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Use simple background images Usability Guideline

Description

Use background images sparingly and make sure they are simple, especially behind text.

Help

Background images can make it difficult for users to read foreground text. A single, large, complex background image (including a picture) can substantially slow page download rates.

Applicable standards

Note: The guidelines.usability.gov website has been down since July 2020, although www.usability.gov is still operating and the PDF version of the guidelines is still available.

Change history

  • 6.48 Mar 2023 Fixed false positive.
  • 5.28 Dec 2017 Fixed false positive.
  • 5.22 Jul 2016 Fixed false positive on print media.
  • 4.0 Jun 2010 Fixed false positive.
  • 1.0 Feb 2007 Added.

This page describes a web site issue detected in HTML documents by SortSite Desktop and OnDemand Suite.

Rule ID: UseGov14.1