Web or digital banners are a form of advertising on the internet, typically delivered by an ad server. Companies of various sizes consistently leverage display banner advertising to promote products or services on a web page with the intention of driving traffic to a specific URL.
While admittedly some web browsers find advertising intrusive and disruptive to their browsing experience, display banners continue to provide an effective marketing channel. In 2014 Google estimated that its display network reached over 90% of global Internet users. Banner advertising is not only an affordable medium; performance can be measured with a high level of granularity. Brands repeatedly leverage this high-quality placement for driving awareness and generating sales. The introduction of modern tracking and placement techniques such as remarketing has increased the importance of high-quality banner design.
There are a range of different sizes, types, and placements of digital banners. Known by names such as skyscrapers, rectangles, leaderboards, and tiles the most common and effective banner sizes are 336×280, 300×250, 728×90, and 160×600.
Animated banners are primary .gif files. They consist of several frames, operate on rotation, delivering a short creative message to encourage click through.
Flash banners are predominantly .swf files and include complex interactive elements such as rollover buttons and checkboxes, video and sound, and are regularly expandable or retractable. These banners typically deliver the highest CTRs (click through rates) due to their interactive nature.
High-quality banner creation is important. Not only is an eye-catching and attractive design mandatory, articulate messaging that encourages appropriate customer action is imperative.
But what makes a high-quality banner design?
A clear theme and simple banner design.
Strong message hierarchy including company logo, value proposition and call to action.
Appropriate use of color that considers company branding and required action.
Use of appropriate file formats and file sizes.
Text that is legible and instantly readable.
Use of images or animation only when appropriate.
A design that is complementary to, but stands out from the website placement.
Larger organizations have the luxury of in-house graphics teams, or sizeable budgets to instruct creative agencies. How do small or medium sized businesses locate a digital designer that is skilled, cost effective, understands the intricacies of digital advertising, and how design assists in encouraging quality clicks and customer leads?
If you require a banner for an upcoming campaign with a unique look and feel, high-quality design, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, then you should consider the services of a freelancer designer. Freelancer.com is home to thousands of professional and top rated banner designers available to produce new website banners quickly and effectively.
Have a specific design in mind? Post a project for free, and watch bids come in fast from the top designers in the world.
Know that you need a banner design, but just not sure where to start? A fantastic way of choosing a banner design is through posting a contest. Provide a detailed design brief, and sit back as designers submit options (sometimes multiple) for your viewing pleasure. Once you're satisfied with a particular design, award the contest and receive ownership and copyrights to that design.