Where to get website backgrounds

As you browse through the variety of styles laid out below, keep these two main approaches in mind:. A body background is one that encompasses the whole screen. This encompasses images, video, solid colors, etc. A content background , on the other hand, is when the background design does not take up the entire screen, but surrounds other important content like images, influencing the website layout.

As web design trends continue to evolve, so do the background possibilities. There are plenty to choose from, and deciding which is best for your own design is an exciting endeavor. By gradually blending a combination of colors, gradients create an engaging and modern visual experience. One of the added values of gradient design is its versatility—sometimes blending similar shades of the same hue, and alternatively using completely different complementary colors.

Whatever style of gradient you choose, this type of background means the focus of your design is color. You can add unusual hues to create a unique scheme, or make a gradient out of your brand colors to add strategic flavor to your site.

When using this type of website background, you leave little opportunity for visual clutter. A solid colored background will ensure a clean and organized web design, and will likely help users with readability. You can select any color of the rainbow, a classic white background, or opt for a dark website theme by using black.

It gives structure and helps emphasize and separate different website sections. Make sure you take color contrast into consideration too. The wrong contrast can make it difficult to read the content on your website, making it inaccessible to visitors, so be sure to check your contrast ratio. Using graphic elements gives your website a distinctive feel and tells a story by using just visuals.

But make sure the style of using graphic elements is in line with the overall vibe of your website, so you deliver a consistent experience to users.

White website backgrounds are a simple and timeless choice. But full body backgrounds in web design like using a gradient, full image or a solid block of color can create a huge impact when executed correctly.

You want to make sure your users can easily and instantly read what your business is all about. Highlights very thin lines that are made up of different colors to separate sections of your website help to break up solid color blocks and increase legibility. Choosing your colors and their combinations when it comes to web design backgrounds is important as they contribute to how users will read your site.

Learn more about color theory here. The perfect background image needs to look good, but more importantly, it needs to make your content look great. Photography not right for your website?

Why not try using one solid color for your website background. Usually this is a great way to ensure your website is legible as long as the contrast is right.

Just make sure that the color aligns with your brand , industry and the impression you want to give about your business. Do you want your image to remain pinned to the header section, as a hero image , or would you like it to stay fixed as the user scrolls?

Website background videos are great for adding that spark of interactivity. Because website background videos are very weighty files that can slow a website right down, many will definitely need compressing.

However, the only way you can know which size and frame rate works for your website background is through testing and the type of hosting available — is it an onsite server or shared hosting platform? The latter is typically much slower. Nonetheless, when you do need to sacrifice video quality, overlays can work wonders. Limiting the length of your video is another brilliant way to prevent the speed of your website being affected.

Consider looping videos — they make it seem longer while keeping the weight down. Usability should never be sacrificed for the sake of a website background. For this reason, you should always ensure your design is responsive and carries with it a similar experience across all devices. You can always deploy Javascript and CSS to hide videos after mobile breakpoints to avoid them appearing on the mobile website background.

For the Love of Bread is a great example of a black and white-themed video website background. JonsBones, provider of responsibly sourced bones for medical research knows how to responsibly design a website background color gradient. We love the way the warmer colors at the top of the page subtly draw attention to the logo and navigation menu.

The different sections of the screen contrast sharply, with the lighter part of the gradient drawing attention to his witty paraph text. Superlist is a great example of a bold, solid website background color. Opting for the full-bodied background, superlist manage to rest their graphics, text and components nice on the background without these elements being swallowed up.

Bennetts interesting take on the solid website background color shows how the use of thin, two-pixel highlights can be repurposed to draw attention to various text paragraphs and navigation options without them getting lost. FlipaClip made a bold decision to keep their website background strikingly minimalist. As a result, everything from the navigation menu to the CTA stands out and calls the attention of the user.

As the user scrolls, dazzling graphics reveals their product in all its glory. I Love Me Wellness goes for the layered approach to their website background, but not in the conventional way.

The imagery is layered against a yellow content background, while the text, navigation options and CTA rest directly on the background.

And it works because of the contrast. Ava Company have gone for an interesting juxtaposition of a solid background color, whilst layer the header test and imagery, with the last image bleeding down ever so slightly into the rest of the content on the page.

Eduardo del Fraile, being a multidisciplinary designer, has chosen an interesting way of showcasing his products in all their glory as part of the main content on the screen. And it works! Bold colors and appealing patterns help grab attention. Great contrast is provided to the brand with the solid colors behind.

In this sense, the website background is his portfolio. Couro Azul goes for the storytelling approach to their website background. The imagery succinctly, yet impressively, captures their raw leather production business. However, in our opinion, the text, while it matches the color scheme, could have a much better contrast with the video background. WLLX for an all-out, attention-grabbing video background. The video sequences move fast, with large white captions providing a nice contrast to narrate the story.

The Caffeine Post have also opted for the striking video background that draws the user in, yet provides a nice contrasting backdrop to the logo and their main CTA.

The Hiring Chain have gone for a simple, fun introduction to their website. Tag Heuer have a short, looped video with recurring imagery in its footage that helps keep the page dynamic and interesting, without distracting the user too much.

It also contrasts nicely with the text and we appreciate the pause button. Nicely done! Harmony is the name of the game with White Pebble Suites. Their website background image stands in perfect unison with the feel of the website, while also enhancing their soft, pastel color scheme. In this guide, we're going to check out some of the most popular websites that offer backgrounds and images for your next web project.

We're going to take a look at sites that offer free imagery, gradients, SVG illustrations and more so let's get started! Gradients make for fantastic backgrounds, and can add a real splash of visual interest to your site's background. With a huge variety and selection to choose from, UI Gradients allows you to choose from a whole variety of gradients.

From cool blues to fuschia and everything in-between, you're sure to find a gradient that matches your site's unique flair. You can also browse through the library of gradients they have available, instead of cycling over the gradients.

Inixia allows you to generate a whole variety of backgrounds including:. What I love about this site is that the backgrounds can be animated easily, and you can add cool effects to your background as a result. The website's home page actually displays an example of one of their backgrounds, so make sure to check that out if you're looking to see a cool example of one of their particle backgrounds.

To get started, simply visit their site in order to create website backgrounds and click on "Get Started". Then you'll be brought to a variety of templates you can try out, including gradients, triangles, SVG waves, and so forth.

Choose the template you'd like and then you can customize this template to your liking, by changing its background color or gradient. A screenshot of Inixia in action, showcasing a particle background which can also be animated.

If you're looking for breathtaking imagery to add as a background to your website, make sure to peruse Unsplash 's mesmerizing selection of imagery. From soaring mountaintops to cosmic night skies and close-up shots of beautiful flowers, Unsplash's array of imagery spans every category you can think of.

These images are completely free to use, but a link back to the original photographer can help them gain exposure, even though it's not a necessity. There are a variety of ways you can incorporate an image into your website. You can add an Unsplash image and add a cool duotone effect using your company's brand colors, for example.