CSS Color Values

In CSS, we can give a value for a color in many ways. They are

  1. Hexadecimal (with or without transparency)
  2. RGB or RGBA
  3. HSL or HSLA
  4. Cross-browser color names

Hexadecimal Color Values

The format of hexadecimal color value is

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#RRGGBB

where RR, GG, and BB are the red, green, and blue components of the color respectively.

We can also provide an optional transparency as shown in the following.

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#RRGGBBAA

where AA is for transparency.

The range of values for RR, GG, BB, and AA components is [00, FF]. We can provide any value from 00 to FF (including these).

We can also use shortcut format of these color values. The shortcut format is

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#RGB

and with transparency

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#RGBA

The following are some of the examples for valid hexadecimal color values.

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#644         /* #RGB       format    */
#ff07        /* #RGBA      format    */
#ff00aa      /* #RRGGBB    format    */
#ff00aa77    /* #RRGGBBAA  format    */

In the following HTML, we apply background colors for divs, using these hexadecimal color values.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <style>
        div {
            display: inline-block;
            margin:10px;
            width: 100px;
            height: 100px;
        }
        #div1 {
            background: #644;
        }
        #div2 {
            background: #ff07;
        }
        #div3 {
            background: #ff00aa;
        }
        #div4 {
            background: #ff00aa77;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="div1"></div>
    <div id="div2"></div>
    <div id="div3"></div>
    <div id="div4"></div>
</body>
</html>

RGB or RGBA Color Values

The format of RGB color value is

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rgb(red, blue, green)

where red, blue, and green are integers in the range [0, 255] or percentage values in the range [0%, 100%] representing the respective components of the color.

The format of RGBA color value is

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rgba(red, blue, green, alpha)

where alpha specifies the opacity. alpha takes value in the range [0.0, 1.0] where 0.0 is fully transparent, and 1.0 is fully opaque.

The following are some of the examples for valid hexadecimal color values.

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rgb(24, 142, 255)
rgb(24, 142, 255, 0.5)

In the following HTML, we apply background colors for divs, using these RBG or RGBA color values.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <style>
        div {
            display: inline-block;
            margin:10px;
            width: 100px;
            height: 100px;
        }
        #div1 {
            background: rgb(24, 142, 255);
        }
        #div2 {
            background: rgb(24, 142, 255, 0.5);
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="div1"></div>
    <div id="div2"></div>
</body>
</html>

HSL or HSLA Color Values

The format of HSL color value is

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hsl(hue, saturation, lightness)

where

  • hue is degree on the color wheel. The value of hue ranges from 0 to 360, where 0 indicates red, 120 indicates green and 240 indicates blue.
  • saturation is the percentage of colorfulness. The value of saturation ranges from 0% to 100%, where 0% means no color and may result in a shade of gray, and 100% means full color.
  • lightness is the percentage of light in the color. The value of saturation ranges from 0% to 100%, where 0% means black, and 100% means white.

The format of HSLA color value is

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hsla(hue, saturation, lightness, alpha)

where alpha specifies the opacity. alpha takes value in the range of [0.0, 1.0] where 0.0 is fully transparent, and 1.0 is fully opaque.

The following are some of the examples for valid hexadecimal color values.

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hsl(24, 42%, 50%)
hsla(24, 42%, 50%, 0.6)

In the following HTML, we apply background colors for divs, using these HSL or HSA color values.

index.html

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <style>
        div {
            display: inline-block;
            margin:10px;
            width: 100px;
            height: 100px;
        }
        #div1 {
            background: hsl(140, 42%, 50%);
        }
        #div2 {
            background: hsla(140, 42%, 50%, 0.6);
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <div id="div1"></div>
    <div id="div2"></div>
</body>
</html>

Cross-browser Color Names

HTML and CSS color specification has a list of 140+ predefined colors, and all of the popular browsers implement these colors.

Color NameHex Value
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
darkgrey#A9A9A9
darkkhaki#BDB76B
darkmagenta#8B008B
darkolivegreen#556B2F
darkorange#FF8C00
darkorchid#9932CC
darkred#8B0000
darksalmon#E9967A
darkseagreen#8FBC8F
darkslateblue#483D8B
darkslategray#2F4F4F
darkslategrey#2F4F4F
darkturquoise#00CED1
darkviolet#9400D3
deeppink#FF1493
deepskyblue#00BFFF
dimgray#696969
dimgrey#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
grey#808080
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
lightgray#D3D3D3
lightgreen#90EE90
lightgrey#D3D3D3
lightpink#FFB6C1
lightsalmon#FFA07A
lightseagreen#20B2AA
lightskyblue#87CEFA
lightslategray#778899
lightslategrey#778899
lightsteelblue#B0C4DE
lightyellow#FFFFE0
lime#00FF00
limegreen#32CD32
linen#FAF0E6
magenta#FF00FF
maroon#800000
mediumaquamarine#66CDAA
mediumblue#0000CD
mediumorchid#BA55D3
mediumpurple#9370DB
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#DB7093
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
slategrey#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