For over a decade, Flash was the standard-bearer for banner ads. Then back in 2015, when Google and other platforms decided to urgently phase out Flash content, advertisers were sent into a panic. The industry had to make changes fast, and those changes were centered around HTML5 ads.
The fall of Flash
Back in the early 2010s, HTML5 banner ads did exist. Marketers saw the potential and benefits gained from using this format. Yet ad networks were slow to adopt HTML5. Their thought process: Why make such sweeping changes when Flash was the all-conquering, de facto standard for digital ads.
Then the security issues cropped up.
As useful as Flash was for generating interactive banner ads, playing online games, watching video clips, and so on, problems existed under the surface. Flaws in Flash’s code led to it being a hacker’s favorite friend, allowing them to exploit these security holes and infect computers with ease.
Apple never liked Flash and its shortcomings. Now the rest of the world was catching on, with internet browsers, ad networks, and everyone else denouncing the use of Flash. At the end of 2020, Adobe Systems put an end to their Flash Player plug-in. The former king was dead – and Flash’s successor had already inherited its crown years ago.
To answer the question posed in the title, ad networks don’t just accept banner ads written in HTML5/CSS; it has now become the figurehead for the industry.
The rise of HTML5
If you ran ad campaigns in the pre-HTML5 era, you know it wasn’t a fun experience. It involved a lot of hard work. This was especially the case when mobile devices, and all their different-sized screens, joined the party. You had the task of manually making each ad banner for each screen size. Ugh. HTML5, along with being the optimal way to craft responsive websites, has become the best method to produce banner ads.
HTML5, Hypertext Markup Language’s latest update, is the standard language utilized when describing web pages and their design and contents. This also includes their responsive elements. In online advertising and the creation of innovative digital ads, HTML5 works very much in the same way. HTML5 ads have become an integral aspect of online advertising, and this is mainly down to the flexibility provided.
This flexibility gives advertisers and publishers the tools to deliver adaptable ad campaigns. Unlike Flash, where the task was to create multiple versions of the same banner ad to fit each platform, HTML5 allows you to produce banners that are perfectly adaptable. By being able to avoid having to make potentially hundreds of the same ad, helps ramp up banner production while also reducing the possibility of errors occurring.
Text, video, images, JavaScript – all of these are editable with HTML5 ads. The magic of these banner ads continues with their dynamic optimization, which ensures all ads appear perfect on any device. Furthermore, and with the ever-importance of mobile in business, HTML5 ads function perfectly – and without any functionality loss – across mobile devices.
In a nutshell: the benefits of HTML5 banner ads
A number of benefits have already been touched upon above. However, here’s a quick list of the main benefits gained from using HTML5 banner ads:
- Quickly scale the ad to many sizes and formats
- Maintain full control over the ad’s design
- Easy to create variations, including translations and image changes
- Utilize the growing trend in mobile and video display ads
- Use data feeds to update banners dynamically
- Effectively collaborate across teams
In this day and age, it has never been more important to build responsive display ads. Forget about static, GIF, or Flash banners – those days are long gone. To effectively capture the attention of your target audience, it’s important you – and your ad network – wield the power of HTML5.
The birth of rich media banners
Simply put, rich media banners would not exist without HTML5. As you know, rich media ads are essential for any modern marketing campaign. They promote higher engagement levels, where banners directly interact with viewers and ramp up responsiveness. Consumers can also be engaged in multiple ways, including everything from sign-up forms to in-banner games.
However, there’s a fine line between devising rich media banners that are effective and those which don’t appeal to your audience. Regarding the latter, a rich media ad that is overly complex or packs in too much information will only confuse your audience. The ad’s interaction shouldn’t extend beyond a couple of steps, where it only centers on one aspect, making it easy and quick for viewers to comprehend.
To further maximize the impact of your HTML5 rich media ad, it needs to feature intuitive design and be serious in its execution. By successfully stimulating the senses, your ad campaign can instantly boost conversion rates – and this is all thanks to the foundation created by HTML5.
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