Ooooh, yummy! What a great post to stumble across via a mutual Twitter bud. Thx for step-by-step instructions. :) I'm collecting all kinds of useful Twitter tools/resources & will add your post/link.

(Pssst - your Twitter hyperlink isn't formatted properly at the foot of the post... might want to correct that?)

Question what exactly are you using for your images?

Because I am using photoshop CS3 and when I set my image to the dimensions you specified?

I ask this because photoshop makes the filesize 10mb and twitter only accepts 800k WTF?! Help!

Thanks for the simple and quick examples. I was able to change my Twitter background in no time!

http://twitter.com/indielab

Great post! My twitter page as well is now full of Zen.

htt://twitter.com/adriarichards

Cool! Thanks for this tip...

Sweet! Thanks for the work on this. Worked perfectly with GIMP and my total lack of design skill!

Great tute. If you're looking for some off the rack gear for your twitter, check me out http://www.hipandtwendy.com/

This is great. Thanks!

Wow I just transformed my Twitter backgrounds on several sites, I can't wait to see the difference.

I didn't understand half of your stuff but I took a lot of screenshots and made some killer backgrounds.

Thanks,
Mike

Stumbled it!

Kris, you're a star. I've managed to go from ugly to gorgeous background in seconds!

thanks for the instructions -- worked perfect with Inkscape

Thanks! It still took a little bit of fiddling, but your advice was a great time saver! Using your template a a guide was very helpful!

I've just checked the highest screen resolution for my screen, it is 2048x1536. Perhaps that's the reason why the width is recommended at that value.

Height is relative, most people with lower screen size won't see the rest of the image anyway. It is better to optimize for background file size, in my opinion.

thanks! i got the background up in no time...perfect!

just registered today on twitter ... searching for a good background to use on my twitter profile ...
the guidance u provided is helpful but will search for some readymade ones ... hehe

Great post! I was able to create a pretty good background for my podcast:

www.twitter.com/hopkinsonreport

Hey, thanks for the great info! Last night when I noticed the logo change, I fired up Photoshop and made a template makes it super easy to make sure your design will look good, check it out at http://twitter.com/tinytemplate!

Great post. Thanks for sharing. I found a photoshop twitter background that you can download here: http://www.digitaldesignadvice.com/2009/graphic-design/design-your-own-twitter-theme

Really easy to modify too.

Thanks for the info. I'm new to twitter and designed a background showing some of the books I've designed. Very good feedback from it.

Cool tutorial. I really didn't follow much other than the filesize i think. But here it is:
http://www.twitter.com/ekindesigns

Phew! finally I've done! thnx!!!

This is a quality post. For ready-made patterns for your Twitter page, check out my site: http://www.hipandtwendy.com/

I just joined Twitter and am having one hell of a time trying to get my background image to size the right way. It always seems to re-size it wrong for me...

Don't forget about resolutions.
Resolutions to design for:
1024 x 764 (#1 used right now)
1280 x 800 (2nd place)

Yes, I'm a twitter background designer and this drove me crazy explaining to my clients.

-Jen

Great information here. Just posted it to my Twitter followers - http://twitter.com/photoshoptips

Answered my question beautifully about what size I need to make the Twitter background image. Thanks :)

Why don't I have a button for "Use my custom style below??"

Thanks for the great tips. If you get an error when trying to upload your background it might be because your image is too large. Just be sure to keep the file size under 800kb or Twitter won't accept your background. It may take some fiddling around to get the file size down to 800kb when saving your wallpaper for the web.

Here's a great resource for free twitter layouts. http://twitpaper.com

This is a cool place to generate your own twitter backgrounds. http://www.wishafriend.com/twitter/backgrounds/custom/

Great tutorial! Twitter is tricky to get a background made because people with different screen sizes see backgrounds differently. It's important to remember to research on what the average persons screen resolution is to make it work with the general population. Thanks!

Thanks for the neat tips on this, was struggling a bit here to get this going.

How do I change the sidebar colors, border colors, etc? You need to enter codes for colors?

Best choice of the week about Bbws, Mature bbws, Adult bbws and Lesbian bbws http://bbw.goodnanoav.com/

I cant believe how much this helped me. I have been looking for a simple tutorial like this for my wedding background. This makes it so much easier. Thank You!!

Nice post, we do customize twitter skin

Nice post. We used your recommendations to create our first few test backgrounds.

Cheers

I created one for my girlfriend last night. I notice that if you are using your own background image and if you unchecked the �gtile�h option, the image will not repeat . You will need to do some editing with your image so that if the image tile (repeat) , it wouldn�ft be ugly than try this�c. make sure your image width is 1680 pixel. So at least if you are using 22�� monitor, you still get it blend beautifully.

Here is the link.. http://twitter.com/yithua

tks for the effort you put in here I appreciate it!

A simple tip when designing a background the main twitter console is 695px wide which is always centred in your monitor screen make your design at least 1600x1200 and leave a minimum margin of 125px on the left hand side for your main design feature.
check my url above as an example

Great information - shall implement a new scheme soon - thank you

I tend to go with the following and it works for me:

width: 1255px
height: 555px
Left graphic width: 245px
Right graphic width: 250px

I cant get it below 1.5 if I set it up in CoralDraw12

Why does twitter stick the twitter background in "top left" instead of "center". Every screen size shows the twitter body in a different position, centered relative to the screen while the graphics stays on the left and so it different on each screen.

OR, is there a way of manipulating the location???

good post!!!!!!!!!!!

interesting and l will try to create my own now see how it goes

Okay, then just upload it to for rotation, forget Twitter settings thing :)

I ave an image i made in Photoshop CS4. its saved as a jpeg. and i used the dimensions you said (2048px x 1707px) but when i upload it, the picture is waywayway too big for the screen adn i can only see the top left hand corner, because the rest is cut off :@. any suggestions?

Awesome post. I love the quick, to the point information you provide. Very helpful. Also, I created a free PSD template for creating a Twitter background that would go great with this post. http://www.38pages.com/blog/post/twitter-background-template

curious here.... what ppi should i be using. i would assume it would be good to work with something aroung 100 (most screens are 72, my mac is 115... seems a good average.)