Color Values
CSS colors can be defined as a hexadecimal notation for the combination of Red, Green, and Blue color values (RGB).
The lowest value that can be given to one light source is 0 (hex #00) and the highest value is 255 (hex #FF).
The table below shows the result of combining Red, Green, and Blue light sources:
| Color | Color HEX | Color RGB |
| #000000 | rgb(0,0,0) | |
| #FF0000 | rgb(255,0,0) | |
| #00FF00 | rgb(0,255,0) | |
| #FFFF00 | rgb(255,255,0) | |
| #00FFFF | rgb(0,255,255) | |
| #FF00FF | rgb(255,0,255) | |
| #C0C0C0 | rgb(192,192,192) | |
| #FFFFFF | rgb(255,255,255) |
W3C Standard Color Names
W3C has listed 16 color names that will validate with a CSS validator.
The color names are: aqua, black, blue, fuchsia, gray, green, lime, maroon, navy, olive, purple, red, silver, teal, white, and yellow.
Cross-browser Color Names
A collection of nearly 150 color names are supported by all major browsers.
Cross-browser Color Values
Some years ago, when most computers only supported 256 different colors, a list of 216 Web Safe Colors was suggested as a Web standard. The reason for this was that the Microsoft and Mac operating system used 40 different “reserved” fixed system colors (about 20 each).
We are not sure how important this is now, since most computers today have the ability to display millions of different colors, but the choice is left to you.
The 216 cross-browser color palette was created to ensure that all computers would display the colors correctly when running a 256 color palette:
| 000000 | 000033 | 000066 | 000099 | 0000CC | 0000FF |
| 003300 | 003333 | 003366 | 003399 | 0033CC | 0033FF |
| 006600 | 006633 | 006666 | 006699 | 0066CC | 0066FF |
| 009900 | 009933 | 009966 | 009999 | 0099CC | 0099FF |
| 00CC00 | 00CC33 | 00CC66 | 00CC99 | 00CCCC | 00CCFF |
| 00FF00 | 00FF33 | 00FF66 | 00FF99 | 00FFCC | 00FFFF |
| 330000 | 330033 | 330066 | 330099 | 3300CC | 3300FF |
| 333300 | 333333 | 333366 | 333399 | 3333CC | 3333FF |
| 336600 | 336633 | 336666 | 336699 | 3366CC | 3366FF |
| 339900 | 339933 | 339966 | 339999 | 3399CC | 3399FF |
| 33CC00 | 33CC33 | 33CC66 | 33CC99 | 33CCCC | 33CCFF |
| 33FF00 | 33FF33 | 33FF66 | 33FF99 | 33FFCC | 33FFFF |
| 660000 | 660033 | 660066 | 660099 | 6600CC | 6600FF |
| 663300 | 663333 | 663366 | 663399 | 6633CC | 6633FF |
| 666600 | 666633 | 666666 | 666699 | 6666CC | 6666FF |
| 669900 | 669933 | 669966 | 669999 | 6699CC | 6699FF |
| 66CC00 | 66CC33 | 66CC66 | 66CC99 | 66CCCC | 66CCFF |
| 66FF00 | 66FF33 | 66FF66 | 66FF99 | 66FFCC | 66FFFF |
| 990000 | 990033 | 990066 | 990099 | 9900CC | 9900FF |
| 993300 | 993333 | 993366 | 993399 | 9933CC | 9933FF |
| 996600 | 996633 | 996666 | 996699 | 9966CC | 9966FF |
| 999900 | 999933 | 999966 | 999999 | 9999CC | 9999FF |
| 99CC00 | 99CC33 | 99CC66 | 99CC99 | 99CCCC | 99CCFF |
| 99FF00 | 99FF33 | 99FF66 | 99FF99 | 99FFCC | 99FFFF |
| CC0000 | CC0033 | CC0066 | CC0099 | CC00CC | CC00FF |
| CC3300 | CC3333 | CC3366 | CC3399 | CC33CC | CC33FF |
| CC6600 | CC6633 | CC6666 | CC6699 | CC66CC | CC66FF |
| CC9900 | CC9933 | CC9966 | CC9999 | CC99CC | CC99FF |
| CCCC00 | CCCC33 | CCCC66 | CCCC99 | CCCCCC | CCCCFF |
| CCFF00 | CCFF33 | CCFF66 | CCFF99 | CCFFCC | CCFFFF |
| FF0000 | FF0033 | FF0066 | FF0099 | FF00CC | FF00FF |
| FF3300 | FF3333 | FF3366 | FF3399 | FF33CC | FF33FF |
| FF6600 | FF6633 | FF6666 | FF6699 | FF66CC | FF66FF |
| FF9900 | FF9933 | FF9966 | FF9999 | FF99CC | FF99FF |
| FFCC00 | FFCC33 | FFCC66 | FFCC99 | FFCCCC | FFCCFF |
| FFFF00 | FFFF33 | FFFF66 | FFFF99 | FFFFCC | FFFFFF |
Colors are displayed combining RED, GREEN, and BLUE light sources.
Color Values
CSS colors are defined using a hexadecimal notation for the combination of Red, Green, and Blue color values (RGB). The lowest value that can be given to one light source is 0 (hex #00). The highest value is 255 (hex #FF).
16384 Different Colors
Most modern monitors are capable of displaying at least 16384 different colors.
If you look at the color table below, you will see the result of varying the red light from 0 to 255, while keeping the green and blue light at zero.
To see a full list of 16384 different colors based on red light varying from 0 to 255, click on one of the hexadecimal or rgb values below.
Shades of Gray
Gray colors are displayed using an equal amount of power to all of the light sources. To make it easier for you to select the right gray color we have compiled a table of gray shades for you:
| RGB(0,0,0) | #000000 | |
| RGB(8,8,8) | #080808 | |
| RGB(16,16,16) | #101010 | |
| RGB(24,24,24) | #181818 | |
| RGB(32,32,32) | #202020 | |
| RGB(40,40,40) | #282828 | |
| RGB(48,48,48) | #303030 | |
| RGB(56,56,56) | #383838 | |
| RGB(64,64,64) | #404040 | |
| RGB(72,72,72) | #484848 | |
| RGB(80,80,80) | #505050 | |
| RGB(88,88,88) | #585858 | |
| RGB(96,96,96) | #606060 | |
| RGB(104,104,104) | #686868 | |
| RGB(112,112,112) | #707070 | |
| RGB(120,120,120) | #787878 | |
| RGB(128,128,128) | #808080 | |
| RGB(136,136,136) | #888888 | |
| RGB(144,144,144) | #909090 | |
| RGB(152,152,152) | #989898 | |
| RGB(160,160,160) | #A0A0A0 | |
| RGB(168,168,168) | #A8A8A8 | |
| RGB(176,176,176) | #B0B0B0 | |
| RGB(184,184,184) | #B8B8B8 | |
| RGB(192,192,192) | #C0C0C0 | |
| RGB(200,200,200) | #C8C8C8 | |
| RGB(208,208,208) | #D0D0D0 | |
| RGB(216,216,216) | #D8D8D8 | |
| RGB(224,224,224) | #E0E0E0 | |
| RGB(232,232,232) | #E8E8E8 | |
| RGB(240,240,240) | #F0F0F0 | |
| RGB(248,248,248) | #F8F8F8 | |
| RGB(255,255,255) | #FFFFFF |
CSS Color Names
The table below provides a list of the color names that are supported by all major browsers.
Note: If you want your pages to validate with an HTML or a CSS validator, W3C has listed 16 color names that you can use: aqua, black, blue, fuchsia, gray, green, lime, maroon, navy, olive, purple, red, silver, teal, white, and yellow. If you want to use other colors, you must specify their RGB or HEX value.
Click on a color name (or a hex value) to view the color as the background-color along with different text colors:
