CSS Background-Size Doesn’t Work with Static Colors

In this article, we’ll examine the issues with the background-size property in CSS when used with static colors. The background-size property is used to control the size and scaling of background https://coder-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images. However, when trying to apply the background-size property to static colors, you may encounter some problems. Let’s take a closer look at this issue and provide some examples of solutions.

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Introduction to the background-size Property

The background-size property (background-size) in CSS is used to determine the size and scaling of background https://coder-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images. You can use this property to stretch, scale, and fit https://coder-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images to their container. The background-size property takes two values: length and percentage. Length values ​​represent pixels or other length units, while percentage values ​​represent the percentage relative to the parent element.

Here is the sample code using the background-size property:

div {
background-image: url("image.png");
background-size: 100px 100px;
}

The above code sets an image named “image.png” as the background of the div element and sets the background size to 100 pixels wide and 100 pixels high.

Problem with background-size properties not working with static colors

However, problems may arise when we try to use the background-size property with static colors. For example, if we want to give an element a red background and set its dimensions to 100 pixels wide and 100 pixels high, the following code may not work:

div {
background-color: red;
background-size: 100px 100px;
}

In this case, the background-size property will have no effect on the red background; it will only affect the background image.

This is because the background-size property is primarily designed to handle the size and scaling of background https://coder-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images, not solid background colors. When using a solid background color, you don’t need to use the background-size property to control the size and scaling. In this case, you can use other CSS properties to set the element’s size and dimensions, such as the width and height properties.

Solution Example

To resolve the issue of the background-size property not working with static colors, we can use the following solution.

1. Use width and height attributes

div { 
background-color: red; 
width: 100px; height: 100px; 
}

In this example, we create a red background frame by setting the element’s width and height to 100 pixels.

2. Using the padding property

div {
background-color: red;
padding: 50px;
}

In this example, we create a red background frame by setting the element’s padding to 50 pixels. This way, the element’s actual size is the padding plus the size of its content, achieving a similar effect to the background-size property.

3. Using Pseudo-Elements

div::before {
content: "";
display: block;
background-color: red;
width: 100px;
height: 100px;
}

In this example, we use the pseudo-element (::before) to create a red background box. By setting the pseudo-element’s width and height to 100 pixels, we achieve an effect similar to the background-size property.

Summary

The background-size property (background-size) in CSS controls the size and scaling of background https://coder-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images. However, when used with static colors, the background-size property may not work properly. In this case, we can use other CSS properties, such as the width and height properties, the padding property, or pseudo-elements to achieve a similar effect. By choosing the right solution, we can create a static color background that meets our needs.

I hope this article helps you understand the issues with using the CSS background-size property with static colors. Thanks for reading!