photo credit: dpicker

If you’re thinking about getting a custom Twitter profile background, one of the things you’re probably considering is what kind of information to put on it.

Like most design questions, the answer depends on your strategy + your preferences. I’m going to share some of my preferences here, along with the reasoning behind them, but bottom-line, it’s up to you!

Why are you on Twitter?

Start by thinking “big picture.” What goes onto your background should further your existing goal(s) for being on Twitter.

If you’re directly promoting your company or a product, it makes sense to feature images (a logo, perhaps, or a picture of the product) and basic information.

If you’re a consultant or a generally sociable person, you might put contact information—you can see some examples of this in Mashable’s post on “Extended Profiles”.

If you are using Twitter to meet people or communicate who you are, then more stylized images or illustrations that convey a mood or personality might be a better fit.

Be careful with “links”

I put “links” in quotes because on a Twitter background, there’s no such thing as a link.

You can display a web or email address, but when your visitors try to click on it (and they will!), nothing will happen. That’s because your “link” is a picture of text, not actually text that can be clicked or copied. For your less-savvy visitors, this can result in frustration because they expect to go to another page, and don’t know why it’s not working.

The “easy” solution is to say “don’t include anything that looks like a link.” However, some of the most valuable information to share might be a web or email address!

I think a better solution is “try to minimize information that looks like a link, but when it’s there, make it as obvious as possible that it can’t be clicked.” How a designer might do that will depend on the overall look of your background, but a good start is not underlining links, making them more logo-like, and perhaps even explaining that “you’ll have to type these in by hand.”

Beyond contact information

Contact information seems to be featured more than any other information, but I’d encourage an alternate approach: consider making your web address (in your Twitter profile info) go to a page with lots of detailed contact info (if you want that), and use your background to communicate who you are.

Realistically, most people aren’t going to want to hire you (or contact you) immediately upon seeing your Twitter profile. After all, they don’t know you yet. So use your profile to introduce yourself!

You can do this in a number of ways. Here are a few:

• Elaborate on your Twitter “One Line Bio”. I know that character limitations are part of what make Twitter interesting, but if 160 characters aren’t enough to share everything, your Twitter background can take up the slack.
• Set expectations. @justcreative‘s profile does a great job of this. He lists topics that he talks about and also explains, “I reply to all direct messages.” I particularly like the list of topics, because it helps visitors see at a glance whether they’re likely to be interested in his tweets.
• Include photos. People love seeing other people—it helps us feel like we are somehow connected. The little built-in avatar is nice and all, but compare it to @chrisgarrett‘s profile. The pictures give me an impression of who he is before I read a word.
• Share something meaningful. Maybe there’s a quote that sums you up perfectly, or conveys something important to you. Maybe you have a question you like, or favorite books, or music. Sharing this kind of information helps people start to know you.

What kind of information do you like to see on profiles?