Buckets of big, beautiful banners.
20 December 2011
The banner of your Smallfish shop is the best place to use beautiful graphics and
typography to welcome your customers into your shop and introduce them to your brand.
Your banner is a very important element in your website and will leave a lasting
impression on your customers.
For a banner design to be truly appealing and effective there are a few rules we
need to think about. Read on to learn more about these principles and to take advantage
of our special Banner promotion!
Banner Rule 1. Size Matters.
The first, and most important, banner rule is size. Not too big, not too small and
always the right resolution. The vital statistics are as follows:
Width: 960 pixels exactly
Height: under 500 pixels
Resolution: 72 dpi (dots/ pixels per inch)
Careful consideration must be taken when setting the height of your banner. The
most important and engaging information should always be visible above the fold
and making your banner too deep can push this information below the fold*
if you're not careful. You can test where the fold will appear on your website using
this site.
Tip - Smallfish allows you to have two banners. One for your home page and another
for every other page in your site. This means that your home page banner can be
larger to provide a better first up brand experience and then become more subtle
as you browse through the rest of the site, allowing your visitors to see your shop
content more easily as they move through different pages. To enable this feature
simply create two banners and upload through your Smallfish Admin page.
*What is the 'fold'?
When you pick up a newspaper it is usually folded in half. You'll notice that the
designers have carefully placed all important headlines and images above this fold
line to draw in readers without the need to unfold the paper first. This is where
the term 'above the fold' comes from.
The fold, when looking at the web, is the bottom of your browser window and is a
far tricker thing to measure because a web browser window has no fixed dimension.
A window can take up the whole screen or just one corner. A good idea is to work
to common screen resolutions, as most people will have a browser window that takes
up a large portion of the screen.
We recommend a banner height between 250px and 320px.
Banner Rule 2. Follow The Leader.
Your banner should be built around the design cues that are already in place in
the Smallfish system. Look at the spacing used, the colour scheme, the typography
etc. You have the ability to infinitely alter the banner, but not the overall look
of your Smallfish store so, for the sake of visual consistency, use what you've
already got in front of you to help make design decisions.
Banner Rule 3. There is no spoon...
If you haven't seen
The Matrix then that title won't mean anything. So, here's what we really
mean: think about your banner not just as a banner, but as a space. This space on
your website is specifically reserved for your logo, shop name and strap-line, however,
it can also serve other functions. You could add a special promotional box to advertise
a sale or to inform people of your new free shipping. Your banner could even update
every week to provide your repeat visitors with a nice surprise.
Note: This option is for experts only! If you understand some important graphic/
web design principles then have a crack. If not then aim to get the basics right...
which serves as a nice segue to our final rule...
Banner Rule 4. Know what you're good at.
Good design is a crucially important tool in your effort to sell online. It creates
a stronger brand connection with your clients, it is appealing and informative and
will instill a perception of detail and quality in your business. The opposite is
true of poor design.
If you're not a designer then let someone who is handle the job. This is not to
say that you shouldn't have ideas about what you want to say or how you want it
to look but the final execution should be handled by someone with the right training
and experience.
Smallfish custom banners
At Smallfish we have an awesome in-house designer. For just $300 you'll get his
undivided attention and design nous for creating your very own custom banner. As
an extra bonus, you'll get $150 back when you take your store live! Of course, if
you already have a live store you can grab a great banner deal and still pay only
$150. Send an email to design@smallfish.co.nz
to find out more.
Introducing The Special Smallfish Banner Deal!
This month we are giving away one free banner design! If you purchase a custom banner
design package before January 31st 2012, you'll go into the draw to win your money back.
This means that your banner budget can go straight back into your marketing budget.
What a deal! Send an email to design@smallfish.co.nz
to find out more about getting a custom banner design and to enter the draw.