Okay, nobody is an exaggeration, but have you seen the stats for hwb()? They show a steep decline, and after working a lot on color in the CSS-Tricks almanac, I’ve just been wondering why that is.

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The hwb() color function in CSS, although designed to be intuitive by controlling whiteness and blackness, has seen declining usage due to common familiarity and more intuitive alternatives like hsl(). Newer color functions such as lab() and oklch() offer broader color ranges and perceptual uniformity, making them preferred options over hwb(). Though hwb() had a steep decline in adoption, it's still maintained for backward compatibility.

Why is Nobody Using the hwb() Color Function?

While hwb() is still supported, most developers prefer hsl(), lab(), or oklch() for better usability and color accuracy.

No PR. Never heard of it till today! Thanks for sharing!

I think adjusting light and then saturation is a bit more intuitive, or less complicated than having to adjust black and white and then the color, since you gotta pay attention to much of one or the other you want. Maybe it’s a thing of having too many knobs that makes it harder?

Yeah, it’s as if oklch() got all the love when CSS Color Module Level 4 was published and hwb() was totally overlooked.

?, I use it quite often when building sites. I find it as of the easiest color functions to use. Exploring colors with it is easy.