The Complete Guide to Customizing Discord with BetterDiscord Themes & Backgrounds

Have you ever felt that the default Discord app is looking a bit bland? Are you seeking to liven up your community with a splash of color and personality? Well, you‘ve come to the right place!

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll be showing you how to fully customize your Discord experience using the powerful theming engine provided by BetterDiscord.

We‘ll cover everything from installing the plugin, browsing amazing pre-made themes, creating your own CSS styles, and changing background images. By the end, your Discord will be looking sleek and stylish!

Let‘s jump right in pal!

What Exactly is a Discord Theme?

Essentially, a Discord theme is a set of visual customizations that change the look of your app. This includes:

Background colors and images
Text colors, fonts, sizes
Colors for chat bubbles, channels, headers
Icons, emoji, and other graphical elements
Custom CSS code for advanced tweaking

Themes give you control over nearly every visual aspect of Discord. Whether you want to go for a clean minimalist look, an immersive dark mode, or spice things up with vibrant anime visuals, theming makes it possible.

Applying a new theme is like getting a whole new coat of paint for your Discord server. It lets you showcase your brand, interests, or aesthetics.

Now let‘s get into how you can start theming!

Step 1: Install BetterDiscord for Advanced Customization

To access Discord‘s powerful theming and customization features, you‘ll need to install a plugin called BetterDiscord.

BetterDiscord gives you custom theming options that aren‘t available in the regular Discord app. It also unlocks handy utilities like custom plugins and personalized settings.

Here‘s how to install it:

Download the BetterDiscord installer for your operating system:
- Windows
- Mac OS
- Linux
Run the installer and follow the steps to set up BetterDiscord.
Open your Discord app, which will now be modified to include BetterDiscord.

And that‘s it! The initial set up only takes a few minutes. BetterDiscord will run seamlessly alongside your normal Discord app.

Now for the fun part…let‘s customize!

Step 2: Browse & Download Themes from the Library

One of the best parts of BetterDiscord is easy access to an endless library of pre-made themes. With thousands of choices, you‘re sure to find one that fits your style.

Here‘s how to browse and download themes:

In Discord, click the gear icon to open User Settings.
Select "Themes" under the BetterDiscord section.
Click "Open Themes Folder" to access where themes are stored locally.
In your browser, go to betterdiscordlibrary.com to view themes.
Scroll through and pick ones that catch your eye. Click "Download" to get the .css file.
Drag and drop the downloaded .css file into your Themes folder.
Enable the theme in Discord by toggling it on!

And you‘re set! Here are some of my favorite places to find amazing Discord themes:

BetterDiscordLibrary – Most comprehensive theme directory
GitHub – Developers often share themes on GitHub
Reddit – Active community for sharing themes
EnvyThemes – Elegant collection of themes

To give you inspiration, let‘s showcase some of the top themes for popular interests:

Top Anime & Manga Themes

Anime fans rejoice! Here are some incredible themes bringing your favorite shows to Discord:

Sailor Moon – Join the Sailor Scouts with this magical girl theme
Naruto – Believe it! This theme oozes Will of Fire
Demon Slayer – Vibrant red and orange hues for Tanjiro‘s quest
My Hero Academia – Plus Ultra! Show off your quirk
Jujutsu Kaisen – Cursed energy and sorcerers await
Dragon Ball – Power up to Super Saiyan with this Z theme

Top Gaming Themes

Rep your favorite games with fully immersive themes:

Fortnite – The battle bus is ready for deployment
Minecraft – Blocky pixel perfection
Pokemon – Catch ‘em all with this generation spanning theme
Zelda – Dive into Hyrule with this adventure classic
Super Smash Bros – Brawl in style with your favorite fighters
Genshin Impact – Immerse yourself in Teyvat exploration

Top TV & Movie Themes

Relive your favorite shows and films:

Star Wars – Feel the force with this space opera classic
Lord of the Rings – Adventure awaits in Middle Earth
Spongebob – Who lives in a pineapple under Discord?
The Office – Beets, Bears, Battlestar Galactica
Friends – How you doin‘ with this 90s sitcom?
Seinfeld – Yada yada yada! Much needed theme.

Stylish Minimal & Dark Themes

Clean modern aesthetics:

Dark Matter – Sleek space-inspired dark tones
Dracula – Vibrant magentas pop against black
Tokyo Night – Neon-noir with cyberpunk vibes
Nord – Muted winter pallete for icy coolness
Material Design – Bold, bright and stylish like Google
Flux – Understated and professional

I encourage you to browse the libraries thoroughly – with so many themes, you‘re bound to find amazing styles catered exactly to your tastes!

Now let‘s go beyond pre-made themes and learn to craft our own custom CSS styles.

Step 3: Create Your Own Theme with Custom CSS

While pre-made themes are great, you can achieve even more advanced customization by modifying CSS code yourself. This gives you granular control over each element.

Here‘s a quick BetterDiscord CSS theming tutorial:

Ensure the "Custom CSS" plugin is installed from the Plugin Library. This allows injecting CSS.
Create a new .css file in your Themes folder to store your custom style sheet.
In Discord, enable "Custom CSS" plugin and enter the name of your new .css file.
Use the Discord Developer Portal for CSS selectors. You can target nearly any element.

For example, to change background color you‘d use:

/* Apply site-wide theme */
body {
  background-color: #343a40; 
}

To modify fonts:

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

The possibilities are endless! You can tweak sizing, spacing, colors, borders, effects, animations, and much more.

Here are some handy CSS theming resources:

W3Schools – Reference for CSS syntax
Discord CSS Guide – Code snippets for modifying elements
EnvyThemes CSS Generator – User friendly theme customization

With your own CSS skills and these tools, you can craft a Discord theme fine-tuned exactly to your vision.

Step 4: Customize Your Background Image

Changing your background is a simple way to revamp the look instantly. Both custom images and animated backgrounds are supported.

Here‘s how to set a background:

Go to User Settings > Appearance
Click the background selector dropdown
Choose "Upload Image" and select a .png, .jpg or .gif from your computer
Click "Save Changes" to apply

Additionally, you can toggle "Tiling" to repeat the image and adjust opacity. I recommend images sized 1920 x 1080 for full coverage.

For animated backgrounds, use short seamless .gifs and enable tiling. Some great places to find backgrounds include:

WallpaperAccess – Large collection of animated wallpapers
GifCities – User uploaded background gifs
Tenor – Search engine hosting millions of gifs
Giphy – Create and share short looping gifs

With the right background, your server can look super slick! A classy abstract gif or scenic landscape photo can really tie the aesthetics together.

Once you‘ve created a theme you love, I highly recommend sharing it publicly on GitHub so others can enjoy it too.

Uploading to GitHub:

Make a GitHub account if you don‘t already have one
Create a new public repository for your theme
Upload the .css file along with any images or assets
Write a clear README file explaining how to use your theme
Publish the repository

This allows your theme to be indexed on search engines, linked directly in Discord, downloaded through GitHub browsers, and overall gives your work much more exposure.

The BetterDiscord community thrives when creators openly share their themes, plugins, and customizations with each other.

Troubleshooting Common Discord Theme Issues

While BetterDiscord makes theming easy, you may occasionally run into problems like:

Themes not appearing under User Settings
Changes not applying after toggling themes
Certain elements not being recolored/resized
Glitchy backgrounds or icons

Here are some troubleshooting tips:

Ensure BetterDiscord is up to date in case it‘s a bug fixable with an update
Try restarting Discord to fully refresh the client
Double check that the theme files are in the right folder location
Look for conflicting styles between multiple active themes
Disable unused themes to isolate any problematic ones
Reset Discord customizations to default then reapply themes

And as always, the BetterDiscord support server is there if you need to consult knowledgeable theme creators.

Good luck and have fun with your new stylish Discord!

FAQs about Discord Themes and Customization

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about theming Discord:

What is BetterDiscord?

BetterDiscord is a client modification that adds extra features like themes to Discord. It runs alongside the base app.

Is BetterDiscord allowed?

BetterDiscord does technically violate Discord‘s ToS. However, it‘s used by millions without issue. Just be aware account suspension is a possibility.

Can I make Discord themes on mobile?

Unfortunately no. Due to sandbox restrictions, native theming isn‘t possible on iOS or Android yet.

How do I theme Discord on Linux?

The process is the same. Simply install BetterDiscord through the browser extension or AppImage.

Where does Discord store theme files locally?

On Windows it‘s %appdata%\BetterDiscord\themes, for Mac ~/Library/BetterDiscord/themes/, and Linux ~/.config/BetterDiscord/themes/.

Can I make my own animated emoji?

Yes! You need to upload short gif attachments in Discord which can then be used as custom emoji.

How do I change the Discord font?

Using "Custom CSS" plugin you can modify the font-family property. Web safe fonts are recommended.

And that wraps up this complete Discord theming guide! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Have fun customizing your heart out. Your new stylish Discord awaits!