The background-image
CSS property sets one or more background images on an element.
The background images are drawn on stacking context layers on top of each other. The first layer specified is drawn as if it is closest to the user.
The borders of the element are then drawn on top of them, and the background-color
is drawn beneath them. How the images are drawn relative to the box and its borders is defined by the background-clip
and background-origin
CSS properties.
If a specified image cannot be drawn (for example, when the file denoted by the specified URI cannot be loaded), browsers handle it as they would a none
value.
background-color
. If the images cannot be loaded—for instance, when the network is down—the background color will be used as a fallback.Each background image is specified either as the keyword none
or as an <image>
value.
To specify multiple background images, supply multiple values, separated by a comma:
background-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(255,255,0,0.5), rgba(0,0,255,0.5)), url('https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/7693/catfront.png');
none
<image>
<image>
denoting the image to display. There can be several of them, separated by commas, as multiple backgrounds are supported.<bg-image>#where
<bg-image> = none | <image>where
<image> = <url> | <image()> | <image-set()> | <element()> | <cross-fade()> | <gradient>where
<image()> = image( [ [ <image> | <string> ]? , <color>? ]! )
<image-set()> = image-set( <image-set-option># )
<element()> = element( <id-selector> )
<cross-fade()> = cross-fade( <cf-mixing-image> , <cf-final-image>? )
<gradient> = <linear-gradient()> | <repeating-linear-gradient()> | <radial-gradient()> | <repeating-radial-gradient()>where
<color> = <rgb()> | <rgba()> | <hsl()> | <hsla()> | <hex-color> | <named-color> | currentcolor | <deprecated-system-color>
<image-set-option> = [ <image> | <string> ] <resolution>
<id-selector> = <hash-token>
<cf-mixing-image> = <percentage>? && <image>
<cf-final-image> = <image> | <color>
<linear-gradient()> = linear-gradient( [ <angle> | to <side-or-corner> ]? , <color-stop-list> )
<repeating-linear-gradient()> = repeating-linear-gradient( [ <angle> | to <side-or-corner> ]? , <color-stop-list> )
<radial-gradient()> = radial-gradient( [ <ending-shape> || <size> ]? [ at <position> ]? , <color-stop-list> )
<repeating-radial-gradient()> = repeating-radial-gradient( [ <ending-shape> || <size> ]? [ at <position> ]? , <color-stop-list> )where
<rgb()> = rgb( <percentage>{3} [ / <alpha-value> ]? ) | rgb( <number>{3} [ / <alpha-value> ]? ) | rgb( <percentage>#{3} , <alpha-value>? ) | rgb( <number>#{3} , <alpha-value>? )
<rgba()> = rgba( <percentage>{3} [ / <alpha-value> ]? ) | rgba( <number>{3} [ / <alpha-value> ]? ) | rgba( <percentage>#{3} , <alpha-value>? ) | rgba( <number>#{3} , <alpha-value>? )
<hsl()> = hsl( <hue> <percentage> <percentage> [ / <alpha-value> ]? ) | hsl( <hue>, <percentage>, <percentage>, <alpha-value>? )
<hsla()> = hsla( <hue> <percentage> <percentage> [ / <alpha-value> ]? ) | hsla( <hue>, <percentage>, <percentage>, <alpha-value>? )
<side-or-corner> = [ left | right ] || [ top | bottom ]
<color-stop-list> = <color-stop>#{2,}
<ending-shape> = circle | ellipse
<size> = closest-side | farthest-side | closest-corner | farthest-corner | <length> | <length-percentage>{2}
<position> = [ [ left | center | right ] || [ top | center | bottom ] | [ left | center | right | <length-percentage> ] [ top | center | bottom | <length-percentage> ]? | [ [ left | right ] <length-percentage> ] && [ [ top | bottom ] <length-percentage> ] ]where
<alpha-value> = <number> | <percentage>
<hue> = <number> | <angle>
<color-stop> = <color> <length-percentage>?
<length-percentage> = <length> | <percentage>
Note that the star image is partially transparent and is layered over the cat image.
<div> <p class="catsandstars"> This paragraph is full of cats<br />and stars. </p> <p>This paragraph is not.</p> <p class="catsandstars"> Here are more cats for you.<br />Look at them! </p> <p>And no more.</p> </div>
p { font-size: 1.5em; color: #FE7F88; background-image: none; background-color: transparent; } div { background-image: url("https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/6457/mdn_logo_only_color.png"); } .catsandstars { background-image: url("https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/11991/startransparent.gif"), url("https://mdn.mozillademos.org/files/7693/catfront.png"); background-color: transparent; }
Assistive technology cannot parse background images. If the image contains information critical to understanding the page's overall purpose, it is better to describe it semantically in the document.
Specification | Status | Comment |
---|---|---|
CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 3 The definition of 'background-image' in that specification. | Candidate Recommendation | From CSS2 Revision 1, the property has been extended to support multiple backgrounds and any <image> CSS data type. |
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1) The definition of 'background-image' in that specification. | Recommendation | From CSS1, the way images with and without intrinsic dimensions are handled is now described. |
CSS Level 1 The definition of 'background-image' in that specification. | Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Initial value | none |
---|---|
Applies to | all elements. It also applies to ::first-letter and ::first-line . |
Inherited | no |
Media | visual |
Computed value | as specified, but with <url> values made absolute |
Animation type | discrete |
Canonical order | the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar |
Desktop | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari | |
Basic support | 1 | 12 | 1
|
4 | 3.5 | 1 |
Multiple backgrounds | 1 | 12 | 3.6 | 9 | Yes | 1.3 |
Gradients | 1
|
12 | 3.6
|
10 | 11
|
4
|
SVG images | 8 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 9.5 | 5
|
element()
|
No | No | Yes
|
No | No | No |
image-rect()
|
No | No | Yes
|
No | No | No |
Any <image> value |
Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | ? |
Mobile | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Android webview | Chrome for Android | Edge Mobile | Firefox for Android | Opera for Android | iOS Safari | Samsung Internet | |
Basic support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Multiple backgrounds | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Gradients | Yes | Yes
|
Yes | Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes |
SVG images | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 5
|
Yes |
element()
|
No | No | No | Yes
|
No | No | No |
image-rect()
|
No | No | No | Yes
|
No | No | No |
Any <image> value |
Yes | Yes | ? | No | ? | ? | Yes |
<img>
<image>
, <gradient>
linear-gradient()
, radial-gradient()
, repeating-linear-gradient()
, repeating-radial-gradient()
, element()
© 2005–2018 Mozilla Developer Network and individual contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/background-image