To create a good website, you need to understand that visuals are one of the most important elements of a website. A unique and attractive design can help people remember your website better. A balanced color scheme can make it more convenient for people to browse your website. A good layout can make people understand your website content better. Simply put, if your website has good visuals, then your website will be more effective in helping your business.
Apart from the elements mentioned above, another important element of your website's visuals is the background image. Okay, maybe you think that the background image is important, but maybe not as important as other elements that have their own technical side. For example, there are many types of website designs that you can try or different types of layouts that you can apply to your website. Of course, each of these elements has its complexity and function. However, the same is also true of the background image.
The function of the background image is to enhance the visuals of your website. However, you should also pay attention not to let your background image interfere with your website visitors because your background image stands out too much. You may have experienced this without realizing it and made you feel uncomfortable and don't understand the content of the websites you visit.
To prevent the same thing from happening to your website, you need the right type of image. You can try to use subtle backgrounds for your website. As the name implies, you can probably guess that this wallpaper doesn't stand out too much. Subtle backgrounds can help you to beautify your website without disturbing your website visitors from reading the information on your website.
To understand more about subtle backgrounds, let's take a look at the definitions, types, and how subtle backgrounds work on a website.
What are Subtle Backgrounds
A subtle background is a background that has a pattern or adds texture or depth to your website pages. You may have come across a website that uses a patterned background, such as a restaurant website that uses a classy wall texture as the background for its website. Subtle backgrounds are perfect for many types of websites because they can provide an aesthetic touch without being too distracting to the content of your website.
Subtle Background Types
One of the advantages of subtle backgrounds is that there are many different types of backgrounds to choose from. You will never run out of options if you want to use subtle backgrounds on your website. Here are the types of subtle backgrounds you can use:
Geometric Pattern
It is one type of subtle pattern that you can use as a background for your website. You must have come across pictures of beautiful geometric patterns before. If you haven't, then you should take a look now because geometric pattern drawings are so beautiful and so pleasing to the eye. This makes geometric patterns a perfect fit for your website background.
Subtle Textures
Unlike the geometric pattern, the subtle texture does not emphasize patterns. Of course, there are subtle textures that have patterns, for example, wood textures or patterns on the walls. What the subtle textures emphasize is the depth created by the texture in the background.
This type also differs from geometric patterns in terms of usage. A geometric pattern can be used on any website with different themes. This is different from a subtle texture. You often have to match the subtle textures to the theme and content of your website.
Polygon Background
Similar to a geometric pattern, a polygon is a subtle pattern background. Apart from accentuating the pattern, Polygon also generally has a good color combination. Due to its colourful and patterned nature, this subtle pattern background you can use not only as the main background of your website but also in various parts of your website.
Where to Find the Best Subtle Backgrounds
If you have design skills, you can create your background patterns by yourself. However, if you don't have design skills, you don't need to worry. The internet is a huge place and can help you find great subtle backgrounds that you can use on your website. Below is a list of websites you can visit to find the right background image.
This website is one of the best websites if you want to find the right subtle backgrounds for your website background. This website provides a vector-based minimalist pattern background. This means you don't have to worry about the resolution of the website background you are downloading. This website also offers plugins that you can use to connect image editing software, such as Photoshop, with their collection of background images.
This website can help you find the right background texture for your website. Their website background collections come from Subtle Pattern, with the added feature of previewing your chosen texture background in various colors in the browser instead of an image editing application. This feature helps you save time instead of re-putting your website background image by showing your website appearance quickly.
This website is an alternative if you want to have more options in finding background textures. This website collection generally comes from people who upload their texture background. This website also has many texture categories, such as grunge, paper, watercolor, and many more, that you can choose from which will make you more comfortable browsing this website. You can use the website background that you find here for free. Because this is a website built by the community, you can also donate to help the continuity of this website.
This website is a project where people can upload the pattern background they created using CSS3. Unlike the websites that have been previously mentioned, you will not get an image to be used as your website background. Instead, you will get CSS3 code which you can copy and paste into your website. This means you need a little knowledge about how to edit the CSS of your website. But, of course, this can be a motivation for you to learn a little about web development.
This website can be the right choice for you if you are looking for a seamless background. You can browse website backgrounds in various categories: abstract, geometric, floral, oriental, and others. The images on this website have their respective licenses. Make sure you have checked the regulations and licenses of the images you download so that you don't get into any trouble in the future.
If you are looking for vector-based illustrations or images, then this website could be the right choice for you. This website offers subtle backgrounds and downloads these backgrounds in the form of an AI file (Adobe Illustrator). You can use the images on this website by adding credits to the creators. If you want to use an image without adding the credit, you need to upgrade your account to a premium account.
Examples of Websites Using a Subtle Background
If you're still not sure how to choose the right subtle backgrounds for your website, you can check out other websites for inspiration. Here are websites that you can use as inspiration:
- When Pandas Strike
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
When Pandas Attack is a music portfolio website for music producers and DJs. This website uses a subtle patterned background on its title page and to separate each section on the website. This website displays electronic genre music with a unique tempo that visitors can listen to. The subtle background pattern of this website further accentuates the genre of the music of the owner.
- Fodi
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
Fodi is a website that sells multi-functional origami products that can be used as placemats or holders for everyday objects, such as smartphones. Fodi uses a textured background on its title page to a clean and serene impression.
- Julianne Feir website
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
Julianne Feir is an artist who offers art classes on her website. She incorporated social theory into her art which also made her an advocate. Her website uses a textured background that has a deep red color. This is to reinforce the impression of her artistic style and the artistic philosophy she uses to empower the oppressed
That is all about subtle backgrounds. You now have even more options when considering what image you want to use as the background for your website.
A subtle background is the right choice of website background if you want your website to appear aesthetically pleasing without disturbing the focus of your website visitors on reading information on your website. The subtle background itself is divided into several types, such as geometric patterns, smooth textures, polygons, and others. Each kind of subtle background also has its function and use case. You must understand the needs and basic design of your website before deciding what subtle background is right for your website.
Image taken from Strikingly product
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If you still need more inspiration for your websites, you can always look to other websites. On Strikingly, you can easily find websites created by other Strikingly users. You can even use their website as your own template. This way, you can build from something that already works for other Strikingly users or you can simply watch and learn how other people build their website.
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