Repeat And Repeat In My Ear (or Website)

This is where to get patterned backgrounds for websites.

The one quality above all that a repeat background pattern must have is that it appears seamless. If it is poorly made then the mismatch between adjacent tiles will introduce lines or shapes that are not part of the design.

I have tried making tiles myself from scratch in Photoshop, but I don't have the patience to set the designs up perfectly, and it showed in the patterns I made.

I have used Patterncooler and Subtlepatterns. They are different. You might think the Patterncooler designs are too bold and garish. Or you might think the Subtlepatterns designs are too boring. It's a matter of taste and choice.

I have not used Patternhead or Pattern8. I came across them on the web and added them to this roundup. It's usually very easy to delete a background you don't like... just one click and it's gone.

Here are some screen grabs to show you what the different offerings are like. Patterncooler has a built-in colour changer. So if you find a pattern you like you can change the colours before downloading. And there are a lot of designs there... not all like the sample here.

Patterncooler



Patternhead



Pattern8



SubtlePatterns