Banner Enchancement - Designing Your Banner

A well designed web site is great to have, but what if no one ever comes to it? Most web sites either rely on advertising, or have used advertising at some point in their existence, to get people to come to view the site. This means that your going to have to have not only a well designed web site but also well designed banners to attract your visitors.

Tip #1 - Flashy is no Longer Catchy

Most people are used to advertisements being on a web page as they browse the Internet and they tend to ignore them all together. In the past, to catch the attention of the surfer, banner designs have flashed bright colors repeatedly and used pictures that change colors. In the Internet that we are dealing with today, this no longer works. People ignore these banners knowing that a poorly designed ad normally means a poorly designed web site. Try to avoid rapid image changes unless they equal a smooth movement (ex. a ball rolling).

Tip #2 - A Banner is a Glimpse of Your Site

Your banners, no matter what width or height, should always try to represent your site, with colors, information, and quality. If you have a purple and green scheme for your web site, don't make your banner red and blue. In relation to this, if your web site is about eggs, don't have a picture of a ham dancing around. You want to show what information you have on your site, not just attract people with catchy images (such as a scantly dressed woman for your site relating to eggs). Yes you want to get people to your site, but you also want people to stay on your site. Wasting your money for traffic that's just going to leave once they find out what your site is really all about is a waste of money. You want to keep the people who click on your banner on your site, so make your banner like your site!

Tip #3 - Don't Show Them too Much

The purpose of your banner is to entice people to click on it. Talking about your site a little bit is fine, but giving a three minute speech isn't. You want to give a little information, then lead them to click on the banner to find the rest.

Tip #4 - Unanimated Banners are Good Too!

People these days are spending much time and effort into making that ham dance just the right way, but have they ever considered that maybe having the ham not move at all is better? Moving images do attract attention, but a nice picture also does the trick. The benefit of just having a single frame is that you only have to display a small amount of information. This will entice people to click on the ad to find out more (see Tip #3). Creating a multi frame image results in the viewer expecting more information that maybe you don't have.

Tip #5 - Don't Just Display Your Domain Name (with a few exceptions)

Unless your web sites's name is "WeSellEggs.com" or "Eggs.com," don't just display your name. Having the viewer guess what's on your site based by your name can be risky, so why risk it? Put a little blurb beneath your domain name with a short (fifteen word max) description. Most sites already have this description in the header, so just copy and paste.

Tip #6 - Make Multiple Banners

Having a wide assortment of banners means that you can "match" your banner with the site it is going on. Yes having contrasting colors makes your banner stand out, but you also want to make it look professional. The viewer of the ad, without even realizing it, is looking at the colors of the page as well as the colors of the banner. Having an orange banner on a green site will turn the viewer away from your ad for no reason other than it doesn't fit.

Now that you have some information, open up your paint program and start making slides (or just a single image if you wish). You can always find an easy program to combine your frames together. Try googling "gif animation program" and find one that suits your needs. Good luck and be creative!

Jeffrey Abbott is a respected author and editor of eMoneyReport.com

Visit the site at http://www.emoneyreport.com and read reviews on programs that help you to make money from your own home. eMoneyReport offers a simple and easy format to find articles relating to all types of online business and website promotion.

---

Alternative to Web Site Templates and Design Software

Before I discovered the concept of Web site templates, I... Read More

You Too Can Have an Amazing Website

It is a well-known fact that a successful business depends... Read More

Flash Design Adds Website Versatility

You have probably viewed many Flash-based components while surfing the... Read More

Choose & Use the Best Colors

The Psychology of ColorAre you using the best colors for... Read More

How Your Business Can Win Online

There are lots of websites out there that do little... Read More

Handwriting Font Tips - The Personal Touch That Makes a Difference

Most websites use similar fonts and as a result have... Read More

Tips For An Effective Website

A successful website is something that everyone venturing into the... Read More

Browser Compatibility

Internet Explorer, created by microsoft has been the most popular... Read More

Introduction To CGI Scripts

Using CGI scripts to add automation to your web site... Read More

When Your Graphic Designer Costs You Money

So how do you know when your graphic designer costs... Read More

The Psychology of Color in Web Design

Persons engaged in website design, here's a scoop for you!... Read More

Size Does Matter!

In this article we will be looking at why you... Read More

Free Web Design Advice

In this article I will give advice and tips of... Read More

How to use Emotional Content to Increase Visitor Response

Did you know that many folks make "buying decisions" when... Read More

10 Profitable Ways To Recycle Your Content

1. Repackage your web site content in to different products... Read More

Web Design Advice And Information

Most of us at times need advice on different aspects... Read More

How Does Your Website Measure Up?

Does your website make a good first impression? Is the... Read More

Leave Those Links Blue!

Don't mess with those links! When you're designing your site,... Read More

Website Registration Roadmap - How to Create Your Own Website in 7 Easy Steps

Creating your own website is actually easy in today's world... Read More

What to Avoid to Make Your Website Design Effective

The effective design is this one, which is maximum simplified,... Read More

Hiring a Graphic Designer

You've come up with a great product. You've got the... Read More

Website Polls For You And Your Visitors

Setting up a survey on your site is extremely simple... Read More

How To Create A Homepage That Works

Want to know what the worst thing to say on... Read More

The Next Marketing Tool: Deisgn

Design sells. It's something that all of us know, but... Read More

Web Design: How To Get Your Visitors To Stay

Remember the famous line from the movie Field of Dreams,... Read More

Converting Traffic into Sales

Making a successful online business can be a long and... Read More

How To Give Your Business Credibility

Let's face it. Buying products and services from the Internet... Read More

Revising Your Site - What Happened To My Search Engine Placement?

As of September, Smartads went through what so many have... Read More

Be Inspired to Create Better Websites

Being a writer, when I was asked to do some... Read More

Usability and Considerate Design

I hate to imagine that in your web development project... Read More

Choosing A Color Scheme

When you begin the design of your Web site, one... Read More

Some Useful Common Site Ideas

In my web surfing adventures, I've found a few site... Read More

How to Make the Online Sales Copy for Your Website More Conversational

It has been said that the best online sales copy... Read More