Using the Advert Generator
Creating Adverts can be a daunting task if you don't know the basics of HTML. Some people simply do not know what to do or how to create HTML links and things like that. This is partly why the Advert Generator is added to AdRotate Banner Manager and AdRotate Pro! To make things simpler, even if you don't know HTML.
The other reason is to easily make certain types of adverts. As you'll see in the options you can make responsive adverts and basic video adverts as well.
For more advanced adverts such as those provided by Media.net or Google AdSense you don't use the Advert Generator.
Prerequisites
While AdRotate Banner Manager and AdRotate Pro can take care of generating the code and basic settings for you, you still need to prepare a few things and finish the advert. This includes a few settings and placing the advert on your site.
But also, you need to have at least one banner image uploaded and provide a target link. This is where people clicking the banner are sent to.
If you have those two pieces AdRotate or AdRotate Pro has enough to get you started with your advert.
One or more banner images
Banner Images are sourced from the Banners folder.
You can upload images to there via the AdRotate Media Manager.
Or, if you prefer, you can also upload the files to /wp-content/banners/ using your favorite (s)FTP or Webdav client.
You can read more on managing banner images here.
Viewports
A viewport is essentially the size of the browser. That means that in an ideal situation you can make adverts that work on different sizes regardless of the device. Thought the images are not responsive. The correct size is picked on page load and does not replace itself with another image if you resize the browser like a responsive ad might do.
Each viewport requires an extra banner image for your advert, resized or designed for its screen resolution. You can add up to 3 additional viewports for a total of 4 images.
Selecting the same image for all 4 sizes defeats the purpose and you might as well skip the feature.
In the Advert Generator you then select them in the dropdown menus and AdRotate creates all the code for it. Each size has a suggestion for what device might use it to give you an idea as to what size to use.
When you're done, click 'Generate and Configure' and the resulting code will look something like this.
This method is supported in most modern browsers. Those who do not support this technique will just use the original full size image. WordPress uses this method in blog posts as-well.
This kind of setup can be used as a replacement for AdRotate Pro's Mobile Adverts feature, but is not really intended to. Maybe at a later stage this may happen.
If you prefer to have 2 or 3 separate adverts, 1 for each device, you should use the Mobile Adverts feature. This also helps with determining which ad works better on which device as the 3 ads have their own statistics.
Other settings
Some other settings include;
- Opening the advert in a new window - This is useful if you want to keep people on your site instead of sending them away.
- A NoFollow option - Useful for commercial links such as affiliate links.
- Creating Alt and Title attributes.
Generate and Configure Advert
After selecting all the options you want or need, click Generate and Configure Advert. This will take you to the regular Create Advert dashboard. You'll see your generated advert in the AdCode field and it may already show up in the preview below the AdCode field.
You can then proceed to configure the advert as normal. Give it a name, a schedule, put it in a group and everything else you need it to do.
