HTML colors are a mixture of red, green, and blue.

Color value

HTML colors are defined by a hexadecimal notation consisting of red, green, and blue values (RGB).

The minimum value of each color is 0 (hexadecimal: #00), and the maximum value is 255 (hexadecimal: #FF).

This table shows the specific effects of mixing three colors:

Color value

Color Color HEX Color RGB
  #000000 rgb(0,0,0)
  #FF0000 rgb(255,0,0)
  #00FF00 rgb(0,255,0)
  #0000FF rgb(0,0,255)
  #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)

Try it yourself»

16 million different colors

The combination of the three colors red, green, and blue ranges from 0 to 255, for a total of 16 million different colors (256 x 256 x 256).

In the color table below you can see different results. Red goes from 0 to 255, while Green and Blue are set to 0. As the value of Red changes, different values show different colors.

Red Light Color HEX Color RGB
  #000000  rgb(0,0,0)
  #080000 rgb(8,0,0)
  #100000 rgb(16,0,0)
  #180000 rgb(24,0,0)
  #200000 rgb(32,0,0)
  #280000 rgb(40,0,0)
  #300000 rgb(48,0,0)
  #380000 rgb(56,0,0)
  #400000 rgb(64,0,0)
  #480000 rgb(72,0,0)
  #500000 rgb(80,0,0)
  #580000 rgb(88,0,0)
  #600000 rgb(96,0,0)
  #680000 rgb(104,0,0)
  #700000 rgb(112,0,0)
  #780000 rgb(120,0,0)
  #800000 rgb(128,0,0)
  #880000 rgb(136,0,0)
  #900000 rgb(144,0,0)
  #980000 rgb(152,0,0)
  #A00000 rgb(160,0,0)
  #A80000 rgb(168,0,0)
  #B00000 rgb(176,0,0)
  #B80000 rgb(184,0,0)
  #C00000 rgb(192,0,0)
  #C80000 rgb(200,0,0)
  #D00000 rgb(208,0,0)
  #D80000 rgb(216,0,0)
  #E00000 rgb(224,0,0)
  #E80000 rgb(232,0,0)
  #F00000 rgb(240,0,0)
  #F80000 rgb(248,0,0)
  #FF0000 rgb(255,0,0)

Gray tones

The following shows a gradient from black to gray

Gray Shades Color HEX Color RGB
  #000000  rgb(0,0,0) 
  #080808  rgb(8,8,8) 
  #101010  rgb(16,16,16) 
  #181818  rgb(24,24,24) 
  #202020  rgb(32,32,32) 
  #282828  rgb(40,40,40) 
  #303030  rgb(48,48,48) 
  #383838  rgb(56,56,56) 
  #404040  rgb(64,64,64) 
  #484848  rgb(72,72,72) 
  #505050  rgb(80,80,80) 
  #585858  rgb(88,88,88) 
  #606060  rgb(96,96,96) 
  #686868  rgb(104,104,104) 
  #707070  rgb(112,112,112) 
  #787878  rgb(120,120,120) 
  #808080  rgb(128,128,128) 
  #888888  rgb(136,136,136) 
  #909090  rgb(144,144,144) 
  #989898  rgb(152,152,152) 
  #A0A0A0  rgb(160,160,160) 
  #A8A8A8  rgb(168,168,168) 
  #B0B0B0  rgb(176,176,176) 
  #B8B8B8  rgb(184,184,184) 
  #C0C0C0  rgb(192,192,192) 
  #C8C8C8  rgb(200,200,200) 
  #D0D0D0  rgb(208,208,208) 
  #D8D8D8  rgb(216,216,216) 
  #E0E0E0  rgb(224,224,224) 
  #E8E8E8  rgb(232,232,232) 
  #F0F0F0  rgb(240,240,240) 
  #F8F8F8  rgb(248,248,248) 
  #FFFFFF  rgb(255,255,255) 

Web-safe colors?

A set of 216 web-safe colors was proposed as a web standard years ago when most computers only supported 256. The reason for this was that Microsoft and Mac operating systems used 40 different reserved, fixed system colors (about 20 each).

We’re not sure how much this makes sense nowadays, as more and more computers are capable of processing millions of colors, but the choice is yours.

Originally, 216 cross-platform web-safe colors were used to ensure that all computers could display all colors correctly when using 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