How to Create a Twitter Background

Posted on June 14th, 2009 by Marck

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People have differing opinions about Twitter, but it is one of the most useful and popular microblogging and social networking platforms in the world. Like many personal sites and Internet utilities, you can tweak Twitter’s settings to accommodate your wants and needs. Here are some ways to replace the default background of your Twitter page with a custom image.

Background Tips

With a tool like Adobe Photoshop or COREL Draw, you can create your own customized background out of pictures, text, and other design elements. While you can upload any image to Twitter to act as your background, it’s still best to work with a customized background theme or image that best suits the Twitter page:

Follow Twitter’s template. When you open your Twitter page, the elements of the page are arranged in a certain way. It’s a good idea to print-screen the page, and create a background that will suit the page elements snugly when you upload the background.
Use compliant backgrounds. Twitter accepts GIF, JPG, or PNG files not larger than 800 KB. You may need to tweak with the settings of the saved image file to make sure that the background file will be displayed on any browser.
Avoid animation. Animated GIFs are cool and all, but some people may be distracted or annoyed by the image effects. Try to stick with static images whenever possible.

Uploading the Background

Once you finished designing your own background, you can upload it to your Twitter page:

Make sure your background fits the 800 KB file size limit, and is saved as GIF, JPG, or PNG.
Log in to your Twitter account.
Locate the “Settings” tab on the top menu of your Twitter page.
Click on the “Design” tab.
From the “Design” page, you will see some interesting Twitter backgrounds that are ready for you to use. Click on the “Change Background Image” button if you want to upload your own custom image.
Upload your background image and save all changes.
Refresh your browser if needed. Check to see if your custom background image fits all the elements of the screen.
If you want to, you can also change the design colors of your Twitter page. Change the hexadecimal values to the particular color you want for text and text backgrounds. Refer to an HTML colors table on the Internet to locate the hex value that corresponds to a color you like.
Save all changes and check to see if your Twitter page looks good and loads properly.

A customized Twitter page is a great way to establish your brand or online identity. With these tips, you can use your own custom background to replace the ones that come default with Twitter, and make tweeting a more fun and engaging experience.