Display ad design: 3 reasons why HTML5 is so much better than GIF

As a designer, you credibly want to deliver high-quality ads. After all, you ’ rhenium being evaluated based on your designs. You are more probable to care about composing, color-use and the image-text ratio than most of your colleagues ( we ’ ve all seen those display ads made by marketers. While they could be very effective, they ’ re not very… well, let ’ s just say that some people should stick with the things they do estimable )

here ’ s the thing. If you are a architect and you care about creating fine-looking ads, why do you still downgrade your designs by choosing GIF as your go-to format ? We know that a draw of designers use tools such as Adobe Photoshop or Sketch to create their display ads .

unfortunately, these tools push designers to stay stuck in the GIF earned run average. We get it, though. You are already companion with these tools, and GIFs are so easily to create. But online-minded consumers nowadays need more than 256-color, pixelated ads that switch from frame to frame. They need attention-getting colors. Retina-proof images. And motion, they decidedly need apparent motion .

Besides that, aren ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate you ready for a fiddling more creative freedom ? If this sounds familiar, you might need to make the transition to HTML5 ads. This might sound like you need coding skills or to hand-over your designs to a developer ( such repugnance ! ). But with the right tools, you don ’ thymine. We will get back to that later. First, let us explain why HTML5 is so much better than using GIF .

HTML5 vs GIF

We ’ ll take you on a promptly enlistment through the differences. We ’ ll focus on the downsides of GIF here, comparing them to the benefits of HTML5 .

Reason #1: Dull color use and blurry images

GIF files are 8-bit, meaning they can only show 256 colors. When you create digital ads in HTML5, you have roughly 16,7 million colors to choose from. On the high-end ( retina ) screens that we have nowadays, an 8-bit GIF cursorily becomes very dull. aside from that, GIFs are not able to respond to different size requirements. While HTML5 ads are built to fit, they are created by using separate files, making them able to in- and decrease their size.

screen capture of an inspire GIF and a HTML5 ad

Reason #2: No interactive elements

An HTML5 ad exists of multiple files of code and images in one container, making it possible to show animations, videos, and other rich media elements. Think buttons that enlarge on mouseover, and call to actions that pop in when you ’ re about to click. Since GIFs are looping animate images, they can ’ thyroxine offer you any interactional possibilities .

An inspire GIF ( top ) and an HTML5 ad .

 

Reason #3: Larger file sizes

GIFs and HTML5 ads are displayed wholly unlike. When GIFs are in motion, they have to re-render every single pixel during playtime. Each skeletal system can well be 70kb, and the more frames you show, the larger the ultimate file size. When it comes to HTML5 ads, animations lone change one function of the file, such as one single layer or element. The rest of the ad stays the same. This makes HTML5 ads a lot smaller than animated GIFs. Since most advertise networks or Demand-Side Platforms ( DSPs ) have a terminus ad quem of 150kb, you ’ re wise to choose HTML5 over GIF .

screen capture of an animate GIF and a HTML5 ad and their actual charge sizes

 

In a nutshell 

There you have it. The top three independent reasons why you should no longer design your ads as GIFs. In compendious : their files are larger, they offer you no synergistic elements and the color use is severe. alternatively, HTML5 offers you a lot more creative exemption. You can use all the colors you want, add numerous synergistic elements and however keep your file size far below the limit .

This decidedly improves the look-and-feel of your ads, and it will decidedly please your tax coach. not only because of the bang-up looks but besides because of the amazing operation. Stunning-looking HTML5 ads will, on their end, outperform their GIF-siblings enormously .

What if you don’t have coding skills?

We promised you we ’ five hundred get back to this. Do you need coding skills to create HTML5 ads ? It ’ s a reasonable wonder since HTML5 is, indeed, a code speech. But nowadays, advanced advertise technology enables you to take matters into your own hands. particularly as a interior designer .

A creative Management Platform ( CMP ) is the way to go. This cloud-based solution offers a drag-and-drop ad builder, that basically does all the coding for you. It empowers you to build professional-looking ads in merely a few clicks. You can easily add attention-getting animations, stunning video elements or exciting audio effects .

This obviously makes the motivation for coding skills excess, and you never have to hand-over your solve to a developer always again ( we think this is bang-up news since developers much tend to mess up your design ). apart from that, a CMP besides helps you to save clock time. On the one hand, because bore, manual handlings are easily automated, so you can focus more on being creative and spend less time on repetitive tasks .

Learn more

nowadays you know why we believe HTML5 outshines GIF when it comes to digital ads. Are you cook to learn how using a CMP can help you build and design arresting HTML5 ads ? Download our eGuide here .