Firefox plans to introduce different palettes if user adoption of the initial colors is high enough. The new shades will likely only be available for a limited time.

Browser customization has become more valuable as people continue to work from home and have fewer ways to express themselves at work, said Mikal Lewis, senior director of Firefox product management at Mozilla.

The limited lifespan of Colorways is a nod to the seasonality seen in fashion collections or in sneaker culture, added Lewis, whose early career spans nearly four years at retailer Nordstrom.

“We’re not really thinking about the perfect color,” Lewis said, but about changing the options that can resonate with users at different times.

Colors are an extension of the Firefox redesign that rolled out in June, which aimed to simplify the browser by removing features that had built up over the years and clogged up the experience. He also urged first-time Firefox users to choose browser themes, among three he designed that don’t have an expiration date.

Apple Inc.

and Microsoft Corp.

have also updated their browsers in recent months, in part aiming to introduce more consistency between their desktop and mobile products.

It’s unclear how much small touches like Colorways can affect competition from browser manufacturers for market share.

Consumers see the browser primarily as a way to do something, not necessarily the same kind of place for customization as a smartphone wallpaper, for example, said Carolina Milanesi, president and senior analyst at Creative Strategies Inc. ., a technology consulting company.

“The browser is a utility for most people, it’s a gateway to somewhere else,” Ms. Milanesi said.

Write to Ann-Marie Alcántara at [email protected]