Codezwiz >> Forums >> Codezwiz PHP Nuke Help >> Stupid Theme Question

What is the optimal size for graphics, ie, backgrounds for a Nuke theme based on 1024 X 768 and higher?

The dimensions don't really matter, just as long as it's a small file size that will loadly and tile quickly. 100 x 100 to 200 x 200 is usually a good size for a background image.

Kelly

Kelly, what if I want to use a 1024 x 768 or 800 x 600 Image? Is it possible?

Sure it is. This sort of thing is used mostly for fixed background websites, where instead of the backgound tiling to fill up the page, the background stays put and the content scrolls over it.

A couple of things you need to keep in mind are.....

800 x 600 is still the most popular resolution, with 1024 x 768 running a close second. If you use an image that is say 1024x768, people who view your site at 800x600 aren't going to see all of it. People who view your site at higher resolutions, like 1152 or 1280 or above, will see the background image trying to tile, unless you make it a fixed background; then they'll see where the image ends. It could look messy either way.

More and more people have broadband connections now, but there are still alot out there that don't. Images that big are usually going to have a large filesize, unless they're limited to just a few colors. Your background could take a while to load for people using dial up.

It's almost impossible to make your site cover all the bases. You can kill yourself trying to make your site meet every possible scenario, or you can design your site to so that it looks good to the majority of your visitors. That's something you have to decide.

Kelly

Kelly, thanks for dropping me a post about it. I came here to ask, because a lot of you guys/ladies are more than willing to answer questions. Anyway, I guess for nuke, 1 simple Hex color is best then, ultimately?

I have a real nice layout, graphically, but am learning the coding end of it. I will post a pic of the full view of what I have so far. Any tips, ideas or anything, would be greatly appreciated, as well as criticism.

I am trying to come up with some visually "stunning" as well as "different" as the website I am running is for a gaming "squad" called -X- Squad. So, hence the name and the weird way the pic works out.

Ok. Another question would be how to get the Triad Logo fixed as in the Triad Theme. Due to the fact that your advice made me steer away from what I was originally trying to accomplish, I have decided to make a theme, based around my squad's logo. It's original, it is ours.

It wasn't my intention to scare you away from using a large image for your background. I simply wanted to point out some things you'd need to keep in mind when creating your background image.

One way to accomplish what you want to do is to make the logo about 400 x 400. Then center it on a solid background, say 800 x 600, then save that as your background image. Because the majority of the image will be one solid color, the file size won't be so large. Then make the background color of your page the same color as the solid color in your image. That way, if someone is viewing your site at a resolution higher than 800 x 600, it will be hard to tell where the image ended and the background color started.

Kelly

No no..Didn't scare me away, but did make me realize that it looked good, but wasn't practical. Well, at least I think it looked good. I do realize that I should have thought it out a little better. As always, thanks for the advice. Greatly appreciated.