Learn/Every size
How to lay out a banner
A leaderboard is a row, not a small poster. How to fit the same ad into 90 pixels of height without losing what it has to say.
The short answerTreat a banner as a row: the photo at one end, the headline beside it, the price and the button at the other end, and the legal line underneath. Cut the headline to what fits on one or two lines at a readable size, keep small text at a contrast of at least 4.5:1, and export as JPG, PNG or GIF under 150 KB for Google’s uploaded image ads.
- A 728×90 leaderboard is about eight times wider than it is tall. Nothing laid out for a square survives in it.
- Google takes uploaded image ads as GIF, JPG or PNG, at 150 KB at most.1
- Small text needs a contrast of at least 4.5:1 against its background; large text needs 3:1.4
- If a claim needs a disclosure, put it in the banner when it fits; the FTC allows the landing page only when it truly cannot.3
On this page
Banners are where a set’s mistakes ship. They are the sizes nobody looks at closely, and they are the ones a square layout fits worst. A 728×90 leaderboard has 90 pixels of height for everything a square ad spreads over a thousand. The answer is a different layout, not a smaller one.
- The finished master and its layers.
- The banner sizes the media plan lists.
- The legal line in full, and your brand’s rule for its smallest size.
Step 1Know which banners you are making
Google lists these banner sizes for uploaded image ads. Width divided by height tells you how much of a row each one is.
| Banner | Size (px) | Width ÷ height |
|---|---|---|
| Leaderboard1 | 728×90 | 8.1 |
| Large leaderboard1 | 970×90 | 10.8 |
| Billboard1 | 970×250 | 3.9 |
| Banner1 | 468×60 | 7.8 |
| Mobile banner1 | 320×50 | 6.4 |
| Mobile banner1 | 300×50 | 6.0 |
| Large mobile banner1 | 320×100 | 3.2 |
Google also lists 728×90 and 970×90 among the most common sizes on computers.2
Group them the way you would group any set: the true strips (728×90, 970×90, 468×60 and the 50-pixel mobile banners) share one layout, and the deeper ones (970×250, 320×100) share another, with room for the photo to be larger.
Step 2Decide what the banner must carry
List the master’s parts and decide which survive the strip: in most sets the logo, a short headline, the price, the button and the legal line. The photo stays as a crop of the product, not the scene.
The legal line is the part people drop, and it is the one that matters most to an approver. The FTC’s guidance on digital ads says a needed disclosure should sit as close as possible to the claim it qualifies, should work on every device the ad runs on, and should be built into a space-constrained ad whenever possible; only when that is not possible may it be acceptable to make it clearly and conspicuously on the page the ad links to.3
Step 3Lay it out as a row
Place the parts left to right, in the order someone reads: the product photo at the left edge, the headline beside it, then the price and the button at the right edge, with the legal line in a single line under the headline. The logo can sit above the headline when there is height, or beside the photo when there is not.
Size the type to the height, not to the master. On a 90-pixel banner, two lines of headline at 24 pixels with a little spacing take about 55 pixels, which leaves room for a legal line under them. On a 50-pixel mobile banner there is room for one line of headline and the price: the legal line is the first thing to plan for there, and a headline of three or four words is usually what fits.
Example numbers. A headline of “First mile. Arc 01.” at 24 px is about 230 px wide in a bold sans. On a 728×90 banner, with a 90 px photo at the left and 200 px for the price and button at the right, about 400 px are left for the headline and the legal line: the headline fits on one line, and the legal line fits beneath it.
Step 4Make every word readable
Small text on a busy photo is where banners fail an approver. A widely used measure is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: text should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 against its background, and large text (18 point, or 14 point bold) at least 3:1. Text that is part of a logo has no requirement.4
| Text | Minimum contrast | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| Legal line, price small print4 | 4.5:1 | Set it on a flat area, not over the photo |
| Headline at 18 pt or more4 | 3:1 | Can sit over a calm part of the photo |
| Logo4 | None | Keep it whole and unstretched |
The contrast ratios from WCAG 2.2, Success Criterion 1.4.3.4
Check the legal line at its real size on a screen, not zoomed in. If it cannot be read at the size the banner allows, the banner needs a shorter headline, not a smaller legal line.
Step 5Export within the limit
Google takes uploaded image ads as GIF, JPG or PNG, and no larger than 150 KB.1 A banner with a photo usually fits as a JPG; one that is mostly flat colour and text is often smaller and sharper as a PNG. Export at the listed pixel size, never larger: a banner is shown at its size.
Common mistakes
- Scaling the square ad down into the strip.The words become unreadable and the price disappears.
- Dropping the legal line because it does not fit.Shorten the headline first; the legal line is what the approver checks.
- Putting small text over the photo.It fails contrast the moment the photo behind it is busy.
- Exporting at twice the size for sharpness.A banner is shown at its listed size, and the file has to stay under the limit.
Choose Resize and add the banner sizes from your plan. eonik lays each banner out as a row around the same parts, the photo at one end and the price and button at the other, and shows every size beside the others before it makes them.
See Resize →Questions
Should a banner say less than the master?
It carries the same offer with fewer words. Keep the price, the button and the legal line exactly as the master has them, and cut the headline to the words that fit at a readable size. A banner that changes the claim is a different ad and needs its own approval.
Can the legal line live on the landing page instead?
Sometimes. The FTC’s guidance says to build a needed disclosure into a space-constrained ad whenever possible, and only when that is not possible may it be acceptable to make it clearly on the page the ad links to. Treat the landing page as the exception you decide on, not the default.3
Animated or still?
Google’s uploaded image ads accept GIF, so animation is possible within the same 150 KB. A still banner is simpler to check: everything an approver needs is visible at once.1
Sources
- Uploaded display ads specifications, Google Ads Help. Every uploaded image ad size, GIF, JPG or PNG, and 150 KB at most.Checked 26 Oct 2026
- About common sizes for responsive display ads, Google Ads Help. Common display sizes on computers and mobile.Checked 25 Oct 2026
- .com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising, US Federal Trade Commission, March 2013. Disclosures close to the claim, on every device the ad runs on, including space-constrained ads.Checked 26 Oct 2026
- Success Criterion 1.4.3, Contrast (Minimum), W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2. 4.5:1 for text, 3:1 for large text, and logos exempt.Checked 26 Oct 2026