Hexadecimal Colors

Table of Contents

• What is the Hexadecimal Color Code?
• Transparency in Hexadecimal Colors
• Basic Color Table with Transparency
• Hexadecimal Code Usage in CSS

What is the Hexadecimal Color Code?

The hexadecimal color code is a compact and widely used representation to define colors in web pages and other digital environments. It consists of six characters that correspond to the values of the red, green, and blue (RGB) colors, using the hexadecimal numbering system. Colors are represented in the #RRGGBB format, where each pair of characters indicates the intensity of one of the three color components.

For example:

• #FF0000 represents pure red.
• #00FF00 represents pure green.
• #0000FF represents pure blue.

Transparency in Hexadecimal Colors

In addition to opaque colors defined by the #RRGGBB format, there is an extension that allows transparency to be defined using the RGBA hexadecimal format. This format is #RRGGBBAA, where the last two characters (AA) indicate the opacity or transparency level of the color.

• 00 represents fully transparent.
• FF represents fully opaque.

For example:

• #FF000080 defines a red color with 50% transparency.
• #0000FF33 defines a blue color with 20% opacity.

This format is especially useful when you want to define colors with different opacity levels in web elements, improving visual control in overlays and transparency effects.

Basic Color Table with Transparency

Below are some examples of colors in hexadecimal format, both opaque and with different transparency levels:

Hexadecimal Code Usage in CSS

The hexadecimal color code is widely used in CSS to define background, border, and text colors. You can use both the #RRGGBB format for opaque colors and the #RRGGBBAA format to define opacity directly. This is ideal for improving the aesthetics of websites, especially when working with elements that require layers or adjustable transparency.