Backgrounds

Control background color, image, position, and repeat.

Syntaxbackground: color image repeat position / size;

Background properties let you decorate an element:

  • background-color — a solid fill.
  • background-image — an image or gradient.
  • background-repeat — repeat, no-repeat, repeat-x/y.
  • background-position and background-size — placement and scale.

The background shorthand can set them all in one declaration.

Example

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When to use it

  • A developer sets background-image with background-size: cover on a hero section so the photo fills the full container without stretching.
  • A designer uses background-position: center to ensure a product image always shows the subject regardless of container size.
  • A developer applies background-repeat: no-repeat with a small icon image to add a decorative watermark in the corner of a card.

More examples

Background color and image

Sets a cover image with a color fallback for when the image hasn't loaded, a common hero-section pattern.

Example · css
.hero {
  background-color: #eef3ff;        /* fallback */
  background-image: url('hero.jpg');
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-size: cover;
  background-position: center;
}

Background shorthand property

Uses the background shorthand to set image, repeat, position, size, and color in one declaration.

Example · css
.banner {
  background: url('pattern.png') repeat top left / 200px 200px #1a1a2e;
}

Multiple background layers

Layers a semi-transparent gradient over a photo using multiple background-image values, improving text readability.

Example · css
.card {
  background-image:
    linear-gradient(rgba(0,0,0,0.4), rgba(0,0,0,0.4)),
    url('card-photo.jpg');
  background-size: cover;
  background-position: center;
  color: #fff;
}

Discussion

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Backgrounds — CSS | SoundsCode