If you’re anything like me, you spend a good portion of your day inside your gmail inbox, or at least notice it subtly in the background of your peripheral vision as it stays open on your second monitor.
and if you’re like many gmail users, you’re stuck dealing with the gmail email client’s default background: a plain, white and gray canvas.
Fortunately, Gmail offers you a convenient way to change your background, so you can change your mood, improve your focus, or just make your day more interesting.
here is a step by step guide on how to change your gmail background.
gmail themes
the way to change your gmail background is through gmail themes.
here’s how to do it.
1. head to the settings menu. in the top right corner of the desktop app, click the gear icon and click settings.
2. click themes. then click “set theme”. Here, you’ll have the ability to choose one of several different background images, pulled from Google’s stock photos. many photos here are of natural landscapes (such as plants, animals, rivers, etc.). however, you’ll also be able to choose basic themes, such as a dark theme (which might be easier on your eyes) or a high contrast theme (to help you see things more clearly).
3. choose and adjust a theme. choose a photo or theme. if you choose a photo, you will also be able to adjust some options related to how your image is displayed. At the bottom of this screen, you’ll see options for text, bullet, and blur. the text option will allow you to choose the background of the text as light or dark. vignette will provide you with a sliding scale that will allow you to darken the corners of your background image. blurring will give you a sliding scale that will allow you to blur the background image (which is great for a photo with too much detail).
4. click save. once you’ve chosen a photo or theme for your background and adjusted the options associated with it, click save. your changes will be applied. note that you can always go back to the default theme if you want to go back.
how to change your gmail background to your own photo
You may also notice that you have the option to choose a background from “my photos”. If you want to upload a custom photo to use as your gmail background, you can, but you’ll have to do it through google photos.
here’s how to do it:
1. open google photos. go to google photos. If you’re not already signed in to your Google account, you’ll need to.
2. upload a photo. Next, you’ll need to upload a photo (or several).
3. (optional) create an album. you can also create albums in google photos to keep your photos better organized. for example, you could create an album titled “background photos for gmail”.
once you have uploaded photos to your google account, they will be available the next time you try to change your gmail background. By clicking “my photos”, you can navigate to the various albums and photos in your account, select the photo you want, and click save to apply the change.
that’s it!
why change your gmail background?
Now that you know how to change your gmail background, let’s explore some of the reasons why this is often a good idea.
Most people have one of the following motivations:
- eye strain and clarity. staring at a computer screen all day can be tiring and lead to computer vision syndrome if you’re not careful. And for some people, the default gmail theme is difficult to read. changing the background might solve one or both of these problems, making your screen easier to read and easier on eyestrain.
- mood. some people want a different color or a different image because it has the power to enhance or change your mood. For example, would you rather look at a blank white background or a relaxing image of a beautiful forest? How about a family photo to remind you why you put in the extra hours?
- something different. After using Gmail for many years, many users are simply ready for something different . staring at the same background for hours a day, every day, gets old, to the point where almost any new image or color looks better.
experiment with different backgrounds to see how you respond; You’ll be surprised how much more productive, thoughtful, or happy you are with one specific background image than another. And if you’re looking for how to change the background of an actual email you send (for marketing purposes, for example), be sure to check out these email header templates.
Do you want to further modify your gmail? Check out our guide on how to change your name and email address in gmail. And now that you know how to change your background in Gmail, if you’re interested in getting an even better Gmail experience, it’s helpful to measure and analyze your email activity with a tool like EmailAnalytics.
emailanalytics integrates with gmail and provides you with interactive data images that help you measure your email inbound and outbound rates, response rates and more. Sign up for a free trial today and learn how you can improve your email habits.