A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser. In many cases, banners are delivered by a central ad server.
| Name | Width / px | Height / px | Aspect ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rectangles and Pop-Ups | |||
| Medium Rectangle | 300 | 250 | 1.2 |
| Square Pop-Up | 250 | 250 | 1 |
| Vertical Rectangle | 240 | 400 | 0.6 |
| Large Rectangle | 336 | 280 | 1.2 |
| Rectangle | 180 | 150 | 1.2 |
| 3:1 Rectangle | 300 | 100 | 3 |
| Pop-Under | 720 | 300 | 2.4 |
| Banners and Buttons | |||
| Full banner | 468 | 60 | 7.8 |
| Half banner | 234 | 60 | 3.9 |
| Micro bar | 88 | 31 | 2.84 |
| Button 1 | 120 | 90 | 1.33 |
| Button 2 | 120 | 60 | 2 |
| Vertical banner | 120 | 240 | 0.5 |
| Square button | 125 | 125 | 1 |
| Leaderboard | 728 | 90 | 8.09 |
| Skyscrapers | |||
| Wide skyscraper | 160 | 600 | 3.75 |
| Skyscraper | 120 | 600 | 5 |
| Half page ad | 300 | 600 |
2 |
Standard web banners included into the IAB`s Universal Package and Ad Units Guidelines are supported by major ad serving companies. This is particularly relevant for IAB members such as Adform, AppNexus, Chitika, Conversant, Epom, HIRO, Mixpo, SpotXchange, ZEDO, and many others. Additionally, ad serving providers may offer other, non-standard banner sizes and technologies, as well as the support of different online advertising formats (e.g. native ads).
However, standard banner ad sizes are constantly evolving due to consumer creative fatigue and banner blindness. Ad companies consistently test performance of ad units to ensure maximum performance for their clients. Some publishers that are known for their unique, custom executions include BuzzFeed, CraveOnline, Quartz (publication), Thought Catalog, Elite Daily, Vice Media, Inc., Mic (media company), and many others. According to media research firm eMarketer, such types of custom executions through publisher direct buys are on the rise, with Native advertising spending to hit over $4.3 Billion by the end of 2015.
The banner ad played a significant role in enabling the rapid development of paid advertising on the Internet. With the standard formats, operation (clickable link to a destination), and pricing system (impressions), the banner ad enabled any Web site to sell advertising, and provided the operating requirements for ad server companies, such as NetGravity, to develop the systems needed to operate and track Web-based advertising.
The banner ad was also unique, as compared to advertising appearing in then comparable media, such as newspapers and magazines. Unlike advertising in periodicals, the banner ad encouraged media consumers to actually leave the media service or product and go to a separate media environment (typically a Web site operated by the advertiser). In contrast, readers viewing newspaper or magazine advertising are not encouraged to leave the periodical. Rather, the message of the advertising is itself intended to influence the reader.
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