Evolution of Web Color Names: VGA to CSS Color Module Level 4
Named color keywords originated in HTML 3.2 (1997), which codified 16 basic VGA colors derived from IBM display graphics hardware: aqua, black, blue, fuchsia, gray, green, lime, maroon, navy, olive, purple, red, silver, teal, white, and yellow. During the browser wars, Mosaic and Netscape Navigator adopted 140 X11 graphics workstation names. These were codified in CSS2, CSS3, and modern CSS Color Module Level 4 standards.
Engineers frequently ask: Can you use color names in css without hex or code notations?
Yes! Browsers parse every keyword in the vanilla css color names supported by all browsers list natively. In stylesheets or via vanilla css color names supported by all browsers javascript DOM scripting, you can assign keywords directly:
element.style.backgroundColor = 'crimson';
element.style.color = 'whitesmoke';While referencing w3schools color names tables or matching a color in css hex code equivalent, native keyword aliases like cyan (#00FFFF) and aqua, or magenta (#FF00FF) and fuchsia, resolve to identical frame values with zero overhead.