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Banners - design

Designing Banners that work

Standard Banner sizes

Most banner schemes use the standard size for banners (460x60pixels)

The banner above is 468x60 pixels in size. It has been included to show you how big banners are.

The are a number of different banner types - a fairly clear evolution process is taking place. Research is finding that banners are avoided by people (the eye naturally averts) and so they're becoming less effective in their current state.

You might have seen some interactive banners - you might have seen one with a monkey on - or more recently one with a coin to rub off the silver squares.

Designing Banners

A good banner must catch the eye, and cause the viewer to actually click on it.

The call to action - inviting the viewer to click on the banner is THE most important feature of your banner. The whole point of having a banner is to get people to come and visit your site.

Software is available to help you make banners - most graphics software packages can be used.

There are a number of sites specialising in banner design - these can guide you through the various stages that are needed - banner design is a science as much as an art.

One of the challenges of banner design is creating dynamic images while staying within the standard 10 kilobytes limit set by most Web sites. Through the step by step construction of a banner ad, banner expert Vic Spindler illuminates how to walk the fine line between astounding graphics and low k-size. http://www.workz.com/ad.asp?id=1430,478

Banner Design Thoughts

To effectively test you banners you need to display each one at least 1000 times to get accurate results. If you banner performance click through is less than 0.5% then you should consider changing your banner.

Use questions
Invite the audience to come and see what's in it for them... "Have you seen this product?", "Would you like this product free?", "Do you want to win?", "Want to be rich?"

Colours
Colors effect the eye differently. Using bright colors can help attract a user's eye, contributing to higher response rates.
Research has shown that blue, green and yellow work best, while white, red, and black are not as effective.

Animation
If you want to catch someone's attention then an animated banner might well do that.

Be Cryptic
By deliberately making a cryptic statement on your banner you might intrigue people to click on it.

Make Your Offer Clear
While cryptic banners get attention, they are not more important than a good offer. Make your offer obvious.
State clearly in your ad what you're offering and how easy it is to get it. If your offer is a good one it will help your response more than any fancy creative ever could.

KISS (Keep it simple stupid!)
If your banner is too complicated then you'll leave people confused.

Call to Action:
This just tells the viewer to do something now... often using the word now or here, to indicate the urgency.

The Word "FREE"
People love free stuff, if you have something to give away free then why not mention it in your banner?

Banner Design Software

There are various pieces of software available to use for making banners.

One of the best software programs is Paint Shop Pro. Animation worksop is included in the package and its very easy to create animated banners using this software. It has a wizard to guide you through - or you can build one from scratch. There are lots of support sites out there for Paint Shop Pro, and Jasc software - the makers - have specific newsgroups available for users.

Banner Maker Pro for Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000

Do you want great looking banner ads?
Use the only software designed exclusively for making banners.
Banner Maker Pro for Windows creates great looking buttons and banners fast.
Options include animation, 3D text, backgrounds, shapes and more. Only $29! New version 3.00. FREE 30-day trial.
http://www.workz.com/ad.asp?id=1414,478

Make Banners Online at Banner Forge , also buttons and logos.

Banner Information Newsletter

Banner Tips Expert Advice is part of the Banner Tips Newsletter, a FREE opt-in monthly newsletter from workz.com. The Banner Tips Newsletter includes the Banner Comparison, Banner News Digest, and Banner Expert Advice. To sign up for Banner Tips and other services, go to http://www.workz.com/UserAdmin/MemberMaintenance.asp

Banner Tips........... http://www.bannertips.com/

Back issues are available here: http://www.bannertips.com/bannerTipsIndex.shtml