Hexadecimal Color Codes

NOTE:The original Web Safe color concept was intended for those with 16 bit displays, limited to only 256 colors. While there are still a few users out there in that category they represent fewer than 2% of the total clients. (Mostly schools from which many companies do not or should not solicit nor encourage traffic.) Use of almost any color (matters of taste aside) is now permitted. For 100% certainty, however, Websafe colors always work.

When you're adding a color to your Web page with HTML or CSS you can often just use the name of the color (White, Red, Yellow, etc.) Usually, however, you'll need to use what's called the Hexadecimal (Hex) Color Code.

Hex 00 = Decimal Zero and Hex FF = Decimal 255
Confused ? -- Don't Be !

See Our Brief Introduction to Hexadecimal Numbers

You can specify colors in values from 0 (None) to 255 (Fully Saturated) Pure Color.

The codes are called a TRIPLET, or group of THREE Hex Numbers. The first tells the browser how much RED, the Second, how much GREEN and the Third, how much BLUE

#RRGGBB

255 (FF in Hex) is "All the Color You Can Get"

Therefore, Pure Red is #FF0000 and Pure Blue is #0000FF

Older Web browsers can only directly display 216 colors.
These will all have Hex Values of either 00, 33, 66, 99, CC or FF.

These older browsers and systems render colors using a process called "Dithering." Dithering is when a web browser ATTEMPTS to match a color not in its pallette by 'Mixing' other colors. The result can appear "Speckled" and when used in a GIF file, dithering can greatly increase the file size. It is therefore recommended that you stick with the native browser pallette displayed in the table below.