Trusted WordPress tutorials, when you need them most.
Beginner’s Guide to WordPress
WPB Cup
25 Million+
Websites using our plugins
16+
Years of WordPress experience
3000+
WordPress tutorials
by experts

How to Enable Custom Background in WordPress 3.0 Themes

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on WPBeginner. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learn more about Editorial Process.

WordPress 3.0 introduces a new feature called custom backgrounds for WordPress themes. This feature will give the user an ability to add custom backgrounds to their site which will give their blogs/sites a unique touch. Even though this feature is added to the core, it will only be activated if your theme supports it. In this article, we will show you how you can enable Custom Background in WordPress themes for WordPress 3.0.

Note: This article is intermediate level article focused specially for theme designers.

Update: the code used in the video add_custom_background is depracated. Look at the code below in this article.

Video:

Text-tutorial

Simply open your functions.php file and add the following line:

add_theme_support('custom-background');

Then under appearance you should be able to see an option for Custom backgrounds.

Custom Background in WordPress 3.0

The default twenty ten theme for WordPress 3.0 already has this feature enabled in it.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

Get FREE access to our toolkit - a collection of WordPress related products and resources that every professional should have!

Reader Interactions

27 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
    You can get more details about the contest from here.
    Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!

  2. Abhimanyu says

    There seems to be a problem. Just as I select the image file and click upload, it refreshes the page with no result. The ‘color’ thing works. And, I have tried many browsers.

    Any help? Can we do it manually? As in, by some codes?

  3. John says

    What is the default size for wordpress backgrounds? i.e. what size should images be for them to fit properly in the background.

    • Editorial Staff says

      The best image is the one that can be repeated, so you keep the page load time small. WordPress will only show the background image that fits the screen resolution of the user.

      Admin

  4. aleksander says

    Same situation here:
    Fatal error: Call to undefined function add_custom_background() in /mnt/data/www/sinya/aleksander.hu/i.aleksander.hu/wp-content/themes/stylize/functions.php on line 34

    what to do?
    haven’t upgrade yet to 3.0.0

  5. Lane says

    Hey I did what you said but i got this message

    Fatal error: Call to undefined function add_custom_background() in /home/patina/ilovepatina.com/wordpress/wp-content/themes/default/functions.php on line 2

    And now it won’t let me sign in at all to even go into the admin.
    Any advice? I need help bad…

  6. Ed says

    Hey… that was cool. After my first comment, I am taken to a different page with more information about your website and commenting… how did you make that happen? Plugin?
    I’d love to know more.

  7. Ed says

    It is important to note that for this to work within a theme, you must add the wp_head() after your theme stylesheet link in the theme header. This new function adds blocks with the added color/background from within the wp_head() section, and if you call your stylesheet after the wp_head(), your stylesheet will override the custom background function.

    I am torn, as I tend to call my stylesheet after the wp_head() call so that I can override styles added by plugins. May need to make a separate stylesheet for plugin overrides to be called later in the header.

  8. Pete says

    So how does WordPress know how to change the background? What if my current theme already has some background css attributes? Which one over-rides the other?

    • Editorial Staff says

      Your current theme would have to be made compatible with this feature. This is article is for theme designers who are creating themes and want to get WordPress 3.0 features in it. You would have to add the function for body class. If WordPress see that someone has updated the Custom Backgrounds page in the admin panel, then it will be prioritized. Otherwise the default background that you specify in the css file prevails.

      Admin

    • Editorial Staff says

      With the default function NO. For that you are better of using a plugin (several exist). The way this function works is it adds styling to the overall body class, so it will be the same for the entire site.

      Admin

Leave a Reply to Michael Cancel reply

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.

WPBeginner Assistant
How can I help you?

By chatting, you consent to this chat being stored according to our privacy policy and your email will be added to receive weekly WordPress tutorials from WPBeginner.