When designing a website, one of the most common challenges is to develop an effective color scheme. The 25 sites that are showcased here have, in my opinion, done a great job of incorporating color and creating an attractive appearance. Please feel free to mention which ones are your favorites in the comments.
This site features a large background image of a tree and a cloudy sky. The green of the tree and the grass look great with the blue sky.
Would you expect anything less from one of the leading graphic design blogs? Veerle uses a dark background and a lot of color throughout the blog.
The website of Destination Organice features several colorful images that are complemented by a bright red navigation menu.
With a colorful green background and other images that include a variety of colors, Emotions really stands out.
A blue and green background that is bright, but not too hard on the eyes.
This site uses a a blue background (sky) and the green leaves of a tree on the left side of the screen.
A very bright site that uses blue, green, pink, purple, and orange (not the fastest loading site though).
There are not a lot of different colors on this site, but the various shades of blue look great.
If a Tennessee winter isn’t full of a lot of different colors, a Tennessee summer is.
This site features a light pastel color scheme that uses less images than many of the other sites included here.
This portfolio site has an attract color scheme that is very easy on the eyes.
An excellent use of a background image to give color to a design.
This site uses a slide show effect with several different header images.
A nice color scheme involving green, blue, and black. The site sits on a wood floor background image.
There’s a rainbow of colors in this blog for web designers.
This site uses a nice variety of colors without making it hard to read.
Joomla Junkie shows that it’s possible to use a white background and still feature great use of color.
This blog uses a very colorful header image and a lot of colorful photos throughout the posts.
A variety of different colors and shades that come together to create a great color scheme.
This site has been featured in a number of CSS galleries. It makes use of a wide range of colors and it relies heavily on images.
This Australian design company uses a few different shades of blue and green rather than using a larger variety of different colors.
Celebrific features very bright colors as well as some lighter pastels.
This site uses a large background image, as well as blue, green, red, and orange in a pleasantly colorful appearance.
This church website uses a nice light color scheme of blues and greens.
This site uses a lot of graphics and photos to achieve its colorful look.
If you liked this collection, also see:
65 comments from readers
1 Chad Mueller Feb 4, 2008 at 8:59 pm
This is a great list of sites… thanks for the mention of inspiredology… I really like pixelhouse and El Tesoro… both very cool sites.. keep up the great posts..
2 0% apr credit Feb 4, 2008 at 9:31 pm
personally i liked the web designer wall entry. i like the mix of color and art. but what i really noticed in the sites posted here is that you can never go wrong with nature. its always easy on the eyes.
3 philippine joomla developer Feb 4, 2008 at 9:59 pm
i am a web designer/developer for five years now and i must say this gallery of designs are amazing, it gives me ideas and some possibilities to develop sites like this. thank you
4 tommy Feb 5, 2008 at 1:34 am
very nice site.
5 Chris (JoomlaJunkie) Feb 5, 2008 at 2:07 am
Looking at our traffic logs today and then finding this post, i have to say that this has made my week! To be included on a list of sites that we have personally admired for so long is any designers dream come true! Thank you very much for this post and considering us worthy to be included!
Chris (JoomlaJunkie)
6 Sterling @ Bizlift Blog Feb 5, 2008 at 2:56 am
Thanks for the list of beautiful and inspiring designs. The “Emotions” site is especially fresh looking. Makes me want to whip out my photoshop and create something stunning…
7 joost canters Feb 5, 2008 at 5:49 am
Hah you like to be out in the open don’t you? Lots of blue/green, trees and skies
8 The PC Weenies. V2.0: Tech ‘Toons for Tech Enthusiasts. Squared. » Archive » Tuesday plugs… Feb 5, 2008 at 6:39 am
[…] 25 Beautifully Colored Websites: Good design is never accidental. Here are some tips for making your color choices more effective. I didn’t recognize any of the websites on the list, save for Veerle’s Blog, which I already peruse. […]
9 Most Inspired Blog » Blog Archive » 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites Feb 5, 2008 at 7:07 am
[…] one of the most common challenges is to develop an effective color scheme. The 25 sites that are showcased here have, in my opinion, done a great job of incorporating color and creating an attractive appearance. […]
10 CFA Level 1 Feb 5, 2008 at 7:15 am
Very good list and I’m sure there are many. many more that could be added here.
11 The cheapest flight finder Feb 5, 2008 at 8:29 am
Fantastic graphics!
12 richard@senseon.co.uk Feb 5, 2008 at 9:25 am
The colours on the Tenessee Winter site are absolutely wonderful. Blue is a colour that I don’t think gets used enough in contemporary web design.
13 Advise-Art Feb 5, 2008 at 10:08 am
wouahou … some designs are very good !!! love it !
14 Andy MacDonald Feb 5, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Yeah i must say i totally agree with you. my personal favourites from your list are LifeLab, and Joomla Junkies. All are very good designs, but those two stand out from the crowd for me.
15 Laura - webdesigner Feb 5, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Lovely… absolutely very nice design!!!
I am a great lover of new and original palettes, what do you think about the colours of my site? =)
16 Vandelay Design Feb 5, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Chad and Chris,
You’re welcome for the mention. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment.
Sterling,
Emotions is one of my favorites too.
Joost,
That wasn’t intentional, but I guess you’re right!
CFA,
Yes, there certainly are a lot more. Maybe I’ll do a follow up gallery down the road.
17 Robin’s Blog» Blog Archive » 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites Feb 5, 2008 at 6:53 pm
[…] Web Site Design has compiled a list of 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites. In addition to screen captures of each site, there are links to the original sites so you can […]
18 Lara Feb 6, 2008 at 2:42 am
wow… they are all awesome! I love their colors and designs! Thanks a lot for the compilation…
19 Alexander Feb 6, 2008 at 7:30 am
Good selection of sites and demonstration of subtleties. Thanks for the information, I shall consider and by all means I use on the new progect
20 Justin Feb 6, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Wow, thank you for including us :o)
There are some really great sites, I really like ‘Capture the Valley’!! ‘Inspiredology’ is also very cool.
21 efimor Feb 7, 2008 at 11:31 am
Good list of colorful and inspiring designs. Few I am already familiar with but most are new. Thanks!
Question – when you create such post with screen shots from other web sites, do you need to get permission from the web site owner? (from legal perspective). I want to create blog articles with other sites pictures and was not sure if I should ask for permission first.
22 Andy Feb 7, 2008 at 3:27 pm
This is a great one as well, full of colors. Unique especially for a web hosting company
http://www.logicweb.com
23 Vandelay Design Feb 7, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Justin,
You’re welcome. Thanks for commenting.
efimor,
I’m not a lawyer, so I’m not going to give any legal advice. I have had a number of comments when I do posts like this from people who own one of the sites that is featured, and it is always positive feedback. It gives them exposure and sends traffic there way, so I don’t think they mind.
24 DC Global Feb 7, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Uhhmm… I am in a web hosting company and it gives me a lot of ideas for my next design… I like all of your design especially the page shaded by blue, good for eyes and user friendly, easy to navigate..
25 Color Schemes from Photographs | Vandelay Website Design Feb 7, 2008 at 4:49 pm
[…] this week I posted a gallery of colorful websites. Today I’d like to take a look at a few online tools that can help you to generate a color […]
26 vuelos baratos Feb 8, 2008 at 12:03 am
Really amazing designs! Especialy Veerle’s Blog and El Tesoro.
27 The Best of the Blogosphere: February 8, 2008 | Super Blogging Feb 8, 2008 at 2:04 am
[…] 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites at Vandelay Design. […]
28 dadan Feb 8, 2008 at 7:40 pm
ah thx for including me in your list, … nice designs indeed … keep it up.
29 25 сочных веб-сайтов Feb 9, 2008 at 5:47 am
[…] перевода от stussy, однако, пост взят отсюда. okbm(’http://blogrock.ru/archives/27/’,'25 сочных веб-сайтов’); Еще […]
30 Vandelay Design Feb 9, 2008 at 7:28 am
Dadan,
You’re welcome.
31 Dennison Uy - Graphic Designer Feb 9, 2008 at 11:20 am
Aside from the fact that the Carsonified logo looks like a cheap rip-off of another site (which I cannot recall at the moment), there really is nothing much to say about it in terms of color. It has no business being in the list.
32 Webhosting Reality Feb 10, 2008 at 1:29 am
First impressions last. Google won the hearts of its users because of its design simplicity. The Google homepage, for me, is the perfect model of unforced beauty which every webdesigner should learn from.
33 Fatih Hayrioğlu’nun not defteri » 11 Şubat Web’den seçme haberler Feb 11, 2008 at 11:41 am
[…] 25 adet jan janlı güzel site örneği. Bağlantı […]
34 Rodney Yee Feb 12, 2008 at 8:34 pm
WOW! Who says you can’t be beautiful and vibrant? Who says corporate websites can’t be fun. These are very inspiring. Thanks for posting. I’ll be submitting this to Digg if it’s not there already. Stumbled too!
35 moneyblog » 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites Feb 16, 2008 at 8:48 am
[…] Source from: Vandelay Design […]
36 plastikfantastik Feb 24, 2008 at 12:49 pm
hey,
thanks for including “ustvarjako” site here, we’re feeling very proud to be humble member of this great list
sasa
http://www.plastikfantastik.net
37 ושיהיה לכם יום כתום! » netcraft Bytes :) Feb 25, 2008 at 6:13 am
[…] http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/colorful-websites […]
38 25 Beautifully Dark Website Designs | Vandelay Website Design Feb 25, 2008 at 5:50 pm
[…] few weeks ago I published a gallery of Beautifully Colorful Websites that drew a lot of interest from designers. I thought it would be appropriate to follow that up […]
39 blog.ad2.com » Blog Archive » Inspiration Feb 26, 2008 at 12:44 pm
[…] 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites […]
40 WESCO Net Web Services» Blog Archive » 25 Beautifully Dark Website Designs Feb 27, 2008 at 2:41 pm
[…] few weeks ago, Vandelay Website Design published a gallery of very sharp colorful web sites. In response to the interest the gallery drew they have followed it up with a gallery of 25 […]
41 The Best Graphic Design Articles from February 2008 Feb 28, 2008 at 10:56 pm
[…] 25 Beautifully Coloured Website Designs Showcases 25 great colourful websites in a social-media-friendly manner. […]
42 Loreno Mar 4, 2008 at 11:09 am
I also like this one http://www.flashgenesis.com
43 This Month In SEO - 2/08 - TheVanBlog Mar 5, 2008 at 10:04 pm
[…] 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites […]
44 Web designer Delhi Mar 10, 2008 at 4:10 am
Gud websites list. Nice Collection.
continue friends
45 website builder » Blog Archive » 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites Mar 16, 2008 at 7:12 pm
[…] cschaper24 wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWhen designing a website, one of the most common challenges is to develop an effective color scheme. The 25 sites that are showcased here have, in my opinion, done a great job of incorporating color and creating an attractive appearance … […]
46 50 of the Best Church Website Designs | Vandelay Website Design Mar 17, 2008 at 4:14 pm
[…] these examples are excellent sources of inspiration for any design project. Many of them involve excellent use of color, images, and graphics that draw attention right away. In addition, most church sites have a lot of […]
47 My Blog » Blog Archive » 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites Mar 24, 2008 at 4:51 am
[…] from http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/colorful-websites/ […]
48 Music Critic Apr 8, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Nice collection. It has inspired me.
49 25 Incredibly Artistic Websites | Vandelay Website Design Apr 14, 2008 at 9:07 pm
[…] 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites […]
50 25 sitios web con diseños artísticos. » Factorvital Apr 16, 2008 at 10:15 pm
[…] :). Otras selecciones de sitios que presentan en Vandelaydesign y que bien vale la pena visitar: 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites, 25 Beautifully Dark Website […]
51 Anand Kumar Apr 29, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Cool Web
52 dongven 东文设计 » Blog Archive » 25个美丽多彩的国外网站设计 May 5, 2008 at 2:37 am
[…] 文章来源：http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/galleries/colorful-websites/ 摘要翻译：envong 蓝色 在网站设计中，最常见，最具挑战性的便是如何建立一个有效的色彩搭配。下面展示的25个网站，我认为在这方面做了很多，用丰富的色彩创建了一个富有吸引力的外观。 […]
53 upload and share May 12, 2008 at 8:04 pm
very very nice sites and designs,I will try to make lol.thx for topic:)
54 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites - Part 2 | Vandelay Website Design May 12, 2008 at 8:11 pm
[…] few months ago I posted a collection of beautifully colorful websites, and I wanted to follow up with 25 more sites that provide excellent inspiration when working with […]
55 Vandelay Design May 12, 2008 at 8:21 pm
A new post has just been published that adds 25 more colorful websites. You can see it here: 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites - Part 2
56 0e2541243749 May 13, 2008 at 2:43 am
0e2541243749…
0e254124374987f05de5…
57 國際水平的Web Design | 亞特蘭提斯 .NET Atlantis May 14, 2008 at 5:12 am
[…] 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites Part 1 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites Part 2 Now More Than Ever: 50 More Excellent Blog Designs The Top 10 Very Best Dark Portfolio Sites! 25 Beautifully Dark Website Designs […]
58 Favorite Fundamental: Blog Posts | Ever-Real Helpful Web 2.0 Graphics Design Advise May 14, 2008 at 7:58 pm
[…] Colorful Websites No comments […]
59 Amardeep Singh May 18, 2008 at 2:08 am
Really cool list of websites. Thanks a lot for sharing.
I am really very impressed with the quality and creativity involved behind these great sites.
They have inspired me to design sites like above.
Cheers !
60 selim May 26, 2008 at 4:39 am
Nice collection,pretty cool designs..
61 Webreview May 28, 2008 at 9:56 am
Good list of colorful and inspiring designs.
thanks
62 aoc gold Jun 28, 2008 at 5:51 am
Nice collection,pretty cool designs..
63 aoc gold Jul 10, 2008 at 12:41 am
gold
64 25+ Inspiring Designs by Land, Sea & Air | Vandelay Website Design Jul 14, 2008 at 8:53 pm
[…] 25 Beautifully Colorful Websites […]
65 muhabbet kuşu Jul 19, 2008 at 3:48 pm
very nice sites thanks