In HTML, you can use color codes to set the background color of elements on a web page. Colors can be specified using predefined color names, RGB values, HEX codes, HSL values, and more.
HTML Color Codes Overview
There are a few main ways to specify colors in HTML:
- Color names – There are 140 predefined color names like “red”, “blue”, “yellow” that can be used.
- RGB values – Colors can be defined using RGB (red, green, blue) values from 0-255. For example “rgb(255, 0, 0)” is red.
- HEX codes – HEX codes are 6-digit combinations of letters and numbers prefixed with “#”. For example “#FF0000” is red.
- HSL values – HSL stands for hue, saturation and lightness. Colors are defined by specifying values for each. For example “hsl(0, 100%, 50%)” is red.
- RGBA values – RGBA is an extension of RGB that includes alpha channel transparency. “rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.5)” is semi-transparent red.
These color formats can be used anywhere a color value is expected in HTML/CSS. This includes in inline styles, CSS files, etc.
Setting Background Color in HTML
To set the background color on an HTML element, you use the bgcolor attribute or the CSS background-color property.
Here is an example setting the background color using bgcolor:
“`html
“`
And using the CSS background-color property:
“`html
“`
The CSS background-color property is generally preferred over the bgcolor attribute since it separates content from presentation.
You can use any valid HTML color format when setting the background color including color names, RGB/HEX values, HSL, etc.
HTML Color Name Reference
Here is a reference of all 140 HTML color names that can be used to select background colors:
| 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 |
| DarkGrey | #A9A9A9 |
| DarkGreen | #006400 |
| 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 |
| Grey | #808080 |
| Green | #008000 |
| GreenYellow | #ADFF2F |
| 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 |
| LightGrey | #D3D3D3 |
| LightGreen | #90EE90 |
| 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 | #9370D8 |
| 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 | #D87093 |
| PapayaWhip | #FFEFD5 |
| PeachPuff | #FFDAB9 |
| Peru | #CD853F |
| Pink | #FFC0CB |
| Plum | #DDA0DD |
| PowderBlue | #B0E0E6 |
| Purple | #800080 |
| RebeccaPurple | #663399 |
| 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 |
So as you can see there are 140 predefined color names you can use to set background colors in HTML. Popular ones include red, green, blue, yellow, black, white, gray, purple, and orange.