Fixed Backgrounds: Not just for MySpace & twitter

I know what your thinking, not fixed backgrounds! You mean, like on MySpace? There are some negative connotations that go along with fixed backgrounds but that doesn’t mean that they should be quarantined in MySpace. There is a time and place for everything, I’m gonna tell you when you can AND SHOULD use a fixed background!

A fixed background is a when the background of a web page remains in place as the user scrolls down the page. Fixed backgrounds are often used when the background uses photography or other graphical elements. Fixed backgrounds can be extremely useful for establishing an environment or mood to accompany your users experience on the site. Think of it like a restaurant, the food is the content and the restaurants atmosphere is the background. Even though you may not be directly interacting with the background, it helps set the mood and affects your experience.

So when is it appropriate to use a fixed background? Or to be more specific, when is it appropriate to set a specific tone by using an imagery-heavy background. Often times fixed backgrounds are used on sites where the user type is more specific or niche. For example, The North Face uses a fixed background showing a mountain scene. Since all of their products are somewhat related to mountains, whether it be skiing, hiking, rock climbing etc, using mountains in the background works. It is important that the mood does not clash with potential users. For example, The North Face offers kids clothing but it would exclude users if the background images were targeted towards kids.

Nike also does a great job of using fixed backgrounds to enhance the user experience. As the user navigates to different section of the site such as football, basketball, running, soccer etc, the background images change accordingly. This immediately creates an association and connection within the user, what basketball fan wouldn’t love to see a nicely polished court in the background!

Here are some great examples of sites that use fixed backgrounds. Notice that the products / content is usually geared toward a specific user group.

http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nike/en_US/?
http://www.sony.com/ces/products/
http://www.rocketclub.info/
http://www.arcteryx.com/
http://strawpollnow.com/
http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/index.html
http://ringvemedia.com/