How to Change Your Background or Theme on Discord

Hey there! Have you ever wanted to customize your Discord app with a unique background, cool themes, and vivid colors that match your style?

I‘ve got some great news for you – it IS possible to fully trick out your Discord client for a more personalized experience. In this detailed guide, I‘ll walk you step-by-step through everything you need to know to change your Discord background and theme.

Trust me, with these tips you‘ll have the most stylish Discord around in no time! Let‘s get started.

Why Customize Your Discord Background and Theme?

Before we dive in, let‘s talk about why you might want to change your Discord background and theme. Here are some of the top reasons:

Make Discord Your Own – Customizing your background and theme allows you to put your own personal touch on the Discord app. This can help it feel more like your space rather than a generic chat platform.
Express Yourself – Your choice of background, colors, and theme can reflect your personality and interests. It‘s a way to showcase who you are to server friends each time you chat.
Enhance Focus – Some users find lighter backgrounds less straining on the eyes, especially during long chat sessions. The right theme can optimize Discord for comfort.
Get Inspired – A cool new background or color scheme can breathe fresh life into your Discord use. It can reinvigorate your engagement with the app.
Unify Branding – Server owners can use custom theming to strengthen branding across their community. Think matching colors and logo backgrounds.

As a fellow Discord enthusiast, I think those are some excellent reasons to give your client a visual makeover! The ability to customize your experience is a big part of what makes Discord so great.

Now let‘s dive into how to actually change up your background and theme.

Customizing Your Discord Background and Theme

Unfortunately, Discord doesn‘t allow you to fully customize backgrounds or themes within its default app. The only options are light/dark modes and preset color schemes.

To get true customization power, we need to use a popular third-party tool called BetterDiscord. This awesome mod unlocks all kinds of appearance options through custom code.

I‘ll explain how to safely download and install BetterDiscord shortly. But first, let‘s look at all the cool things you can do with it:

Change Background Images and Colors

Easily set any image, photo, or solid color as your background. This lets you show off favorite wallpapers.

Install Pre-Made Themes

Browse and install pre-built themes from the massive BetterDiscord library. Find perfect colors and styles made by other users.

Adjust Individual Elements

Tweak specific parts of the Discord interface with CSS code. Change the font, server icons, notifications – anything!

Create Custom Themes

For full control, design your own themes to share online. This takes time but offers endless possibilities.

As you can see, BetterDiscord opens up a ton of creative options for theming your heart out. Next I‘ll show you how quick and easy it is to install.

Installing BetterDiscord for Enhanced Customization

BetterDiscord works by modifying your Discord client to add more features behind the scenes. Don‘t worry – it doesn‘t break or change anything in Discord.

Here‘s how to safely download and install BetterDiscord:

Download – Go to betterdiscord.app and click Download. Choose your operating system.
Run Installer – Open the downloaded file and follow the setup prompts. Allow changes to Discord.
Restart Discord – Close Discord entirely and relaunch the app. BetterDiscord is now integrated!

And that‘s all there is to it! The BetterDiscord tab will appear in your Discord settings once enabled.

Now let‘s explore how to install amazing new themes.

Browsing and Installing BetterDiscord Themes

One of the best parts of BetterDiscord is easy access to an endless library of themes created by users like you.

You can browse and preview themes before installing your favorites in just a few clicks. Here‘s how:

Visit betterdiscord.app/themes to see the theme library.
Scroll through and click themes that catch your eye to preview.
When you find one you like, click Download to get its .theme.css file.
In Discord, go to User Settings > BetterDiscord > Themes > Open Themes Folder
Drag your downloaded .theme.css file into the open themes folder.
Enable the theme in Discord by toggling it on. Enjoy!

With each theme you can customize colors, backgrounds, fonts, sizing, spacing, and much more. Here are some of my favorite BetterDiscord themes to try out:

Night Sky – A celestial dark theme with shooting stars and clouds.
Rose Water – Soft pinks and blues for a vaporwave aesthetic.
Comfy Cabin – Earthy browns and oranges like a cozy cabin.
Simply Green – A calming green theme that‘s easy on the eyes.

Take your time previewing themes to find your perfect match. Now let‘s take customization even further by modifying your background.

Setting a Custom Background Image or Color

BetterDiscord also lets you directly customize your background with an image, solid color, or even both. Here‘s how:

Use a Background Image

To set a custom background image like a wallpaper:

Have your image file ready somewhere on your computer.
In your Themes folder, make a new file called background.css.
Add this code, replacing the link with your image URL:

body {

  background-image: url(https://example.com/background.png);

}

Save the file and enable it as a theme. Your image will load as the background!

Use a Background Color

To set a solid color background:

Make a new background.css file again.
Add this code with your chosen hex color value:

body {

  background-color: #80d8ff;

}

Save and enable the file to apply the color.

Feel free to mix the two by including both image and color code for further customization.

If you really want full control over your Discord‘s look, you can create your own theme! This takes some CSS knowledge but allows unlimited customization.

Here are examples of what you can modify in a custom BetterDiscord theme:

/* Main background color */
:root {
  --background-primary: #282b30;
} 

/* Round server icons */
.guildsWrapper-5TJh6A .guild-1EfMGQ .guildInner-3DSoA4 {
  border-radius: 50%;
}

/* Custom font */ 
body {
  font-family: "Comic Sans MS", "Comic Sans", cursive;
}

Refer to Discord‘s default CSS file on GitHub to explore all theming options. Create your ideal theme file, then share it on the BetterDiscord library for others to enjoy!

Now that you know how to customize Discord‘s design, let‘s chat about staying safe.

Is BetterDiscord Safe to Use?

I want to be fully transparent here – Discord does not officially allow or endorse BetterDiscord. Modifying the Discord client technically violates their Terms of Service.

However, thousands use BetterDiscord with few issues. Bans seem rare and only targeted at those abusing mods for harm.

Here are a some safety tips:

Use BetterDiscord only for visual customization – no sketchy plugins.
Don‘t discuss mods in official Discord places like support.
Disable any BetterDiscord mods if requested by Discord staff.
Periodically check for Discord updates which can break mods.

Overall, be smart in how you use BetterDiscord. But you should be able to enjoy all the awesome theming options safely and securely.

Recapping How to Customize Your Discord Theme

Let‘s do a quick recap of all the steps to customize your Discord background and theme:

Install BetterDiscord to unlock mods and options.
Browse the BetterDiscord theme library and install ones you like.
Set a custom background image, color, or both.
Create your own theme by editing Discord‘s base CSS.
Publish your theme to share with others (optional).
Use mods safely and disable if issues occur.

Following this process, you can achieve just about any look and feel imaginable in your Discord desktop client.

Change things up weekly or stick with one custom theme – the choice is yours!

I hope these tips help you design a Discord client that really feels like your own. Part of Discord‘s magic is making our digital hangouts warm, welcoming and personal.

So get out there and start customizing! Change your background to stunning landscapes from around the world. Pick soft, relaxing colors that create a chill vibe. Share your passions through your theme.

The only limit is your imagination. Now go unleash it and bring some personality into your Discord chats. I can‘t wait to see the amazing backgrounds and themes you create.

Happy theming!