diff --git a/exampleSite/content/docs/configuration/index.md b/exampleSite/content/docs/configuration/index.md
index c0834902..717cd5b5 100644
--- a/exampleSite/content/docs/configuration/index.md
+++ b/exampleSite/content/docs/configuration/index.md
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ Many of the article defaults here can be overridden on a per article basis by sp
 | `showLikes`                         | _Not set_              | Whether or not articles and list likes are displayed. This requires firebase integrations to be enabled, look below.                                                                                                                                                                                               |
 | `robots`                            | _Not set_              | String that indicates how robots should handle your site. If set, it will be output in the page head. Refer to [Google's docs](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/robots/robots_meta_tag#directives) for valid values.                                                                             |
 | `disableImageZoom`                  | `false`                | Disables image zoom feature across all the images in the site.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
+| `defaultBackgroundImage`            | _Not set_              | Default background image for both `background` homepage layout and `background` hero style |
 | `header.layout`                     | `"basic"`              | Defines the header for the entire site, supported values are `basic` and `fixed`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
 | `footer.showMenu`                   | `true`                 | Show/hide the footer menu, which can be configured in the `[[footer]]` section of the `config/_default/menus.en.toml` file.                                                                                                                                                                                        |
 | `footer.showCopyright`              | `true`                 | Whether or not to show the copyright string in the site footer. Note that the string itself can be customised using the `copyright` parameter in the [languages configuration](#language-and-i18n).                                                                                                                |
diff --git a/layouts/partials/hero/background.html b/layouts/partials/hero/background.html
index 1bf1e9ef..01893a07 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/hero/background.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/hero/background.html
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 {{- $images := .Resources.ByType "image" -}}
 {{- $featured := $images.GetMatch "*feature*" -}}
 {{- if not $featured }}{{ $featured = $images.GetMatch "{*cover*,*thumbnail*}" }}{{ end -}}
+{{- if not $featured }}{{ with .Site.Params.defaultBackgroundImage }}{{ $featured = resources.Get . }}{{ end }}{{ end -}}
 {{- with $featured -}}
 {{ with .Resize "1200x" }}
 <div id="hero" class="h-[150px] md:h-[200px]"></div>
@@ -23,4 +24,4 @@
 </script>
 {{ end }}
 {{ end }}
-{{- end -}}
\ No newline at end of file
+{{- end -}}
diff --git a/layouts/partials/home/background.html b/layouts/partials/home/background.html
index b750c72c..f96d3fec 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/home/background.html
+++ b/layouts/partials/home/background.html
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@
         <div class="mx-auto max-w-7xl p-0">
             <div class="relative sm:overflow-hidden">
                 <div class="fixed inset-x-0 top-0" style="z-index:-10">
-                    {{ with .Site.Params.homepage.homepageImage }}
-                    {{ $homepageImage := resources.Get . }}
-                    {{ if $homepageImage }}
+                    {{ $homepageImage := "" }}
+                    {{ with .Site.Params.defaultBackgroundImage }}{{ $homepageImage = resources.Get . }}{{ end }}
+                    {{ with .Site.Params.homepage.homepageImage }}{{ $homepageImage = resources.Get . }}{{ end }}
+                    {{ if not (eq $homepageImage "") }}
                     <img class="w-full h-[1000px] object-cover m-0 nozoom" src="{{ $homepageImage.RelPermalink }}">
                     <div
                         class="absolute inset-0 h-[1000px] bg-gradient-to-t from-neutral dark:from-neutral-800 to-transparent mix-blend-normal">
@@ -15,7 +16,6 @@
                         class="opacity-70 absolute inset-0 h-[1000px] bg-gradient-to-t from-neutral dark:from-neutral-800 to-neutral dark:to-neutral-800 mix-blend-normal">
                     </div>
                     {{ end }}
-                    {{ end }}
                 </div>
                 <div class="relative px-4 py-16 sm:px-6 sm:py-24 lg:py-32 lg:px-8 flex flex-col items-center justify-center text-center">
                     {{ with .Site.Author.image }}
@@ -65,4 +65,4 @@
         background_blur.style.opacity = (scroll / 300)
     });
 </script>
-{{ end }}
\ No newline at end of file
+{{ end }}