CSS background-position Property

Example

How to position a background-image:

body {
  background-image: url('img_heart.png');
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-attachment: fixed;
  background-position: center;
}

Definition and Usage

The background-position property sets the starting position of a background image.

Tip: By default, a background-image is placed at the top-left corner of an element, and repeated both vertically and horizontally.

Default value:	0% 0%
Inherited:	no
Animatable:	yes.
Version:	CSS1
JavaScript syntax:	object.style.backgroundPosition="center"

• Inherited : "Inherited = no" means that it cannot takes (inherit) it's value from it's parent element.
• object - object in javascript means the element on which background-position is applied.
• Animatable - "Animatable = yes" means that it can be animated with CSS @keyframes.

Browser Support

The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.

Property
background-position	1.0	4.0	1.0	1.0	3.5

Note: IE8 and earlier do not support multiple background images on one element.

CSS Syntax

background-position: value;

Property Values

Value	Description	Demo
left top left center left bottom right top right center right bottom center top center center center bottom	If you only specify one keyword, the other value will be "center"
x% y%	The first value is the horizontal position and the second value is the vertical. The top left corner is 0% 0%. The right bottom corner is 100% 100%. If you only specify one value, the other value will be 50%. Default value is: 0% 0%
xpos ypos	The first value is the horizontal position and the second value is the vertical. The top left corner is 0 0. Units can be pixels (0px 0px) or any other CSS units. If you only specify one value, the other value will be 50%. You can mix % and positions
initial	Sets this property to its default value.
inherit	Inherits this property from its parent element.

More Examples

Example

How to position a background-image to be centered at top:

body {
  background-image: url('heart.png');
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-attachment: fixed;
  background-position: center top;
}

Example

How to position a background-image to be bottom right:

body {
  background-image: url('heart.png');
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-attachment: fixed;
  background-position: bottom right;
}

Example

How to position a background-image using percent:

body {
  background-image: url('heart.png');
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-attachment: fixed;
  background-position: 50% 50%;
}

Example

How to position a background-image using pixels:

body {
  background-image: url('heart.png');
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  background-attachment: fixed;
  background-position: 50px 150px;
}

Example

Use different background properties to create a "hero" image:

.hero-image {
  background-image: url("road.jpg"); /* The image used */
  background-color: #888; /* Used if the image is unavailable */
  height: 500px; /* You must set a specified height */
  background-position: center; /* Center the image */
  background-repeat: no-repeat; /* Do not repeat the image */
  background-size: cover; /* Resize the background image to cover the entire container */
}