Determining Types and Sizes of Banners
It’s a good idea to have your designer develop several different banner ads. Placing a variety of ads allows you to test their effectiveness and prevents your ads from becoming too familiar, which can cause them to be ignored. It also helps ensure you’ll be prepared to meet the specifications of various sites on which you may want to place the ads.
Static, Animated, or Rich Media
The three basic types of banner ads are described below.
| Description | Advantages | Disadvantages | |
| Static View Sample |
The simplest type of banner ad, consisting of a single graphic that allows Internet users to click through to your site. | Least expensive to design. Widely accepted by placement sites. | May not be as eye-catching as animated ads. |
| Animated View Sample |
Has the appearance of movement, created by a series of graphics. | May be more eye-catching than static ads. Some reports indicate higher click-through rates as a result. | More expensive to create than static ads. Takes longer to download, which decreases the odds it will be seen. May not be accepted by some placement sites. |
| Rich Media/ Interactive |
Capable of advanced animation. Interactive banners permit additional activities, such as typing in a text box or scrolling a menu of options. | Special effects in animation make it stand out. Interactive elements may allow you to receive information about Internet users even if they don’t visit your site or target visitors to the area of your site they’re most interested in, potentially improving the quality of traffic. | Most expensive to create. Most difficult to maintain by banner management systems, and therefore not accepted by many placement sites. |
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Dimensions Keep in mind larger ads typically cost more to design, but may result in a higher click-through rate. You will also need to make sure the dimensions meet the requirements of the Web sites on which you want to place the ads (see Placement Site Requirements below).
Full title graphic, 500 x 190 pixels (static)
Full banner, 468 x 60 pixels (animated) Placement Site Requirements
Banner ads are rectangular or square in shape, and their size is measured by width and height in pixels.
The following represent some of the common banner ad sizes.
Half banner, 234 x 60 pixels (static)
Square button, 125 x 125 pixels (animated)
Micro button, 88 x 31 pixels (static)
When it comes to placing your banner ads on Web sites, you need to make sure the designer creates ads that meet the sites’ requirements. For example, most sites won’t accept banner ads larger than 468 x 60 pixels, and many only allow two or three specific sizes. Sites usually place a cap on file size (e.g. maximum 10KB). Some also limit animation (such as the number of loops) or only allow static ads. If you already know where you want to place your ads, you should provide those URLs to the designer.