Top Tips to Create the Best Online Banner Design
Advertising is the fuel to any business, nowadays, nearly there’s not a single webpage or application that doesn’t show pop-up ads or short videos promoting a brand, a product, or a service, and this is called digital advertising, which is characterized by using digital media channels to communicate with the audience.
Online banners are known for being the oldest form of internet-based advertising ever. They’re evolving daily to match audience expectations, so today, we’re counting our top tips to help you surpass all expectations when designing online banners. Cover photo by Pierre Châtel-Innocenti.
Getting the Best Online Banner Design
1. Define the purpose
Before starting with the designing process using an online banner maker app or site, ask yourself, “what goal is that banner designed for?” The whole concept of the banner should be built around the answer to that question, a purposeless banner is a worthless banner, once the purpose is clear to you, you can deliver that purpose thoughtfully to the targeted audience.
2. Use high-quality images only
Visual graphics are widely used in banners; they’re a great way to take your design to the next level when used correctly. What’s more important than an eye-catching image is one that delivers a clear message, which could only happen using high-quality graphics.
Even when counting on high-resolution visuals, there are 2 types of file formats you need to consider:
- Raster: which is basically a group of dots that together form a high-resolution picture
- Vector (outlines): line art graphics; what’s unique about vector images is that no matter how you resize them, they’ll maintain their quality
Using low-quality images such as those saved directly from the internet will appear blurry when enlarged, suggesting that a brand is cheap and shows a lack of self-awareness.
3. Be careful with colors
Colors are the first thing that web page visitors will unconsciously notice in your banner. Utilizing the right combination of colors will get online users to discover what the banner is promoting.
Warm colors are the most relaxing to the eye and are best used as a background, whereas neon colors radiate a lot of light; it’s advised to use them when you want to make your audience pay attention to a specific detail such as (50% sale – order now – join us), be careful and never use a lot of neon colors.
4. Be aware of the banner’s surroundings
Paying attention to small details makes a banner work; knowing where and how the banner will be placed on a webpage is essential; you need to make sure that the banner is distinguishable from its surroundings.
Sometimes the background where the banner is placed might match the banner’s background, and your banner won’t be noticed; stroking the edges of the banner with white or black is a great trick.
5. Choose the right font format
A banner’s main goal is delivering a direct message; the right text format makes that message reach your audience, even if they just had a quick look. The text must be easily readable, which could be achieved using certain typefaces and the right font size.
A banner is mainly image-based rather than text-based, so you don’t want the text to be the key element in a banner; moreover, there’s a limit to how much space the text box can consume in a banner without ruining the design; basically, it’s around 16-22% of the banner’s total space.
Typefaces are also important; avoiding italic fonts such as (Rage Italic) and relying on certain fonts such as (Castellar – Times New Roman) will improve your banner.
6. Be concise
There’s a limit to the font size you’re using; you don’t want to end up with a 30cm*20cm banner; besides that, you have to keep your text concise; the fewer words, the better.
If the box in which the text is inserted is square-shaped rather than rectangle-shaped, 12 words are better distributed by the format 3*4 (3 rows*4words) rather than 2*6 (2 rows*6words).
Square-shaped text boxes are less confusing and can be read with a fixed eye, unlike rectangle-shaped text boxes requiring effort and eye movement. Basically, it’s preferred to use nine words with the format 3*3 in a banner.
It takes a talented artist to paint the perfect picture, knowing what brushes to use and what combination of colors serves the purpose; similarly, it takes a talented designer who has read this article to design the best online banner.
Thanks for these useful and accurate tips! Banners are widely used as a means for advertising, promoting, or announcing something important. I am planning to create a banner for our online shop and these tips are super helpful, however, I am not familiar with applications that I can use to design my banner, can you tell me which application is best to use in designing the layout of my banner?
Nicely Explained everything. Many people ignore fonts’ importance, they randomly choose them. However, fonts make the real impression of your message. Moreover, color psychology is really important. The combos of different colors you make create a real impression. I take the help of color wheel, as it help me creating multiple combos of most suitable colors.