HTML Colours
All colours that can be displayed on a computer screen are created by combining three primary colours, namely red, green and blue (RGB) in different ratios. The intensity of each colour is specified by a number between 0 and 255, where 0 represents zero intensity and 255 represents full intensity. The colour value is usually represented as three pairs of hexadecimal digits, prefixed with a hash character (#). Each pair of hexadecimal digits is one byte (8 bits), and represents one of the three RGB colours (the ordering is R:G:B). If the intensity of all three colours (R, G and B) is 255 (or FF, expressed as a hexadecimal number), the colour produced is white (#FFFFFF). If all three colours are set to intensity = 0 (00 as a two-digit hex number), the colour produced is black (#000000). Note that for any colour other than black or white, if all three RGB values are equal, the result will be some shade of grey. The total number of colours that can be created using this scheme is 16,581,375 (255³) – the maximum number that can be created using 3 bytes (24 bits). Some basic colours are shown below together with their hexadecimal representation and the decimal values for each of the red, green and blue components.
| Basic RGB Colours |
| |
#000000 |
0,0,0 |
| |
#FF0000 |
255,0,0 |
| |
#00FF00 |
0,255,0 |
| |
#0000FF |
0,0,255 |
| |
#FFFF00 |
255,255,0 |
| |
#00FFFF |
0,255,255 |
| |
#FF00FF |
255,0,255 |
| |
#FFFFFF |
255,255,255 |
Most modern computers have graphics adapter cards and monitors that are capable of displaying 24-bit colour (your operating system may refer to it as 32-bit colour, but only 24 bits are actually required).
Web safe colours
The personal computers of the early 1980s were limited in the number of colours they could display simultaneously, due to the limitations of the graphic adapter cards used. During these early years, most graphic adapter cards could support only 8-bit colour, which limited them to 256 (2^8) colours. For this reason, a list of "Web-safe" colours was devised that essentially defined a 256-colour standard palette which included the 216 standard colours illustrated below. The other 40 places were reserved for fixed system colours. The general idea was that all computers would display the colours in web pages correctly when operating at a colour-depth of 8 bits. This is obviously somewhat irrelevant today, as virtually all modern computers can display millions of colours, even at very high resolutions.
| Web-safe Colours |
| #FFFFFF |
#FFFFCC |
#FFFF99 |
#FFFF66 |
#FFFF33 |
#FFFF00 |
| #FFCCFF |
#FFCCCC |
#FFCC99 |
#FFCC66 |
#FFCC33 |
#FFCC00 |
| #FF99FF |
#FF99CC |
#FF9999 |
#FF9966 |
#FF9933 |
#FF9900 |
| #FF66FF |
#FF66CC |
#FF6699 |
#FF6666 |
#FF6633 |
#FF6600 |
| #FF33FF |
#FF33CC |
#FF3399 |
#FF3366 |
#FF3333 |
#FF3300 |
| #FF00FF |
#FF00CC |
#FF0099 |
#FF0066 |
#FF0033 |
#FF0000 |
|
| #CCFFFF |
#CCFFCC |
#CCFF99 |
#CCFF66 |
#CCFF33 |
#CCFF00 |
| #CCCCFF |
#CCCCCC |
#CCCC99 |
#CCCC66 |
#CCCC33 |
#CCCC00 |
| #CC99FF |
#CC99CC |
#CC9999 |
#CC9966 |
#CC9933 |
#CC9900 |
| #CC66FF |
#CC66CC |
#CC6699 |
#CC6666 |
#CC6633 |
#CC6600 |
| #CC33FF |
#CC33CC |
#CC3399 |
#CC3366 |
#CC3333 |
#CC3300 |
| #CC00FF |
#CC00CC |
#CC0099 |
#CC0066 |
#CC0033 |
#CC0000 |
|
| #99FFFF |
#99FFCC |
#99FF99 |
#99FF66 |
#99FF33 |
#99FF00 |
| #99CCFF |
#99CCCC |
#99CC99 |
#99CC66 |
#99CC33 |
#99CC00 |
| #9999FF |
#9999CC |
#999999 |
#999966 |
#999933 |
#999900 |
| #9966FF |
#9966CC |
#996699 |
#996666 |
#996633 |
#996600 |
| #9933FF |
#9933CC |
#993399 |
#993366 |
#993333 |
#993300 |
| #9900FF |
#9900CC |
#990099 |
#990066 |
#990033 |
#990000 |
|
| #66FFFF |
#66FFCC |
#66FF99 |
#66FF66 |
#66FF33 |
#66FF00 |
| #66CCFF |
#66CCCC |
#66CC99 |
#66CC66 |
#66CC33 |
#66CC00 |
| #6699FF |
#6699CC |
#669999 |
#669966 |
#669933 |
#669900 |
| #6666FF |
#6666CC |
#666699 |
#666666 |
#666633 |
#666600 |
| #6633FF |
#6633CC |
#663399 |
#663366 |
#663333 |
#663300 |
| #6600FF |
#6600CC |
#660099 |
#660066 |
#660033 |
#660000 |
|
| #33FFFF |
#33FFCC |
#33FF99 |
#33FF66 |
#33FF33 |
#33FF00 |
| #33CCFF |
#33CCCC |
#33CC99 |
#33CC66 |
#33CC33 |
#33CC00 |
| #3399FF |
#3399CC |
#339999 |
#339966 |
#339933 |
#339900 |
| #3366FF |
#3366CC |
#336699 |
#336666 |
#336633 |
#336600 |
| #3333FF |
#3333CC |
#333399 |
#333366 |
#333333 |
#333300 |
| #3300FF |
#3300CC |
#330099 |
#330066 |
#330033 |
#330000 |
|
| #00FFFF |
#00FFCC |
#00FF99 |
#00FF66 |
#00FF33 |
#00FF00 |
| #00CCFF |
#00CCCC |
#00CC99 |
#00CC66 |
#00CC33 |
#00CC00 |
| #0099FF |
#0099CC |
#009999 |
#009966 |
#009933 |
#009900 |
| #0066FF |
#0066CC |
#006699 |
#006666 |
#006633 |
#006600 |
| #0033FF |
#0033CC |
#003399 |
#003366 |
#003333 |
#003300 |
| #0000FF |
#0000CC |
#000099 |
#000066 |
#000033 |
#000000 |
Web colour names
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) defines sixteen official colour names for use with HTML and CSS in the HTML 4.01 specification. The colour names defined therein are taken from the Windows VGA palette, and are also referred to in the CSS1 and CSS2 specifications. It is recommended that for colours other than the ones shown below, you should specify the colour’s hex value.
| Official W3C Colour Names |
| |
Black |
#000000 |
| |
Silver |
#C0C0C0 |
| |
Gray |
#808080 |
| |
White |
#FFFFFF |
| |
Maroon |
#800000 |
| |
Red |
#FF0000 |
| |
Purple |
#800080 |
| |
Fuchsia |
#FF00FF |
| |
Green |
#008000 |
| |
Lime |
#00FF00 |
| |
Olive |
#808000 |
| |
Yellow |
#FFFF00 |
| |
Navy |
#000080 |
| |
Blue |
#0000FF |
| |
Teal |
#008080 |
| |
Aqua |
#00FFFF |
Cross-browser colour names
Despite the fact that the W3C have limited the number of officially named colours to sixteen, a collection of nearly 150 colour names are supported by all major browsers. The table below shows the colours by name in alphabetical order together with their hexadecimal representation (use of the hex values is recommended if you wish to ensure that your HTML/XHTML and CSS code will be accepted by a code validator).
| AliceBlue |
#F0F8FF |
| AntiqueWhite |
#FAEBD7 |
| Aqua |
#00FFFF |
| Aquamarine |
#7FFFD4 |
| Azure |
#F0FFFF |
| Beige |
#F5F5DC |
| Bisque |
#FFE4C4 |
| Black |
#000000 |
| BlanchedAlmond |
#FFEBCD |
| Blue |
#0000FF |
| BlueViolet |
#8A2BE2 |
| Brown |
#A52A2A |
| BurlyWood |
#DEB887 |
| CadetBlue |
#5F9EA0 |
| Chartreuse |
#7FFF00 |
| Chocolate |
#D2691E |
| Coral |
#FF7F50 |
| CornflowerBlue |
#6495ED |
| Cornsilk |
#FFF8DC |
| Crimson |
#DC143C |
| Cyan |
#00FFFF |
| DarkBlue |
#00008B |
| DarkCyan |
#008B8B |
| DarkGoldenRod |
#B8860B |
| DarkGray |
#A9A9A9 |
| DarkGreen |
#006400 |
| DarkKhaki |
#BDB76B |
| DarkMagenta |
#8B008B |
| DarkOliveGreen |
#556B2F |
| DarkOrange |
#FF8C00 |
| DarkOrchid |
#9932CC |
| DarkRed |
#8B0000 |
| DarkSalmon |
#E9967A |
| DarkSeaGreen |
#8FBC8F |
| DarkSlateBlue |
#483D8B |
| DarkSlateGray |
#2F4F4F |
| DarkTurquoise |
#00CED1 |
| DarkViolet |
#9400D3 |
| DeepPink |
#FF1493 |
| DeepSkyBlue |
#00BFFF |
| DimGray |
#696969 |
| DodgerBlue |
#1E90FF |
| FireBrick |
#B22222 |
| FloralWhite |
#FFFAF0 |
| ForestGreen |
#228B22 |
| Fuchsia |
#FF00FF |
| Gainsboro |
#DCDCDC |
|
| GhostWhite |
#F8F8FF |
| Gold |
#FFD700 |
| GoldenRod |
#DAA520 |
| Gray |
#808080 |
| Green |
#008000 |
| GreenYellow |
#ADFF2F |
| HoneyDew |
#F0FFF0 |
| HotPink |
#FF69B4 |
| IndianRed |
#CD5C5C |
| Indigo |
#4B0082 |
| Ivory |
#FFFFF0 |
| Khaki |
#F0E68C |
| Lavender |
#E6E6FA |
| LavenderBlush |
#FFF0F5 |
| LawnGreen |
#7CFC00 |
| LemonChiffon |
#FFFACD |
| LightBlue |
#ADD8E6 |
| LightCoral |
#F08080 |
| LightCyan |
#E0FFFF |
| LightGoldenRodYellow |
#FAFAD2 |
| LightGrey |
#D3D3D3 |
| LightGreen |
#90EE90 |
| LightPink |
#FFB6C1 |
| LightSalmon |
#FFA07A |
| LightSeaGreen |
#20B2AA |
| LightSkyBlue |
#87CEFA |
| LightSlateGray |
#778899 |
| LightSteelBlue |
#B0C4DE |
| LightYellow |
#FFFFE0 |
| Lime |
#00FF00 |
| LimeGreen |
#32CD32 |
| Linen |
#FAF0E6 |
| Magenta |
#FF00FF |
| Maroon |
#800000 |
| MediumAquaMarine |
#66CDAA |
| MediumBlue |
#0000CD |
| MediumOrchid |
#BA55D3 |
| MediumPurple |
#9370D8 |
| MediumSeaGreen |
#3CB371 |
| MediumSlateBlue |
#7B68EE |
| MediumSpringGreen |
#00FA9A |
| MediumTurquoise |
#48D1CC |
| MediumVioletRed |
#C71585 |
| MidnightBlue |
#191970 |
| MintCream |
#F5FFFA |
| MistyRose |
#FFE4E1 |
| Moccasin |
#FFE4B5 |
|
| NavajoWhite |
#FFDEAD |
| Navy |
#000080 |
| OldLace |
#FDF5E6 |
| Olive |
#808000 |
| OliveDrab |
#6B8E23 |
| Orange |
#FFA500 |
| OrangeRed |
#FF4500 |
| Orchid |
#DA70D6 |
| PaleGoldenRod |
#EEE8AA |
| PaleGreen |
#98FB98 |
| PaleTurquoise |
#AFEEEE |
| PaleVioletRed |
#D87093 |
| PapayaWhip |
#FFEFD5 |
| PeachPuff |
#FFDAB9 |
| Peru |
#CD853F |
| Pink |
#FFC0CB |
| Plum |
#DDA0DD |
| PowderBlue |
#B0E0E6 |
| Purple |
#800080 |
| Red |
#FF0000 |
| RosyBrown |
#BC8F8F |
| RoyalBlue |
#4169E1 |
| SaddleBrown |
#8B4513 |
| Salmon |
#FA8072 |
| SandyBrown |
#F4A460 |
| SeaGreen |
#2E8B57 |
| SeaShell |
#FFF5EE |
| Sienna |
#A0522D |
| Silver |
#C0C0C0 |
| SkyBlue |
#87CEEB |
| SlateBlue |
#6A5ACD |
| SlateGray |
#708090 |
| Snow |
#FFFAFA |
| SpringGreen |
#00FF7F |
| SteelBlue |
#4682B4 |
| Tan |
#D2B48C |
| Teal |
#008080 |
| Thistle |
#D8BFD8 |
| Tomato |
#FF6347 |
| Turquoise |
#40E0D0 |
| Violet |
#EE82EE |
| Wheat |
#F5DEB3 |
| White |
#FFFFFF |
| WhiteSmoke |
#F5F5F5 |
| Yellow |
#FFFF00 |
| YellowGreen |
#9ACD32 |
| |
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