Background images should be simple and should not be distracting. Leaving page margins and skillful use of white space are also important for making your pages easier to read. Leave blank lines between paragraphs or listed items so your viewers can discriminate between text with different content. Placing your text within a table and restricting the width of the table to a certain percentage of the window gives good margins and makes it easier to read the page. Keep your web page current.
Maintenance is as important as creation.
Normally, a web page isn't something you post on a server and forget. You should periodically check your page to see if the information is contains is outdated or requires revision. You should also check to ensure that any links to other pages are still valid. There are few things more frustrating than being referred to a web page that no longer exists. One way to advertise how the currency of your page is to include the date of the last time you updated your site.