Backgrounds on websites are similar to breathing. They're a part of our everyday lives, yet we rarely notice them unless something is seriously wrong. Like every breath you take, background image for website is essential to the success and longevity of your website; they improve the performance of every other component.
Your website background image is more than just a pretty picture. It has a significant impact on the overall user experience. It has the potential to become a great storytelling tool that will compel your audience to stay with you. Therefore, choosing a background image for a website is so important, whether it's a basic solid block color, an actual image, or even a video. Here's a guide on the best practices for selecting website backdrops to assist you in making the best decision.
Suggestions for Choosing a Website Background Image
Choosing good website backgrounds is a difficult task. It's an important aspect of your site's overall design, and matching your brand to a specific image or design might be difficult. Having said that, the following guidelines should assist you in selecting a suitable website background image.
1. High Resolution is a Must
The absolute worst error you can make is choosing a low-resolution background. In this case, the background is either grainy and low-resolution or you're stuck with a tiled style that looks like a Win95 wallpaper.
High-resolution images will make your website appear more appealing and professional to any visitors you may meet. While paying for custom photography and design is a great idea if you can afford it, the good news is that there are plenty of high-resolution photographs available online. Many are free, while others are only a few dollars.
2. Complement With the Image of Your Brand
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
One issue that many businesses have is that they like the backdrop or layout of a website and then try to force it on their brand. This isn't always a good idea. It's never a good idea to pick a website background image and then develop your brand around it.
Instead, you should have a thorough understanding of your brand's identity in order to choose a background that fits your requirements.
3. Be Aware of Contrasts
Your website page background images is exactly that – a backdrop. It should not take over your website or your copy. Keep in mind the visual contrast between the foreground and background. Something needs to be changed if your headers and copy are blending together.
The copy on your website should jump off the page. That's why, when choosing a background, it's always a good idea to consider typography and color scheme. If you can't get it to work, try another option.
4. Priority is Given to Accessibility
When picking a website background image, the first thing to consider is how it will affect the reading of the article. You'll want to make sure the text is readable and that the contrast ratio between the text and the background is appropriate.
If you're not sure about the above accessibility concerns but still want to use an image, there are a few things you can do to make it work. To assist make information more readable, you can utilize picture editing tools or even CSS to modify things like opacity and contrast or apply layer masks. It's also crucial to select the appropriate typeface and font size for the material.
5. Subtle and Seamless Textures Should be Used
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
Textures can add a touch of class to your website's overall look and feel. Look for textures that are seamless, meaning they may repeat a pattern across the screen to give the impression of one vast image, whether they are utilized as a page background or a specific content area. While a full-sized textured website background image can sometimes be used, more detailed ones don't always transition well across multiple screen sizes. Furthermore, photos with big file sizes can slow down page load times.
Unless you're trying for a more brutalist appearance, subtlety is also a desirable characteristic in a texture. The goal is to avoid overwhelming consumers with large patterns. Look for images with softer lines and colors that will stand out against the material.
6. Consider Using a Variety of Screens and Devices
Depending on the screen size, the visible area of the background can alter considerably. This can be very noticeable in photographs. What looks great on a widescreen monitor may appear terrible on a smartphone. Important elements of an image can be cut out, resulting in a loss of context.
Part of the issue here is photo selection, and part of it is coding. First, browse for photos that meet the parent container's specified aspect ratio (landscape, portrait, square). They're more likely to fit on smaller displays nicely.
7. Real Individuals Should be Featured
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
Choosing a website background image with people in it is a terrific method to potentially increase your website's conversion rate. If at all possible, avoid using stock photos and instead use genuine people. You don't want your image to end up on hundreds of other websites, which could happen if you use a stock photo.
On their webpage, Warby Parker not only features two people, but they also show their consumers how their spectacles will look on real people, rather than just showcasing them as stand-alone objects.
8. Optimize the Images
It's well worth your time to optimize each and every image you upload, whether you have a blog, an online business, or just a standard website that you want to improve with high-quality photographs.
To begin, make sure the photographs are in good shape like we described earlier. Then, by ensuring that the image file is named correctly, you can ensure that they are easily indexed by search engines.
Have you ever saved an image with the names "Photo1.jpg" or "Screen Shot 2019-03-18 at 4.13.42 pm?" When it comes to your website background image, this is a big no-no.
Be consistent with your name and avoid using punctuation or spaces. It's also preferable to use hyphens instead of an underscore in the name.
9. Select the Appropriate Image File Format
Are you unsure which type of image file to use? Let's find out more about them.
- JPGs: These files are ideal for images since they can handle a wide range of colors while maintaining a modest file size. When this image is utilized, you won't have to worry about having a large file, which will speed up the loading time.
- PNGs: This file type is best for graphics, especially when there are vast or flat expanses of color. Most designs, infographics, text-heavy pictures, and logos fall into this category. PNGs can also have a transparent backdrop (which is ideal for logos). If possible, save your PNG to a "24-bit" format for greater quality and a more varied display of colors.
10. Allow the Image to Speak for Itself
A captivating website background image will pique the interest of your website's visitors. Instead of a large number of words on your website, use an image that conveys the message. Even if the writing is enjoyable to read, not all of your clients will devote the time or care to do so.
Add Background Images to Your Strikingly Website
You can choose a picture from the Strikingly library or a stock image from the Strikingly library as your background image. You can add images, movies, or blocks to your backdrop in one of three ways.
To learn how to add background photos to your Strikingly website, follow these steps.
1. Go to your site's editor and open it.
2. Select the Background option. You can use either a video or an image as a background.
Image is taken from Strikingly
1. Click "More" to see our image library.
2. Click "Upload Image" to add your own background image. Please note that we only accept the following file types: gif, jpeg, png, BMP, and ico.
Image is taken from Strikingly
Guidelines for Choosing the Background Images
Strikingly's website background image is made to accommodate a variety of screen sizes, from monitor to tablet to phone. We recommend a size of 1600 pixels wide by 900 pixels height for your backdrop to appear great on all screens. With caution, include non-background photographs of people, brands, and other information! To see how things will look, use our "preview" feature.
You have a few options for sizing and aligning your backdrop.
Stretch/Cover stretches your image to fill the entire screen, both in height and breadth. This is usually the best option because the image will work as a background on any screen size. On the other hand, if your image features content on the sides (particularly the left and right), it may not be viewable on mobile phones.
Contain will show the entire image, ensuring that no part of it is omitted. However, this may result in some white space on some screens.
Centre: The image will be shown in the centre of the section and will not be scaled if you choose the centre. The background, on the other hand, will show white space around the edges of the image is too small. Some parts of the image may be cut off if it is too large, especially on smaller screens.
Tile will center and then repeat an image, which is useful for creating patterns.
Conclusion
With so many interesting technologies affecting site design, it's logical that we don't spend as much attention on website background image. They do, however, play a significant part in storytelling and assisting us in creating a pleasing user interface. Full-page backgrounds help to establish a website's tone, whilst section backgrounds provide our content with some breathing room.
Of course, it all works best when we select photographs that are appropriate for our purposes. Images that improve rather than hinder a user's ability to consume content. However, we must also consider features like size, aspect ratio, and mobile device compatibility. It's important to remember that even in the background, details matter.
