To me, your Twitter profile is important. The first thing I’ll look at is your picture. You need to have a real Twitter profile picture. If not, I’m not so sure I’ll trust you.

But I might.

Then, just after I have glansed at your picture, I’ll take a look at your Twitter background. If it’s the default, I’ll stop and think.

Why?

- Don’t you want to change it?
- You’re obviously no designer.
- Don’t you know how to do the switch?
- Can’t afford to hire a designer?
- Don’t you know where to find a free theme?

Please change it.

You’re different, we all are.

There are no reasons why you should stick with the default.

If you don’t know how, I’ll help you.

I won’t help you design it, because I’m no designer. I’ll help you change it.

I have been using several types of Twitter backgrounds. Like all members, I started from scratch, using the default, and I ended up with the one I’m currently using. You can view it at my profile @berget.

Here’s a screenshot:

The real reason

The reason you need your own Twitter profile background is because it represents you. It’s you and your brand.

When people look at it, they’re looking at who you are on Twitter.

In real life, you might be boring, you might not want to stand out. When you’re on Twitter, you might be different. You might be what Dave Gahan is like on stage. If you don’t know who Dave is, let me just tell you that he’s awesome.

Hence, if you want to stand out, you need to be different. If not, stay default.

I’m not saying that you need to hire a professional designer, I’m only saying that you need to be different than default.

It’s not hard.

Sometimes, all you need is a free background.

- TwitBacks
- Twitpaper
- Template Monster
- Twitter-Images
- Twitter Gallery
- Free Twitter Designer
- Tweety Got Back

Use a background that represents who you are on Twitter. If you’re a fairly regular Norwegian guy, do something similar to what I’ve done.

A picture
A Name
A website (or three)