Desktop · 1280px · shown at 0% · edit the text, images and colours in the panel
Image Background Hero — Free Website Section Template
Hero · v1.0.0 · Updated 2026-10-20 · Responsive · GSAP animation · HTML, React & Vue
Extend with AI
Take This Section Further With AI
The AI prompt for this one is for Patreon supporters ($3 a month, 7 days free), along with a site with no ads. Supporters enter the passcode once and it is remembered in this browser.
What's included
Features
About this section
Image Background Hero — Free Full-Width Photo Hero Section Template

Image Background Hero is a free, full-width hero section with your photo as the background. A dark gradient overlay keeps the text readable on any image, and a large headline, supporting text and two buttons sit on the left, with an optional row of three stats along the bottom. It's the classic hero for travel, hospitality, real estate, events, agencies and local businesses, where a great photo does most of the selling.
Readable on any photo
Text over images is often hard to read. This template layers two gradients over the photo: a horizontal one that is darkest behind the text and fades toward the right, and a vertical one that grounds the stats row. On phones the overlay becomes even, so the text stays legible when the layout stacks. The overlay uses your background colour, so it always matches your theme.
Your photo, kept private
Upload a wide, high-resolution photo straight from your computer. It's resized in your browser (up to 2400 px wide), saved locally in IndexedDB and never uploaded to a server. When you export a ZIP, the photo is placed in an images folder next to the page; the single-file HTML export embeds it.
Stats that build trust
The optional stats row shows three numbers with labels, such as routes, ratings and group size, which add credibility without another section. Turn it off for a cleaner hero. Like every section, it uses the shared theme (colours, fonts, radius, width), animates in with GSAP on scroll and exports as HTML, a ZIP, React or Vue.
Why use it
Why Use the Image Background Hero
How it’s different
How It’s Different From Other Free Section Templates
Step by step
How to Use
- 1Edit the contentFill in the background photo, headline & text, buttons and stats row in the panel. Switch the stats row on or off. Wrap words in *asterisks* to colour them.
- 2Add your imagesUpload your own images (resized in your browser and kept on your device) or paste a hosted image URL.
- 3Match your brandPick a colour preset or exact colours, choose heading and body fonts from Google Fonts or your own uploaded font, set the corner radius and width, or apply your brand kit.
- 4Animate and previewChoose a GSAP entrance effect and speed, press Play animation, and check the section on desktop, tablet and mobile.
- 5Save and exportSave it to My designs, then export a single HTML file, a ZIP with your images, a React or Vue component, or fork it into My Code.
Real-world uses
Common Use Cases
In real websites
Website Templates That Use the Image Background Hero Section
The Image Background Hero section is part of 13 complete website templates in the free Website Builder, so you can see it in a full page before you use it on its own: Photographer Website, Restaurant Website, Real Estate Agency Website, Gym & Fitness Website, Event & Conference Website, Nonprofit & Charity Website, Wedding Website, Boutique Hotel Website, Hair & Beauty Salon Website, Law Firm Website, Podcast Website, School Website, Church Website. Open any of them in the builder to edit the whole page, or keep customising this section by itself.
Got questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
A landscape photo at least 1920 × 1080 px works best. The editor resizes uploads to a maximum of 2400 px wide in your browser to keep the page fast. Choose a photo with calmer areas on the left, where the text sits.
The overlay already darkens the area behind the text. For very bright photos, set a darker background colour in the Colours section, since the overlay is built from the background colour.
Yes. Switch off "Stats row" in the panel. The hero keeps its height and the content stays vertically balanced.
No. Your photo is stored in your browser’s IndexedDB and only leaves your device when you export or back up your designs.
Yes. Copy the React or Vue component from the Export menu. Uploaded images point to an images folder, so download the ZIP to get the files, or use a hosted image URL.
It saves an editable copy of your Image Background Hero in My Code, the UI Snippets code editor: the section markup goes in the HTML panel, its CSS (theme variables, base styles and layout) in the CSS panel, and the GSAP library is added as a CDN link, so you can keep refining the code and save your own versions.
Yes. Every section is free for personal and commercial work, with no account, no watermark and no attribution: export it on its own as HTML, React, Vue or Next.js from its page, or use it in a website you build and export in the Website Builder.