: I would say design it first without much thought to color (just use browser defaults for link colors and such). The trick is to get a page up with a good representation of the layout coded

@Welton168

I would say design it first without much thought to color (just use browser defaults for link colors and such).

The trick is to get a page up with a good representation of the layout coded in such a way that it's easy to try different color schemes. Then you want to have an understanding of color technology (color models, RBG, HVL and HSL) as well as the basics of color theory and usability issues (readable contrast, discernible links, etc.).

With some grounding in those 3 areas, just try different themes and see how they look applied to your design. You can start with someone else's theme (from colourlovers.com or a scheme design program) or your own. The important thing is to be able to tweak it (using knowledge of color models) and try different things. On top of understanding the issues outlined here and in other answers, it just takes practice.

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