color
The color
CSS property sets the foreground color value of an element's text and text decorations, and sets the currentcolor
value. currentcolor
may be used as an indirect value on other properties and is the default for other color properties, such as border-color
.
Try it
For an overview of using color in HTML, see Applying color to HTML elements using CSS.
Syntax
css
/* Keyword values */
color: currentcolor;
/* <named-color> values */
color: red;
color: orange;
color: tan;
color: rebeccapurple;
/* <hex-color> values */
color: #090;
color: #009900;
color: #090a;
color: #009900aa;
/* <rgb()> values */
color: rgb(34, 12, 64, 0.6);
color: rgba(34, 12, 64, 0.6);
color: rgb(34 12 64 / 0.6);
color: rgba(34 12 64 / 0.3);
color: rgb(34 12 64 / 60%);
color: rgba(34.6 12 64 / 30%);
/* <hsl()> values */
color: hsl(30, 100%, 50%, 0.6);
color: hsla(30, 100%, 50%, 0.6);
color: hsl(30 100% 50% / 0.6);
color: hsla(30 100% 50% / 0.6);
color: hsl(30 100% 50% / 60%);
color: hsla(30.2 100% 50% / 60%);
/* <hwb()> values */
color: hwb(90 10% 10%);
color: hwb(90 10% 10% / 0.5);
color: hwb(90deg 10% 10%);
color: hwb(1.5708rad 60% 0%);
color: hwb(0.25turn 0% 40% / 50%);
/* Global values */
color: inherit;
color: initial;
color: revert;
color: revert-layer;
color: unset;
The color
property is specified as a single <color>
value.
Note that the value must be a uniform color
. It can't be a <gradient>
, which is actually a type of <image>
.
Values
<color>
-
Sets the color of the textual and decorative parts of the element.
currentcolor
-
Sets the color to the element's
color
property value. However, if set as the value ofcolor
,currentcolor
is treated asinherit
.
Accessibility concerns
It is important to ensure that the contrast ratio between the color of the text and the background the text is placed over is high enough that people experiencing low vision conditions will be able to read the content of the page.
Color contrast ratio is determined by comparing the luminosity of the text and background color values. In order to meet current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), a ratio of 4.5:1 is required for text content and 3:1 for larger text such as headings. Large text is defined as 18.66px and bold or larger, or 24px or larger.
Formal definition
Initial value | canvastext |
---|---|
Applies to | all elements and text. It also applies to ::first-letter and ::first-line . |
Inherited | yes |
Computed value | computed color |
Animation type | by computed value type |
Formal syntax
color =
<color>
Examples
Making text red
The following are all ways to make a paragraph's text red:
css
p {
color: red;
}
p {
color: #f00;
}
p {
color: #ff0000;
}
p {
color: rgb(255, 0, 0);
}
p {
color: rgb(100%, 0%, 0%);
}
p {
color: hsl(0, 100%, 50%);
}
/* 50% translucent */
p {
color: #ff000080;
}
p {
color: rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.5);
}
p {
color: hsla(0, 100%, 50%, 0.5);
}
Specifications
Specification |
---|
CSS Color Module Level 4 # the-color-property |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
- The
<color>
data type - Other color-related properties:
background-color
,border-color
,outline-color
,text-decoration-color
,text-emphasis-color
,text-shadow
,caret-color
,column-rule-color
, andprint-color-adjust
- Applying color to HTML elements using CSS