Help:COLOR

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Help:COLOR is a guide on the use of colors in MediaWiki software, which powers websites such as Wikipedia. This page provides information on how to effectively use color to enhance readability, accessibility, and aesthetic appeal of web pages.

Overview

Color can be a powerful tool in web design, used to attract attention, group related items, indicate status, and add visual interest. In MediaWiki, colors are primarily used in CSS and inline styles to style elements like text, backgrounds, and borders.

Syntax

To apply color in MediaWiki, you can use the style attribute within most HTML tags. The color can be specified by name (e.g., "red"), hexadecimal code (e.g., "#FF0000"), RGB (e.g., "rgb(255,0,0)"), or RGBA for colors with transparency (e.g., "rgba(255,0,0,0.5)").

Examples

Text color:

 : <span style="color: blue;">This text is blue.</span>

Background color:

 : <div style="background-color: #00FF00;">This background is green.</div>

Accessibility Considerations

When using color, it is important to ensure that there is sufficient contrast between text and its background to be accessible to users with visual impairments. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) recommend a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

Color Tools

MediaWiki users can utilize various tools to pick colors and ensure they meet accessibility standards:

Color pickers available in graphic design software
Online color contrast checkers

Best Practices

Use color sparingly to avoid visual clutter.
Ensure text remains legible and accessible.
Test color choices in different environments and on various devices.