Don't be afraid to be original but stick to what you know. Here are a few tips on design basics. Know what you like and stick to it . The background you choose makes a big difference in your colors, graphics and text. Gives you a headache, and I guarantee you won't be back.
Fancy backgrounds are only useful to hide poor content.
Light text on dark background, dark text on light background. Using the medium range of colors fade the text no matter if you use light or dark and makes your reader uncomfortable. I recommend using medium range colors only in pages with very little text, or very large bold text. Easier on the reader's eyes, and your graphics and background will provide plenty of color by themselves. Quality over Quantity .