Picking a color scheme

Colors on a page are one of the elements that define a site and certainly can affect the tone of the site. For example, using bright pinks on your site conveys one message, while pale blues and greens another message. If your site is part of another existing department or college site, or some type of organizational site, you should check with the webmaster to see if a set color scheme has been set up for pages on that site.

Although Dreamweaver, through the Modify, Page Properties window, allows you to pick colors for the background, text, and links, you may want to pick from existing color schemes set up in Dreamweaver. Select Commands from the menu bar, then Set Color Scheme. This window appears:

Select a background color from the left side and then experiment with colors for text and links shown on the right side. These color "recommendations" come from two graphic experts...Bruce Heavin and Lynda Weinman. When you find a combination you like, click on the Apply button. The appropriate codes are then placed in the BODY part of the current document. Notice that these colors are all web safe colors.

As you use colors in the background or use a graphic image in the background, which will be discussed in Lesson 4, remember to always test how your pages will print on black and white printers and keep in mind colorblind users.