Website banner design is among the most effective marketing strategies in today’s online world and comes in all sizes and shapes. It focuses on the systematic creation of banner ads through the cautious application of basic design guidelines.
Banner ads are images of advertisements embedded on web pages that showcase a brand or product and link to the advertiser’s website. Many companies use them in multiple forms because they are measurable and affordable to increase brand awareness.
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How to Design Great Banner Ads?
So, how to create and design web banner ads that will bring more clicks. Here are the tips and general guidelines for banner ads.
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Use effective and standard size of banner
According to Google Adsense, following are the successful standard sizes of banner:
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300 x 250px – Medium Rectangle
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300 x 600px – Half page
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336 x 280px – Large Rectangle
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728 x 90px – Leaderboard
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Correct placement of banner ads
You need to buy space on a website where your design will be promoted above the fold and close to the main page content.
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Maintain hierarchy
Banner ad design depends upon the right balance within each ad, so check out your hierarchy. Banner ads are designed to improve brand awareness and drive traffic to your site. They include three main components:
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Your company logo
Your company logo is a must to increase brand awareness. Ensure its visual dominants, but not as dominant as the call to action or the value proposition.
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The call to action
The call to action is the button or text that invites users to click. Phrases like Get started, Learn more, or Watch now are the best examples. It should be a focal point of the ad.
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The value proposition
The value proposition showcases the product/service you provide and draws attention to itself with attractive prices and offers. Consider things like “50% off, High-quality and Limited time offer.” This should take the most space in your ad and be the first thing that viewers see.
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Keep it simple
Keep visuals and content simple. Viewers will likely go to look at your website banner design for a while.
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Use buttons appropriately
Buttons often increase the click-through rate or (CTR) of your ad. They should be placed after your copy on the lower right side in contrasting colors. Always keep them constant throughout the set of ads.
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Have a clear frame
Effective banner ads have a clear frame with graphics extended to the box edges. If your ad is white, put a gray border of 1 pixel throughout the ad.
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Make your text readable
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Do’s
Make your body and headline copy different sizes. All copies should not be more than four lines.
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Don’t
Use script/cursive fonts, thin font weight, uppercase copy, and font size smaller than a 10 pt (unless it’s a copyright notice or disclaimer).
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Use animation
Animated web banner ads usually exceed static banner ads. They can be most effective in website banner design, but you have to ensure that they don’t distract from your ad’s message. Use simple animations that last to 15 seconds, and ensure that they loop three times. Think about making the last frame of your animation a clear call to action.
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Complete, but stand out
If you visually blend your ads into the websites, you will likely earn your viewers’ trust. Banner ads should always be visible and clickable.
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Be consistent with your brand
Your banner ad links to a landing page that includes your offer. Ensure the ad resembles your branding and the landing page, so potential customers will not get confused.
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Instill a sense of importance
Bring a sense of edit photos visual importance to the text by using contrasting colors. Banner ads are not meant to be subtle.
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Use imagery well when your need it
Choose appropriate photos and graphics to enhance your message and are related to your product. If you cannot afford professional supermodels or photography, purchase an affordable license for a stock photo. Better still, choose original graphics and illustrations created by a designer.
Remember, it’s not always vital to use images in your banner ads. Nice typography and a killer copy can create equally great results.
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Choose appropriate colors
Colors are the first thing a viewer notices in your banner ad. They are also subjective and associates differently in different cultures. Ensure to study your target customers while selecting the colors.
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Keep small file sizes
Keep your file size small, under 150 kb, according to Google AdWords. Your ad should load fast on a page before viewers scroll down and miss it.
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Use the correct file formats
PNG, JPG, HTML5, or GIF will be your working deliverables. Your designer will typically work in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator to deliver PNG, JPG, or GIF files, or in Adobe Animate, for HTML5 files. Remember, Flash ads are much outdated at this point. So, go for these image file formats.
