too much can cause a negative reaction.

• Yellow—Yellow is associated with sunshine, joy, happiness, intellect, and energy. It evokes cheerful feelings and stimulates the mind. Bright yellow grabs attention, whereas pale yellow evokes caution or sickness. Too much yellow can evoke a feeling of anxiety; therefore, it’s best used as a highlight color.

• Orange—Orange is a flamboyant color that combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It evokes adventure, enthusiasm, and optimism. Like red, it stimulates the appetite. Too much orange can give the impression of being cheap.

• Green—Green is associated with health, nature, healing, recycling, and the environment. Lighter greens cause us to think of things being fresh, whereas darker greens bring to mind thoughts of wealth and money. Green is a balancing and calm color, but too much green can evoke feelings of greed and envy.

• Purple—The color purple is tied to royalty. It conveys luxury, spirituality, fantasy, and dignity. Purple relates to premium service and high quality. Purple tends to be more relatable to women’s and children’s products. However, it also inspires intellect. Too much purple can evoke arrogance.

• Brown—Brown is associated with strength, the outdoors, friendliness, and comfort. It suggests stability and is earthy. Men seem to like brown much more than women. Too much brown can be dull and boring.

• White—White is seen as clean, pure, and safe. White is calming and evokes feelings of freedom and simplicity. Too much white can portray coldness, separation, and isolation.

• Black—Black is the color of authority and power. It’s viewed as protective. It’s also associated with death, fear, and evil. A black background reduces readability, but contrasts well with bright colors. Combining black with red, orange, or gold provides an aggressive color scheme.

Which colors comprise your recruiting or staffing agency’s website? Based on the information above, should you make any changes to those colors? Would a different color scheme represent your agency and what you’re wanting to portray in a better fashion?

As we announced recently, we’ve formed a partnership with Recruiters Websites. which offers a full suite of services:

• Website design and development
• Marketing strategy
• Digital and traditional advertising
• Copywriting and editorial content
• Search engine optimization (SEO) and management
• API and application integrations

All of these services, of course, are designed to attract potential clients and candidates and are optimized for search engines to maximize your recruiting agency’s online presence. The new year will be here before you know it, so this is a great time to consider making changes to your agency’s website, whether those are small changes or a complete overhaul.

The good news is that because of our partnership with Recruiters Websites, you can receive a free audit and evaluation of your site and also receive a quote for services! Just click this link to request all three:

I want my free audit, evaluation, and quote!

We’ll be publishing more blog posts regarding best practices for your agency’s website before the end of the year, so keep an eye out for those.

And also check The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog for announcements regarding more partnerships between Top Echelon and other top products and services in the recruiting and staffing industry!