| CSS Background CSS background properties are used to define the background effects of an element. CSS properties used for background effects: - background-color
- background-image
- background-repeat
- background-attachment
- background-position
Background Color The background-color property specifies the background color of an element. The background color of a page is defined in the body selector: The background color can be specified by: - name - a color name, like "red"
- RGB - an RGB value, like "rgb(255,0,0)"
- Hex - a hex value, like "#ff0000"
In the example below, the h1, p, and div elements have different background colors: Example h1 {background-color:#6495ed} p {background-color:#e0ffff} div {background-color:#b0c4de} | Try it yourself » | Background Image The background-image property specifies an image to use as the background of an element. By default, the image is repeated so it covers the entire element. The background image for a page can be set like this: Below is an example of a bad combination of text and background image. The text is almost not readable: Background Image - Repeat Horizontally or Vertically By default, the background-image property repeats an image both horizontally and vertically. Some images should be repeated only horizontally or vertically, or they will look strange, like this: If the image is repeated only horizontally (repeat-x), the background will look better: Example body { background-image:url('gradient2.png'); background-repeat:repeat-x; } | Try it yourself » | Background Image - Set position and no-repeat When using a background image, use an image that does not disturb the text. Showing the image only once is specified by the background-repeat property: Example body { background-image:url('img_tree.png'); background-repeat:no-repeat; } | Try it yourself » | In the example above, the background image is shown in the same place as the text. We want to change the position of the image, so that it does not disturb the text too much. The position of the image is specified by the background-position property: Example body { background-image:url('img_tree.png'); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:top right; } | Try it yourself » | Background - Shorthand property As you can see from the examples above, there are many properties to consider when dealing with backgrounds. To shorten the code, it is also possible to specify all the properties in one single property. This is called a shorthand property. The shorthand property for background is simply "background": Example body {background:#ffffff url('img_tree.png') no-repeat top right} | Try it yourself » | When using the shorthand property the order of the property values are: - background-color
- background-image
- background-repeat
- background-attachment
- background-position
It does not matter if one of the property values are missing, as long as the ones that are present are in this order. This example uses more advanced CSS. Take a look: Advanced example  | More Examples | How to set a fixed background image This example demonstrates how to set a fixed background image. The image will not scroll with the rest of the page. All CSS Background Properties The number in the "CSS" column indicates in which CSS version the property is defined (CSS1 or CSS2). Property | Description | Values | CSS | background | Sets all the background properties in one declaration | background-color background-image background-repeat background-attachment background-position inherit | 1 | background-attachment | Sets whether a background image is fixed or scrolls with the rest of the page | scroll fixed inherit | 1 | background-color | Sets the background color of an element | color-rgb color-hex color-name transparent inherit | 1 | background-image | Sets the background image for an element | url(URL) none inherit | 1 | background-position | Sets the starting position of a background image | top left top center top right center left center center center right bottom left bottom center bottom right x% y% xpos ypos inherit | 1 | background-repeat | Sets if/how a background image will be repeated | repeat repeat-x repeat-y no-repeat inherit | 1 | Start Creating a stunning, Flash website. It's easy and free! Wix.com offers you a simple, powerful, drag & drop editing platform to create stunning Flash websites, layouts, and more. With added e-commerce features such as search engine visibility and professional tools, Wix is the ultimate solution for creating a spectacular site. |