Guide how to hire an awesome HTML5 banner developer?

Using HTML5 for banners offers many benefits: It’s compatible with most browsers, mobile-phone friendly, good for branding, and efficient for HTML banner developer. It’s important to note that HTML5 isn’t the same thing as Flash. While Flash banners used to be popular, Flash is being phased out—and Google Chrome has completely stopped serving autoplay flash banners.

Obviously, most Flash developers don’t know the nuances of coding HTML5. As a result, many businesses are left looking to hire an HTML5 banner developer.

To help you find the right developer for your team, here are eight questions you should ask before hiring a developer for your business.

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What You Should Know Before You Hire An HTML5 Banner Developer?

Before you even begin to interview people for your banner developer position, there are a few things you need to know. First of all, file size is very important when it comes to HTML5 banners. There are specific publisher specifications for how max banner size needs to be, and your developer should be aware of this and able to handle it.(check IAB HTML5 creative guide) Secondly, you should know that there are a lot of tools out there to help HTML5 developers get the job done quickly. A developer with experience using such tools is more likely to get your banner completed in a short period of time.

There are a few things that you need to ask yourself. Is there a specific framework you want the developer to use? Is there a specific industry approval process that you need the developer to follow( for example: the healthcare industry )? Do you want animation in your banner? All of this questions tie into the questions you should ask candidates for the job.

 

The Questions You Should Ask Prospective Developers about HTML5 Ads:

1. Which framework do you use? Are you familiar with Google Web design tool or Adobe Edge?

There are many different frameworks that an HTML5 developer can use to create a banner. Although banner coding can be done by hand, using a framework gives the code a structure that’s more consistent and makes coding quicker, making projects go by more quickly and efficiently.

Just because a developer knows HTML5 doesn’t mean he knows how to use it on frameworks like Adobe Edge or Google Web Design Tool. There are many differences when it comes to using the various frameworks, and from a coding perspective, each framework is very different from the next. It takes a lot of practice to learn the nuances of all the various frameworks, so hiring a developer without experience on the framework you want used can be a waste time and money.

And so, it’s important to ask what framework an HTML5 developer uses. Ask your candidate for the job which frameworks they have experience using. Make sure you know which framework is best for your banner, and hire a developer with that experience. If you don’t care which framework they use, then look for a banner developer with extensive experience on one or more of the popular frameworks.

 

2. Can you build banners from scratch without any framework?

While hiring an HTML5 banner developer with experience in various frameworks is useful, it’s also important to look for someone who can build banners from scratch. Coding a banner from scratch requires a complete knowledge of HTML5. There are no tricks or short-cuts. So even if your banner developer will not be coding from hand, it’s a big bonus if they have done it in the past.

Having an expansive knowledge of HTML5 means that a banner developer will be able to fix any problems that arise with ease. From a creative standpoint, it’s useful too. Developers with experience coding from scratch can be a lot more creative than someone with none; they’re not boxed in.

 

3. Do you have experience using external JS animation tools such as GreenSock?

HTML5 Banner

To create a great banner ad, you need animation. While Flash was great for animation, it’s becoming obsolete and isn’t a good option any more.

HTML5 can get the job done, but it can be difficult to animate. In HTML5 banner animation, syncing audio and video takes a great deal of time and skill.

That’s where external JavaScript animation tools come in handy. GreenSock’s automation platform gets the job done quickly and creates advanced animations with a small file size. It uses plug-ins as needed. Best of all, GreenSock’s animation platform works with Google Web Design and Adobe Edge. As a side note, it can’t be swapped for Edge’s animation engine to increase speed and decrease file size.

It’s important to find an HTML5 banner developer with experience using GreenSock’s animation platform (or something similar) because, even if you don’t want advanced animated banners now, you probably will soon. And you don’t want a banner developer who will take a long time to get animation done, or one who will come up with large file sizes.

Hiring a developer with experience on a JavaScript animation tool ensures that your animation will get done quickly and in a compact file.

 

4. How would you keep banner file sizes compact?

The shorter a banner’s file size, the quicker it loads. And the quicker it loads, the more likely it is that someone will see it.

Unfortunately, HTML5 banners are more difficult to keep compact than Flash banners. Because HTML5 banners work on all browsers and devices, many video files and audio files need to be included in the finished product. It also uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, adding to the file size.

There are ways an HTML5 banner developer can minimize the size of a file. Here are a few ways a developer can accomplish this:
-Use compact JavaScript
-Use CSS techniques for solid color and gradients
– Compress images, but still maintain their quality
-Replace GIF, JPG, and PNG with SVG
-Optimize font size
-Optimize animation
-Use a sprite sheet

A good HTML5 banner developer will know how to use all of the techniques listed to create the smallest possible banner size. There are plenty of applications out there that can help with the image compression, so hire a developer that knows how to use them.

 

5. Do you have experience working with publisher clicktags & ad server code? Are you Google Double-click certified?

Click tags give you a way to keep track of user clicks. Without them, you can’t measure how successful your campaign is. You should look for a developer who has experience working with clicktags and understands the importance of them.

Ad server code is another important piece of the puzzle. Incorporating ad server code into your banner allows you to use your ad server to manage your ad campaign.

You can get the most out of your banner with an ad server like Google DoubleClick. Hiring an HTML5 banner developer who is Google DoubleClick certified ensures that he knows how to create a banner that is optimized for Google’s DoubleClick ad server and can get you the most bang for your buck.

 

6. There are many main ad server tools such as Doubleclick , Sizmek , Celtra—do you know how to build banners on top of these tools?

Sizmek, DoubleClick, and Celtra are all great tools for you to use to build and manage your ad campaigns. With an ad server tool, you can easily keep track of your banner’s success and control it.

Banners can be built on top of ad server platforms, making the banner highly effective from a marketing standpoint. Finding a banner developer with experience building banners on ad server platforms means that your banner will be compatible with the ad server.

 

7. How do you make sure the banner will render correctly on different browsers and devices?

One of the major benefits of using HTML5 is that it loads on multiple browsers and devices. However, it needs to be coded properly for it to work on all of these browsers. The best way for a developer to do quality assurance is to test it out. Look for an HTML5 banner developer who is willing to open the file in many different browsers and try it from different devices.

Otherwise, the banner may not work in Firefox (or any other browser/device) and you’ll be missing out on customers. Ask the developer who he QA the banners? What tools he uses?

 

8. Do you understand the approval process for getting work done?

Some industries have special regulations, and banners require a special approval process. Your candidate for the job should understand and be willing to go through that approval process for publishing banners. This may seem like a minor issue, but it’s important that developers are aware that they may need to have the banner approved at a certain stage of production in order for it to be published on time.

 

A Good HTML5 Banner Developer Makes A Difference

It takes more than knowing HTML5 to make a good banner developer. There are a lot of little things that can make a developer stand out above the rest, and their work speaks for itself. Make the most out of your HTML5 banners, and hire the right developer for the job.
If you need help with your HTML5 banner ads please reach out!

 

Free Ebook The Guide To HTML5 Ads

Free Ebook The Guide To HTML5 Ads