Best way to display default image if specified image file is not found?

Question

I\'ve got your average e-Commerce app, I store ITEM_IMAGE_NAME in the database, and sometimes managers MISSPELL the image name.

To avoid \"missing images\" (red X in IE

Answer 1

If missing.png loads, it will cover the space allocated for it, as if the fallback were not specified. (Assuming it's not transparent.)

If missing.png fails to load, the space will instead be filled with fallback.png. You'll still get a little "broken image" icon, but I prefer it that way... a little hint that says "fix me".

If your images aren't all the same size, you'll notice that the background tiles by default. You can use background-repeat: no-repeat; if you don't like that.