How to choose a colour palette for your brand and Squarespace website
Choosing a colour palette for your brand can feel surprisingly overwhelming. There are so many beautiful colour combinations and trends out there - and yet, when it comes to applying them to your Squarespace website, suddenly nothing feels quite right.
Your colour palette isn’t just about making your site look nice. It plays a huge role in how people feel when they land on your website, how easily they recognise your brand, and whether they trust you enough to stick around.
In this post, we’re walking you through how to choose a colour palette that works hard for your brand and your Squarespace website.
Why a consistent colour palette matters
A consistent colour palette is one of the easiest ways to make your brand feel intentional and professional - even if you’re a small business or just getting started.
When your website, social media, and marketing materials all use the same core colours, your brand becomes easier to recognise. Over time, those colours start to feel familiar, and familiarity builds trust.
From a practical point of view, a consistent colour palette also:
Makes your website easier to navigate
Helps visitors quickly understand what’s clickable and important
Creates a smoother, more enjoyable user experience
This is something we think about a lot when designing our Squarespace templates. Each template uses a defined colour system (rather than random colours on every page), so you can easily swap in your own palette and still keep everything looking cohesive.
Building trust and memorability through colour
People form opinions about a website very quickly - often in just a few seconds- and your colour palette plays a big role in that first impression.
When colours are used thoughtfully, they help your brand feel trustworthy, professional and help you to connect with your target customer.
On the flip side, using too many colours or inconsistent shades can make a website feel chaotic or unfinished, even if the content itself is great. That’s why memorable brands tend to stick to a small, repeatable set of colours. That doesn’t mean your palette has to be boring, it just needs to be intentional.
Most strong palettes include:
1–2 main brand colours
Supporting secondary colours
Neutral shades for backgrounds and text
Using colour to grab the attention of your ideal customer
Colour is one of the most powerful tools for guiding visitors and capturing the attention of the people you most want to reach. Different colours evoke different feelings and reactions, so the palette you choose should match how you want your ideal customer to feel.
For example, soft muted tones can create a calm and welcoming environment, bold high-contrast colours can communicate confidence and energy, and neutral palettes often feel timeless and modern.
Ask yourself what will make your ideal customer stop, look, and engage with your content. The right combination of colours can highlight important elements such as calls to action, links, and buttons, helping guide visitors naturally through your website.
When selecting colours, make intentional choices rather than picking colours you personally like. This ensures your Squarespace website communicates clearly and resonates with the people you most want to attract.
Accessibility: a non-negotiable part of your colour palette
Accessibility is often overlooked when choosing brand colours, but it’s so important.
Your website needs enough contrast between the text and background colours so that it’s easy to read by everyone. Low contrast colour combinations might look stylish, but in practice it can make your content hard to read, especially for users with visual impairments.
When building your palette, consider:
Dark text on light backgrounds (or vice versa)
Clear contrast for buttons and links
Avoiding colour combinations that rely on colour alone to communicate meaning
We love this easy to use colour contrast checker website - simple paste in your colour codes and you’ll see if there’s enough contrast in your colour palette.
How to start choosing your own colour palette
Once you understand your ideal customer and the feelings you want to convey, it’s time to create your colour palette. We recommend creating a cohesive set of around five colours that work together across your brand and Squarespace website. Include 1–2 main brand colours, supporting secondary colours, and neutral shades for backgrounds and text.
The goal is to create a palette that’s consistent, usable, and adaptable across your branding, in real life and online.
Common colour palette mistakes to avoid
When choosing a colour palette for your Squarespace website, these are some of the most common issues we see:
Using too many colours, which makes the site feel busy and inconsistent
Choosing colours based on trends rather than what suits your brand and audience
Low contrast between text and background, making content hard to read
Changing colours frequently, which can confuse your audience and make it harder for people to recognise or remember your brand
Your colour palette is more than just a set of pretty colours. It’s a key part of how people experience your brand. A consistent palette makes your website feel polished, helps visitors navigate easily, and builds trust from the moment someone lands on your page.
With a well-thought-out colour palette, your Squarespace website can truly reflect your brand personality while keeping the experience clear and enjoyable for your visitors.
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