VIsuals - Don't overdo the background! Part 5

If a website is going to have a photograph as its background - not a part or a section of a website, I mean the entire website - make sure it is very large. If it can be 1400 pixels wide and about 1200 pixels high, then that's a great start.

The reason that a background image for an entire website should be that large is that if a visitor stretches their browser window wider than the background picture, then it will usually repeat itself - and it's not pretty. It will take visitors' attention away from the message.

Ugly gets attention (something to remember) and that's not where ugly is wanted on a website.

Will this slow down a site? Probably. So a decision needs to be made whether or not that picture is important enough to the overall message of the website to be included. There are ways to optimize the picture to reduce the amount of delay, but it still has to be considered. Presentation is always important, but it's more important for some websites than for others.