Kalyn Walker
When it comes to designing an effective banner ad, one of the most important decisions you must make is what size you want the banner to be. This is important because banner size is a major factor in how an ad will perform. Different ad sizes are commonly used for different reasons. Read on for more information about choosing the right banner size for your ad.
Web banners can come in many different sizes. The Interactive Advertising Bureau has created standard sizes for banner ads that are used across all advertising networks. Banner sizes are defined in pixels. A pixel is the smallest element of a digital image that can be altered. Changing the pixel size of your image will alter not only the quality of the image but also its size. There are 96 pixels in an inch.
While there are so many options for banner sizes, four sizes account for most of the digital ads currently on the web. Those sizes, and their most common uses, are as follows.
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300x250 pixel medium rectangle: The medium rectangle is the size of choice for about 40 percent of all digital ads. This type of ad is often embedded in content, such as articles, and is regarded as less invasive than other ad sizes. The size is also effective for both desktop and mobile applications. Because this size of ad is so popular, Google Display Network -- which covers more than 2 million websites and reaches about 90 percent of individuals around the world -- has created special requirements specifically for this sized ad, such as ensuring that website visitors are easily able to distinguish between content and advertising and making sure that there is a way for an individual to exit a page without having to click on the ad.
728x90 pixel leaderboard banner: Accounting for about one-quarter of all digital ads, the leaderboard banner is a horizontal ad that is usually displayed at the top or the bottom of a webpage. The ads that are featured "above the fold" (meaning at the top of the page) generally perform better than those located at the bottom of the page, as they're often the first thing a person sees when arriving at the page.
160x600 pixel wide skyscraper: Also known as a standing banner, this size of ad generally appears on the sidebars of websites. While this size was once a more popular format, its popularity is waning due to the rise of mobile apps and websites, where this size of a display does not translate well. Even still, wide skyscrapers and their lesser-used companion, simply known as a skyscraper, make up 12 percent of all digital ads.
320x50 pixel mobile leaderboard: Like the leaderboard banner, the mobile leaderboard is displayed either at the top or the bottom of a mobile website or app. This is by far the most popular size for a mobile banner ad.
Other standard ad sizes include:
Other standard mobile banner sizes include:
Printed banners can be digitally created as well, for advertising as well as for presentations and other uses. Pull up banners are sized in millimeters, with 25.4 millimeters to an inch. The standard sizes for this type of banner include:
With CorelDRAW, your own creativity is enhanced by dynamic design tools that enable you to create professional-quality banner ads for your desktop and mobile sites. Included is the ability to easily set the size of your ad. Learn more about designing and sizing your banners and try out CorelDRAW with a free trial today.
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