Top 10 Design Tips for Banners Ads

More Clickable Ad Banners

It's been a while since I designed online ad banners.  Back in the mid-2000s, I did a lot of them for AOL's YP ad campaigns.  The small size constraints certainly can present a challenge.  Here are some things I have learned over the past decade or so.

MY TOP 10 AD BANNER DESIGN TIPS:
  1. Use standard size ads (https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/6002621?hl=en)
  2. Make text as large as possible for legibility
  3. Adhere to existing branding specs
  4. Use glows and shadows to help text "pop"
  5. Use visually interesting photos
  6. Compress files as much as possible
  7. Test color blindness rendering (http://color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator)
  8. Incorporate ad size into naming conventions (i.e., WW-Puget-336x280)
  9. Get approval on one ad size before creating additional sizes
  10. A/B test design variations as well as call-to-action text
Here are some example of our recent ad banner designs...





Patrick LaJuett
Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency: + LaJuett.com, where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

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