How to Make a Custom Twitter Background

Creating a custom twitter background is relatively easy. You just have to know how to use the right tools! You need a photo editing program like Adobe Photoshop or Paint.NET. You can download free versions of these online. Photoshop offers a 30-day free trial and is definitely worth it. It is easier to use and everything turns out with higher quality.

Why Should I Create a Custom Twitter Background?

1. More traffic – Twitter accounts with custom backgrounds are known to get more followers and more traffic.
2. Higher credibility – If you have a custom background, it shows that you put time and effort into your twitter account.
3. Free publicity – Put your business or personal information in your custom background! It’s a great (FREE!) way to spread your brand online (even if your brand is just yourself).

Creating a Custom Twitter Background

Open a new document with the dimensions of 1000 x 780 pixels. This is a standard dimension for a computer screen.

In the menu toolbar, click View >> Rulers (CTRL+R)

From the left hand ruler, drag a boundary line to 200 px. This way your content will not be covered up by the twitter content.

Select the magic wand tool and make your background transparent. This way you won’t have to make your background color on Photoshop match the background color on twitter (trust me it never works).

Now you are free to go crazy with your background. Whatever you want to add, you can add. I prefer to add text to my backgrounds that promote my other social networking sites. You can add images, and use Photoshop tools to customize those as well.

Make sure to make your text pop. When you have text, double click on that layer to open up the text options. My favorites are "Drop Shadow" and "Outer Glow" – they make it so that your text pops no matter what the background is.

Here are some great examples of custom twitter backgrounds – simple, intuitive, informative.

A great tip would be to learn some basic PhotoShop editing tools. That will make your profile dynamic and fun to read.