Only 17 standard color names are recognized in valid HTML and CSS, although another 140 color names are widely supported by browsers. The remaining colors are represented by a # sign plus 6 characters that make up a hexadecimal code.
Hexadecimal codes are formed from a combination of the primary colors: red, green and blue, or RGB. The first two digits of a hex code represent the amount of red in the color, the second two digits represent the amount of green in the color, and the third two digits represent the amount of blue in the color. The lowest value is 0 (hex 00) and the highest value is 255 (hex FF).
Hexadecimal codes can be complexing unless you study them in detail. There are approximately 16 million different colors that can be created from hexadecimal codes, only about fifteen-thousand of which will display correctly in the average browser. A standard of 256 "web safe" colors were developed years ago, and although many more colors are safe now for general use, the original 256 colors are still common.
The following is a list of the 16 color names that are recognized in valid HTML.
| Color Name | HEX | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Aqua | #00FFFF | |
| Black | #000000 | |
| Blue | #0000FF | |
| Fuchsia | #FF00FF | |
| Gray | #808080 | |
| Green | #008000 | |
| Lime | #00FF00 | |
| Maroon | #800000 | |
| Navy | #000080 | |
| Olive | #808000 | |
| Orange | #FFA500 | |
| Purple | #800080 | |
| Red | #FF0000 | |
| Silver | #C0C0C0 | |
| Teal | #008080 | |
| White | #FFFFFF | |
| Yellow | #FFFF00 |
The following is a list of the 216 colors that were determined to be safe for use on the web (they appeared the same on all monitors). Any hexadecimal code that contains three sets of identical pairs, such as these 216 colors, can be abbreviated to 3 digits (example: #CC0000 = #C00).
| #000000 | #330000 | #660000 | #990000 | #CC0000 | #FF0000 |
| #000033 | #330033 | #660033 | #990033 | #CC0033 | #FF0033 |
| #000066 | #330066 | #660066 | #990066 | #CC0066 | #FF0066 |
| #000099 | #330099 | #660099 | #990099 | #CC0099 | #FF0099 |
| #0000CC | #3300CC | #6600CC | #9900CC | #CC00CC | #FF00CC |
| #0000FF | #3300FF | #6600FF | #9900FF | #CC00FF | #FF00FF |
| #003300 | #333300 | #663300 | #993300 | #CC3300 | #FF3300 |
| #003333 | #333333 | #663333 | #993333 | #CC3333 | #FF3333 |
| #003366 | #333366 | #663366 | #963366 | #CC3366 | #FF3366 |
| #003399 | #333399 | #663399 | #993399 | #CC3399 | #FF3399 |
| #0033CC | #3333CC | #6633CC | #9933CC | #CC33CC | #FF33CC |
| #0033FF | #3333FF | #6633FF | #9933FF | #CC33FF | #FF33FF |
| #006600 | #336600 | #666600 | #996600 | #CC6600 | #FF6600 |
| #006633 | #336633 | #666633 | #996633 | #CC6633 | #FF6633 |
| #006666 | #336666 | #666666 | #996666 | #CC6666 | #FF6666 |
| #006699 | #336699 | #666699 | #996699 | #CC6699 | #FF6699 |
| #0066CC | #3366CC | #6666CC | #9966CC | #CC66CC | #FF66CC |
| #0066FF | #3366FF | #6666FF | #9966FF | #CC66FF | #FF66FF |
| #009900 | #339900 | #669900 | #999900 | #CC9900 | #FF9900 |
| #009933 | #339933 | #669933 | #999933 | #CC9933 | #FF9933 |
| #009966 | #339966 | #669966 | #999966 | #CC9966 | #FF9966 |
| #009999 | #339999 | #669999 | #999999 | #CC9999 | #FF9999 |
| #0099CC | #3399CC | #6699CC | #9999CC | #CC99CC | #FF99CC |
| #0099FF | #3399FF | #6699FF | #9999FF | #CC99FF | #FF99FF |
| #00CC00 | #33CC00 | #66CC00 | #99CC00 | #CCCC00 | #FFCC00 |
| #00CC33 | #33CC33 | #66CC33 | #99CC33 | #CCCC33 | #FFCC33 |
| #00CC66 | #33CC66 | #66CC66 | #99CC66 | #CCCC66 | #FFCC66 |
| #00CC99 | #33CC99 | #66CC99 | #99CC99 | #CCCC99 | #FFCC99 |
| #00CCCC | #33CCCC | #66CCCC | #99CCCC | #CCCCCC | #FFCCCC |
| #00CCFF | #33CCFF | #66CCFF | #99CCFF | #CCCCFF | #FFCCFF |
| #00FF00 | #33FF00 | #66FF00 | #99FF00 | #CCFF00 | #FFFF00 |
| #00FF33 | #33FF33 | #66FF33 | #99FF33 | #CCFF33 | #FFFF33 |
| #00FF66 | #33FF66 | #66FF66 | #99FF66 | #CCFF66 | #FFFF66 |
| #00FF99 | #33FF99 | #66FF99 | #99FF99 | #CCFF99 | #FFFF99 |
| #00FFCC | #33FFCC | #66FFCC | #99FFCC | #CCFFCC | #FFFFCC |
| #00FFFF | #33FFFF | #66FFFF | #99FFFF | #CCFFFF | #FFFFFF |
The following is a list of shades of grey between solid black and solid white.
| HEX | Color |
|---|---|
| #000000 | |
| #080808 | |
| #101010 | |
| #181818 | |
| #202020 | |
| #282828 | |
| #303030 | |
| #383838 | |
| #404040 | |
| #484848 | |
| #505050 | |
| #585858 | |
| #606060 | |
| #686868 | |
| #707070 | |
| #787878 | |
| #808080 | |
| #888888 | |
| #909090 | |
| #989898 | |
| #A0A0A0 | |
| #A8A8A8 | |
| #B0B0B0 | |
| #B8B8B8 | |
| #C0C0C0 | |
| #C8C8C8 | |
| #D0D0D0 | |
| #D8D8D8 | |
| #E0E0E0 | |
| #E8E8E8 | |
| #F0F0F0 | |
| #F8F8F8 | |
| #FFFFFF |