Pixelrage.net

Ever since my earliest days in web design, I’ve hated the 728×90 full banner ad size. It’s inconvenient. It doesn’t fit properly. It’s annoying to accommodate into any web design.

I can honestly say that in every instance, the most annoying part of creating a website is accommodating ad spaces. 100% of the time, the biggest culprit is the 728×90 pixel ad, which has historically been the most successful, most clicked ad I’ve ever placed across all of the websites I’ve worked on. But…why does it have to be such an incredibly inconvenient size?

According to traditional heat maps, the optimal place to put your primary banner is on the upper left. Since your website logo traditionally goes there, a popular place would be directly under the logo (although many web designers tend to put it to the right of the logo, which is technically less effective, as eyeballs instinctively go from the top-left downward…but that’s just some deep thinking for you).

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

Nice theme, right? Well, all that’s needed is to fit in that 728×90 banner ad that I want (or that my client wants):

Great…so, I got my 728×90 banner, and now I have a massive gap to the right of it that simply cannot be left as is. The only resolve is to create yet another box ad to the right of it to fill in the space, whether I like it or not. If I don’t know what to put in there, I’ll have to think of something. If I’m freelancing for a client, I’ll have to let them know that they’ll have to think of something within their site that they want to advertise to the right of their advertisement. This is absolutely stupid.

Is it horrible? No. Is it what I originally wanted? Once again, no. I don’t think I have ever seen a case where a 728×90 ad simply “popped” into place like a puzzle piece within a website template. Have you ever designed a website’s body content area to be exactly 728 pixels wide, just so the banner ad fit perfectly above it and below the site logo? I have.

I really think it’s time that the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau – the organization responsible for deciding on official, universal ad sizes across the web) realize that it’s time for something wider. What I’d truly love: 960×90. Why? It’s a very common width for the body + sidebar area of a website, as seen in most web templates.

I have a feeling that all hopes of seeing an ad size like this is nothing short of wishful thinking…