Question 1

Is my color data sent anywhere?

Accepted Answer

No — conversion between HEX, RGB, and HSL is plain math computed locally, and the color picker is your browser's own native <input type="color"> control. Nothing is sent to a server.

Question 2

Why do HEX and HSL show slightly different values after converting back and forth?

Accepted Answer

HSL is stored as rounded whole-number degrees/percentages, so converting HSL → RGB → HEX and back can shift by 1 unit. That's expected rounding, not a bug.

Question 3

What's the difference between AA and AAA contrast?

Accepted Answer

WCAG 2.1 defines two conformance levels: AA requires a 4.5:1 ratio for normal text (3:1 for large text), AAA requires 7:1 (4.5:1 for large text) — AAA is the stricter, optional level.

Question 4

What counts as "large text" for contrast rules?

Accepted Answer

18pt (24px) regular text, or 14pt (18.66px) bold. Large text gets a lower required ratio because its thicker strokes stay legible at lower contrast.

Question 5

Is the native color picker limited in which colors it can pick?

Accepted Answer

Its gamut and precision depend on your OS and browser, since it's their own picker UI — but you can always type an exact HEX, RGB, or HSL value directly into the text fields regardless of what the picker itself supports.

Color Converter & Contrast Checker

Frequently asked questions