This is NORMAL text
This is a LINK
This is a VISITED LINK
This is an ACTIVE LINK
🎨 The 216 "Web-Safe" Palette (1995 Netscape Color Cube)
Click any swatch to load into active target
In 1995, most computer monitors were limited to 256 colors (8-bit color displays).
Netscape Navigator reserved 40 colors for the operating system and designated the remaining 216 colors (combinations of 00, 33, 66, 99, CC, and FF) as the official "Web-Safe" palette. Any color outside these 216 would dither into speckled dots on screen!
📜 How the Web Worked in 1995
Before CSS existed, all page styling was defined directly inside the HTML <body> tag. Every link state and background color had to be hardcoded into raw hex values:
1995 HTML <body> Attribute |
Target Element | HCR 2.04 Default |
|---|---|---|
bgcolor="#C0C0C0" |
Page Canvas Background | Classic Windows Silver (192, 192, 192) |
text="#000000" |
Normal Body Text | Black (0, 0, 0) |
link="#5500EE" |
Hyperlink Text | Netscape Royal Blue (85, 0, 238) |
vlink="#551A8B" |
Visited Hyperlink | Netscape Purple (85, 26, 139) |
alink="#551A8B" |
Active Link (Mouse Clicked) | Purple / Red (85, 26, 139) |
