Free Web Page Buttons and Backgrounds

Let’s face it; some webmasters are hopeless when it comes to design. They’d rather live back in the internet dark ages when everything was text-based and graphics hadn’t been invented yet. Unfortunately, users want to browse sites with at least some visual appeal. Sure, content is king, but no matter how good it is, nobody’s going to stick around a bland website to appreciate it.

Fortunately, I’ve managed to stumble on a few kind souls out on the internet who are willing to share their designs with the artistically-challenged. Tired of text-only links? Throw together some custom buttons with Adam Kalsey’s button maker. Stuck on solid-color backgrounds? Just browse some online collections, like the ones at All Free Backgrounds or Jeremy Nickurak’s tileable backgrounds, until you find something you like. Of course, this is by no means a comprehensive (or even thorough) list, so if you’ve got a good visual design resource, feel free to drop a link in the comment form below.

As always, bear your audience in mind and don’t get too carried away. After all, a website with an overwhelming design is just as bad as a website with no design at all.