Most color psychology advice is written from a Western perspective and presents cultural associations as universal truths. They are not. If your website serves an international audience, understanding color meaning across cultures is essential.
Where Meanings Diverge
Red: Danger, urgency, and passion in Western cultures. Luck, prosperity, and celebration in Chinese culture. Purity in India (bridal color). Each audience reads the same red through a completely different lens.
White: Purity, cleanliness, and simplicity in the West. Mourning and death in many East Asian cultures. Using white space liberally on a site targeting Chinese audiences is fine (it is standard in modern Chinese web design), but white floral imagery might carry unintended connotations.
Green: Nature and health in the West. Sacred color in Islam. Jealousy in some South American cultures. The "green for go/success" convention is largely global due to traffic lights, but the emotional associations vary.
Research Over Assumptions
The examples above are generalizations that are useful as starting awareness but dangerous as design rules. Cultures are not monolithic. Modern globalization means many users are comfortable with Western color conventions regardless of their cultural background. The key is research: test with your actual target audience rather than relying on cultural stereotypes.
Practical Guidance
For truly international sites, rely on functional color conventions (red for errors, green for success) that are nearly universal due to global UI patterns. Avoid using color as the primary carrier of emotional or cultural meaning. And when in doubt, ask: "would this color choice confuse or offend someone from a different cultural background?"