Designing Banner Ads – 5 Things to Keep in Mind

1)      Grab Attention – The effectiveness of a banner advertisement depends on its ability to grab an internet surfer’s attention the moment they land on the page. A web designer will have to use a range of tools in their design arsenal including color, images, copy, typography, and more.

2)      Don’t Annoy – Today’s online shopper is more persnickety than ever before, and the last thing they want is to be annoyed with cheap ploys, animated objects, flashy words, and other old techniques which are no longer innovative. Instead, discover new modern way to capture attention while still respecting the internet viewers’ space.

3)      Get to the Point – Words do not come cheaply when it comes to space on a banner ad. Designers will have to ensure they are stating the mission and goal of the ad – the attention grabber and call to action – with as few of words as possible. This will help be sure readers see the whole message, as well as leave white space for attractiveness.

4)     Scalability – Designers must be sure their ad will still look good no matter the size of the screen it is being viewed on. Today’s online consumer surfs the web on screen as large as a television and as small as phone. Make sure the ad’s graphics, type, and colors all look high quality no matter the scale.

5)     Creativity – Designers must not let the limited space and restrictions of banner ad design get in the way of their creativity. Still take the time to brainstorm and create something impressive. 

Banner Ad Sizes – What is Right for me?

When you first think banner ad – chances are you imagine the long horizontal ad which pops up on the top of website pages, however banner ads actually come in all shapes and sizes. Businesses looking to stretch their online marketing dollars by getting into banner advertising should take the time to research all the different sizes and determine the best size for their particular marketing campaign. Here are some of the sizes available:

SkyScraper – Skyscraper ads are available in standard and wide sizes. These advertisements run vertical along the edge of a website page – left of right. The benefit of these is that online viewers will most likely view the entire advertisement while they are reading the text on the site page.

Leatherboard – A Leatherboard looks like an oversized full banner ad (the traditional banner advertisement everyone is familiar with). This larger ad expands the horizontal canvas giving designers more space to be creative. However, these ads will most likely also be more expensive.

Square Button – Square buttons are small squares which are typically featured along the right hand side of a website. Squares have the advantage of giving an even design space for the web artist. Sometimes this can be simpler than working with long and skinny spaces. However, square buttons are small and will typically be featured alongside other advertisements which means competition for your ad.

Half Banner – If you are attracted to the traditional banner ad, but looking for a less expensive alternative, consider a half banner. The small space means more affordable but you will get similar dimensions and placement.

How Design Can Help Customers Feel Secure at Checkout

Research shows that while online shopping is far from representing the majority of shopping done by Americans, it is still growing in popularity. It is especially popular with the 18-49 year old demographic, the shoppers of tomorrow. Most big and medium size businesses offer their products online and in store and plenty of other businesses operate exclusively online. The greatest hurdle for these businesses is gaining the trust of customers so that people will make purchases. Even regular Internet-surfers can be apprehensive about making a purchase online because they don’t like sharing their credit card number, are concerned the product is not what it seems, and they worry that the return process will be too difficult if they are unhappy with their purchase.

Designpax – Online Web design on demand has the unique ability to help customers feel more secure when making a purchase online by designing the checkout process to be comprehensive, intuitive, and secure in appearance. While the tech department will be responsible for much of the actual internal security elements, designers are responsible for relaying this message to the customers. Here are some tips for creating a checkout process that

  • Keep the Shopping Cart Clutter Free: It can be tempting for marketers to use the shopping cart as an up-sell space. Similar to the checkout line at the grocery store, designers will most likely be asked to make plenty of space in the shopping cart where extra products can be suggested for customers to purchase. While this is a powerful marketing tool, it can also backfire by making customers feel nervous that the business is too pushy or new products are in their cart which they didn’t request. If designers are required to use this sales tactic, keep the suggested products far from the actual products the person is buying.
  • Show a Timeline: Customers always want to know exactly when their credit card is going to be charged. Make sure there is a timeline which shows customers where they are in the checkout process such as “reviewing purchase” or “finished”. While it may seem like enough to have the timeline at the top of the page, it is a good idea to add copy at the bottom of the “next” button which indicates what the upcoming step will be once the customer moves on.
  • Always Display the Total Price: Be sure the total price (shipping included, or show “pending” if the cost of shipping hasn’t been determined yet) is showing at all times in a margin or on each page during the checkout process. This will help customers feel like they aren’t going to be charged for something additional by surprise.
  • Use Custom Icons: Icons are small images which helps customers understand how to navigate a website. These include images of arrows, small shopping carts, and the “click here” hand. Icons combined with good copy are an effective way to help customers always know exactly where to go next during checkout.

5 Ways Small Businesses Websites can Stand Out

You may not have the money to compete with the advertising of Coca-Cola, Nike, or any other big brand names, but that doesn’t mean your small business can’t stand out from the crowd with unique web design. Most businesses today already have a website, but are still looking for ways to improve their web design to attract more of the right customers (namely, customers who want to purchase something or spread the message of your business). Here are some tips that designers working for a small business can use to help their company stand out from competitors.

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Web Designer’s Guide to Testing Usability

Usability describes how easy, or difficult, it is for a person visiting your website to navigate through the site and how quickly they can find what they are looking for. Usability can be difficult to judge however, especially for a web designer who has spent the last few days, weeks, or months, creating the website from the ground up. Additionally, people who work for a company are often very familiar with the company’s website, to the point they could navigate it in their sleep. Familiarity shouldn’t be confused with usability however, and it is critical that web designers test the usability of their designs to ensure customers aren’t turning away from their site because it is too difficult to navigate. Here are some of the best ways to test the usability of a website.

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Banner Ads and CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a marketing strategy for interacting with prospective and current customers and clients. CRM marketing has taken on a whole new appearance with the rise of internet marketing. With so many online businesses saturating every market and industry, companies must be more diligent and creative with their CRM strategy. When it comes to costs, marketing to get persuade current customers to purchase more is much cheaper than seeking out new customers. CRM is all about keeping current customers, rather than finding new people interested in their company’s products or service. So how do banner advertisements play into CRM?

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The Power of Minimalism in Design

While minimalism might conjure up images of uncomfortable chairs and all white interior decorating, in truth, minimalism is a powerful design tool, especially for web design. The roots of minimalistic design are bound in Japanese art culture during the 20th and 21st century. However, the phenomena spread quickly around the world and today elements of minimalism can be found in everything from car design to websites, architecture, and more. The actual definition of minimalism is “design stripped to its essential elements”.

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A Brief History of the Early Days of Banner Advertising

As soon as the public began using the internet regularly during the 1990s, online advertising was introduced and grew exponentially within just a few years. Banner advertising specifically took off and before long banner ads were popping up on every website. In fact, all those banner ads quickly became a bit of an eyesore, and in 1996 the Interactive Advertising Bureau was created to manage online advertising. The Bureau set standards for the sizes and format of banner advertising, but it wasn’t long before web designers and marketers were discovering new ways to innovate their banner ads without breaking the rules.

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8 Power Words for Banner Ads

It might sound like an old-man marketing scheme, but Power Words are an essential part of advertising. With all the innovative marketing being done today, it’s easy for business owners to think that tried and true marketing principles are becoming a thing of the past. However gimmicky the phrase “power words” may sound, these words have been used in marketing since the beginning for a reason. Power words subtly instill the need to take action in the person reading the words. These words walk the fine line between being abrasively in a person’s face, something most customers do not want, and engaging customers in your message in an active way.

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