HTML5 ads are the replacement for Flash-based ads that designers often built when they wanted to use animations or interactivity in their design. Flash was used extensively from the early 2000s through to 2016. Flash support started falling considerably after 2010 due to mobile operating systems like Apple’s iOS not supporting Flash, and Google’s Android having limited support.
HTML5 ads enable animation, and interactive content, but are also responsive/adaptive, meaning that your design will look good across any browser, OS, or device. Since HTML5 ads are based off of HTML5 code, any device that can render HTML5 can render your ad as well.
HTML5 is made up of multiple files – including the image components, video component, as well as the .html source file. The .html file links the sources of images, and videos, and may include all the code needed for the animation, responsive/adaptive design capabilities of HTML5 ads.
What are the Benefits of Using HTML5 over Flash or Static Images?
HTML5 ads can be built to support all browsers and OSes, and run perfectly within native apps.
HTML5 ads also enable responsive/adaptive designs, and are touch capable, meaning that you can build a design that someone can interact with using a touch-enabled device. HTML5 ads also have 3D capabilities (via WebGL) and support dynamic content components.
How to Build HTML5 Ads
HTML5 ads traditionally required a developer to write the code themselves, but it can be time-consuming. Designers can use design tools to build HTML5 designs that reduce or eliminate the need for manual coding. If you are having trouble building HTML5 ads without a developer, or scaling HTML5 designs efficiently, sign up for a free trial of Flexitive. Flexitive Design Cloud allows designers and developers build HTML5 ads faster with a drag and drop interface that requires no coding at all. Flexitive automatically optimizes images, sizes, and code to create the highest quality design with the smallest file sizes possible. It is available in the Chrome browser (so is the same on Mac or Windows) and is cloud-based, so designers are always using the latest version.
What are the Challenges of Building HTML5 Ads?
HTML5 capabilities can vary depending on browsers and their versions, which means that you need to test your designs on different browsers to make sure they look and work as expected. HTML5 design tools like Flexitive reduce or eliminate the need to test on each individual browser because our development team makes sure the capabilities work on each browser and automatically adapt code where needed.
Can You Build Other HTML5 Components?
Yes, HTML5 is not limited to building ads. You can also build responsive HTML5 web components, such as headers, footers, and sidebars. These too can adapt to all screen sizes and resolutions, making it look good on mobile and desktop.
HTML5 Ad Examples
These are some examples of HTML5 ads you can build!