How to Create a Banner on a WordPress Website

The world of digital marketing is constantly changing. With new platforms emerging, innovative techniques being tried out, and old standbys evolving, it can be hard to keep up.

One of the most effective and simplest ways to market your product or service is through a banner ad. These ads usually appear at the top or bottom of a website page, or in its sidebars. You’ll see them often in between the content on a news website or on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter.

But what if you don’t have a website? Does that mean you’re stuck with bland, ineffective advertisements?

No. Thanks to WordPress, which many people know as the “blogging platform,” you can actually use the content that your brand creates to promote itself.

In this article, we’ll teach you how to create a banner ad for your WordPress blog. You’ll learn about the various options available, including the various sizes, shapes, colors, and locations, as well as the various tools you can use to optimize it. So, let’s get started.

Choose The Right Location For Your Banner

The first step in creating a banner ad is to choose the right location to put it. You have two options here: the sidebar, or the header. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each one.

The header is the top area of the page that contains the title and the meta data, such as the description and keyword tags. Most web browsers automatically scroll down to the header when they arrive at a new page, so it is usually the first place that visitors see when they come to your site. For that reason, it is the perfect place for a banner ad.

The downside is that the header is usually filled with content and takes up a lot of room, meaning you have less room for ads. If you really need more space, you could always opt for the sidebar, which is where we’ll be putting the banner ad in this example.

The Sidebar Is Where It’s At

The sidebar is the area on the right side of the screen on your computer or mobile device that contains the remaining content on a page. On a website, the sidebar is typically where posts and pages are displayed, as well as any content that might be displayed in a grid format (i.e. lists, thumbnails, etc.).

On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a list of posts with a preview of each one. If you click on any of the posts, you’ll be taken to that article. On the right side, you’ll see similar information about the current page with a preview of what’s there.

One of the advantages of the sidebar is that it is a relatively small section of the page, making more room for other content. Even if your website has a lot of text, it is usually wrapped in an interesting and eye-catching way, making it easier for someone to read.

The downside is that the sidebar is one of the most frequently visited parts of a website. So, if you want your banner ad to be seen by as many people as possible, you’ll have to put it in the header.

What Type Of Banner Ad Should You Make

Now that you have your location decided, it’s time to decide what type of banner ad you’ll make. There are five basic options here:

• Full-width Image Banner
• Squeezed-width Image Banner (AKA. “Classic” Banner)
• Flexible Banner (i.e. Admob Banner)
• Shorter Description Banner (i.e. Twitter’s “Promoted” Banner)
• Skyscraper Banner (AKA. “Wide” Banner)

Each of these types of banner ads serves a different purpose. Take a look at the pros and cons of each one.

Full-Width Image Banner

A full-width image banner ad is the most basic type of banner ad. It takes up the entire width of the screen (or the entire width of your site’s layout), and it usually has an image of some kind.

For our example, we’ll be using an image from Wikimedia Commons, a free media content library operated by the non-profit organization, the Wikimedia Foundation. You can find more free media content in the Wikimedia Commons.

Squeezed-width Image Banner (AKA. “Classic” Banner)

The squeezed-width or classic banner ad is what most people think of when they hear the term “banner ad.” It has a very specific and unique look that comes from the way it is designed to be displayed on a small screen. The height of a classic banner ad is usually between 15 and 20 pixels, as the name suggests – just enough to be seen but not so much that it takes up too much space on the screen.

The downside is that this type of ad, being so thin, isn’t very effective at drawing attention to itself. If someone is already looking at the screen, they might not even notice the ad. If you really want to amp up the eye-catching factor of your banner ad, you could opt for a flexible or a skyscraper banner ad instead.

Flexible Banner (i.e. Admob Banner)

The flexible banner ad is similar to the classic banner ad in that it has a very limited height and a very specific look. The main difference is that instead of using an image, a flexible banner usually uses text with an attached link, or an attached button. When a user clicks on a flexible banner ad, they see a popup window that contains additional information about the product or service that is being advertised. This type of ad can be displayed on a smartphone’s home screen, covering up part of the wallpaper and taking up a unique place in the center of the screen during a game.

The advantage of using this type of banner ad is that it is very easy to create. You don’t need any special software to get started. Simply create a text file with additional information about your product or service and upload it to your WordPress dashboard. Then, you can start displaying it on your site.

Shorter Description Banner (i.e. Twitter’s “Promoted” Banner)

The shorter description banner ad is similar to the classic banner ad in that it has a very specific look and is designed to be displayed in a specific location – either at the top or bottom of a page’s content.

This type of ad is promoted by Twitter, so it has a bit of an unusual look compared to the other types. Instead of having a picture, it uses small text snippets that are supposed to represent an article’s content.

Skyscraper banner (AKA. “Wide” Banner)

A skyscraper banner ad is usually advertised as “wide” or “full-width” banner ad because it takes up the entire width of the screen (or the entire width of your site’s layout). It is a long rectangular ad with a distinctive tiled background. The advantage of using this type of ad is that it draws the eye of the viewer right to it, like a flagpole in the center of the frame.

The downside is that this type of ad doesn’t always play well with others. If you’re using a flexible or a squeezed-width banner ad on a smartphone’s home screen, the skyscraper ad can become a bit squished, looking more like a narrow column or a skinny rectangle than like a true skyscraper.

What Size Should Your Image Be?

As we mentioned above, a full-width image banner ad takes up the entire width of the screen (or the entire width of your site’s layout). It usually has an image of some kind.

However, the size of that image is completely up to you. There are four options here: