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How Do I Make an Image Background Without Repeating in HTML?

Published in CSS Background Images 3 mins read

To make an image background without repeating in HTML, you use CSS properties background-repeat and background-image.

The primary method to prevent an image background from repeating is by setting the background-repeat CSS property to no-repeat.

Understanding the Key CSS Properties

Making a background image display once and fill the area often involves a combination of properties. The core ones are:

  • background-repeat: no-repeat;: This is the fundamental property that stops the image from tiling or repeating across the background area.
  • background-image: url('path/to/your/image.jpg');: This property specifies the image you want to use as the background. Replace 'path/to/your/image.jpg' with the actual path to your image file.
  • background-size: cover;: While not strictly required just to not repeat, this is commonly used with no-repeat to ensure the single image covers the entire background area without distortion, scaling the image up or down while maintaining its aspect ratio and potentially cropping parts of it. If you don't use background-size, the image will only appear at its original size.
  • background-position: center;: Often used with background-size: cover;, this helps center the non-repeating image within its container.

Applying the Styles

These CSS rules can be applied to the element you want to have the background, such as the <body> tag for the entire page background, or a specific <div>.

As shown in the provided reference, applying the styles to both html and body is a common practice for full-page backgrounds that adapt to the viewport size:

html, body {
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-size: cover;
  /* Don't forget background-image */
  background-image: url('path/to/your/image.jpg');
}

Here's a breakdown of the reference code and typical additions for a full-page background:

CSS Property Value Description
background-repeat no-repeat Stops the background image from tiling. (From Reference)
background-size cover Scales the image to cover the entire element. (From Reference)
background-image url(...) Specifies the image file to use. (Essential Addition)
html, body Selector Targets both the html and body elements for full coverage. (From Reference)

Practical Example

You can include this CSS directly within <style> tags in your HTML document's <head> section, or preferably, link to an external CSS file.

Example in HTML <head>:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Background Example</title>
<style>
  html, body {
    height: 100%; /* Ensure html and body take full height */
    margin: 0; /* Remove default margin */
    background-image: url('your-background-image.jpg'); /* Set your image */
    background-repeat: no-repeat; /* Prevent tiling */
    background-size: cover; /* Cover the entire area */
    background-position: center; /* Center the image */
  }

  /* Add content styles here */
  .content {
    position: relative; /* To be above the background */
    z-index: 1;
    color: white;
    text-align: center;
    padding: 20px;
  }
</style>
</head>
<body>

<div class="content">
  <h2>Welcome!</h2>
  <p>This page has a non-repeating background image.</p>
</div>

</body>
</html>

By setting background-repeat to no-repeat, you explicitly tell the browser to display the background image only once. Combining this with background-size: cover; and applying it to html, body with zero margin and 100% height ensures a full, non-repeating page background.

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