Sticky Ads

PRO Ad Inserter Pro supports also various types of sticky ads – ads that stick to the screen or content and stay fixed when the page is scrolled. It is also possible to configure sidebar ads that scroll with the content. There are also additional options like close button, delayed display and animations. Pop-up ads and background ads are a special mode of sticky ads.

If you are using responsive ad code (e.g. responsive AdSense code) you need to define ad width (and height) otherwise the code can’t resize as parent container width for sticky ads is not known. You can do this by specifying ad width and height (for AdSense you can use built in code generator) or define ad block width and height using custom CSS (for example, by adding CSS code width: 160px; height: 600px;).

Sticky ads as supported by Ad Inserter Pro and described below can’t be used on AMP pages as they use CSS property position: fixed; or Javascript code which is not allowed on AMP pages. Check sticky AMP ads for details on code for sticky ads on AMP pages.

Please note that Ad Inserter supports another type of sticky ad: sticky (fixed) widgets. Sticky widget is a widget that you place in the sidebar and when the page is scrolled down and sticky widget reaches top of the page, sticky widget and all the widgets below stay fixed – they don’t move when the page is scrolled down. Sticky widgets are available also in the free Ad Inserter and are not considered sticky ads as described on this page.

Check demo page for sticky ads – scroll the page down to see all the ads.

To configure sticky ad select Sticky as Alignment. This will open settings for sticky ads:

All sticky ads will be displayed according to the settings, however, the ad code should normally be inserted in the page footer. Therefore, you should select Footer Automatic Insertion unless instructed otherwise. If your theme doesn’t have Footer insertion position (and the sticky ads are not displayed) you can try to use any other suitable position (Before post or After post).

Sticky settings are divided into three sections:

• Horizontal position
• Vertical position
• Animation

While you can configure all the settings for sticky ads here, it is much easier to configure and test settings in the Preview window where you can also test all the alignments and animations. Click on the Preview button below the code editor to open preview window.

Horizontal position

Horizontal position defines how sticky ad is positioned horizontally. Available options are:

• Stick to the left
• Stick to the content left
• Center
• Stick to the content right
• Stick to the right

Stick to the left

This alignment displays ad next to the left screen edge – it overlaps any content there. Next to the alignment selection you can optionally enter horizontal margin in pixels.

Stick to the content left

This alignment displays ad next to the left edge of page content (as sidebar) – it also overlaps any content there. Next to the alignment selection you can optionally enter horizontal margin in pixels. Page content width is in most cases automatically calculated and it is assumed that the content is centered horizontally. In the case the page width is not properly calculated you can manually define main content element with CSS selector or width in pixels (tab ⚙ / tab General).

When using Stick to the content alignment the plugin needs to know the content width. To automatically determine the width, few span elements with ai-content class are inserted:

<span class="ai-content"></span>

Normally this code is invisible. However, with some page layouts it may cause undesired effects. In such case you can disable insertion of the span tags. Put this PHP code in the Header and enable PHP processing and Header code (if it is not enabled yet):

<?php
define ('AI_CONTENT_MARKER_NO_LOOP_START', true);
define ('AI_CONTENT_MARKER_NO_LOOP_END', true);
define ('AI_CONTENT_MARKER_NO_GET_SIDEBAR', true);
?>

In such case you may also need to manually define main content element with CSS selector or width in pixels (tab ⚙ / tab General).

Center

This alignment displays ad centered horizontally – it overlaps any content there.

Stick to the content right

This alignment displays ad next to the right edge of page content (as sidebar) – it also overlaps any content there. Next to the alignment selection you can optionally enter horizontal margin in pixels. Page content width is automatically calculated and it is assumed that the content is centered horizontally. In the case the page width is not properly calculated you can manually define main content element with CSS selector or width in pixels (tab ⚙ / tab General).

Stick to the right

This alignment displays ad next to the right screen edge – it overlaps any content there. Next to the alignment selection you can optionally enter horizontal margin in pixels.

Vertical position

Vertical position defines how sticky ad is positioned vertically. Available options are:

• Stick to the top
• Center
• Scroll with the content
• Stick to the bottom

Stick to the top

This alignment displays ad next to the top screen edge – it overlaps any content there. Next to the alignment selection you can optionally enter vertical margin in pixels. The ad stays fixed there – it doesn’t move when the page is scrolled.

Center

This alignment displays ad centered vertically – it overlaps any content there.

Scroll with the content

This alignment scrolls ad with the page. It stays fixed relative to the page (you can optionally define vertical margin in pixels) and when the page is scrolled the ad is scrolled with it.

Please note that this vertical position requires code insertion above any other content just below the <body> tag – automatic insertion Above header. This position for automatic insertion is available when you enable Output buffering (tab ⚙ / tab General). Check Automatic Insertion for details.

Stick to the bottom

This alignment displays ad next to the bottom screen edge – it overlaps any content there. Next to the alignment selection you can optionally enter vertical margin in pixels. The ad stays fixed there – it doesn’t move when the page is scrolled.

Stick to the content

Stick to the content horizontal position displays ads next to the left or right edge of page content (as sidebar). In most cases the plugin will automatically calculate page content width (assuming that the content is centered horizontally) and position ads automatically. However, some themes may require to define main content element manually. For this go to tab ⚙ / tab General and define Main content element. You can enter either CSS selector (#id or .class) of the main (outermost) page element or content width in pixels (numerical value only).

To automatically calculate page content width Ad Inserter inserts few short invisible HTML markers <span class="ai-content"></span>. With some themes this may cause undesired element shifts. In such case you can disable individual marker with a short PHP code:

• loop_start hook: <?php define ('AI_CONTENT_MARKER_NO_LOOP_START', true); ?>
• loop_end hook: <?php define ('AI_CONTENT_MARKER_NO_LOOP_END', true); ?>
• get_sidebar hook: <?php define ('AI_CONTENT_MARKER_NO_GET_SIDEBAR', true); ?>

The easiest way to configure and test alignment settings is in the preview window where you can test all the alignments and animations. Click on the Preview button below the code editor to open preview window.

Animation

Sticky ads can be displayed when the page is scrolled to some position, after some delay or when the page is loaded. You can also define an effect (animation) to show or hide the ad.

The following animations (effects) are available:

• Fade
• Slide
• Slide and Fade
• Turn
• Flip
• Zoom In
• Zoom out

For each horizontal and vertical alignment the plugin will select optimal animation direction. Some animations are not available with all positions. In such cases the plugin will choose the best alternative.

The easiest way to configure and test alignment settings is in the preview window where you can test all the alignments and animations. Click on the Preview button below the code editor to open preview window.

Each animation has the following additional parameters:

• Animation trigger
• Trigger offset
• Trigger delay
• Trigger only once

Animation trigger

The following triggers are available:

• Page loaded – The animation starts when the page is loaded.
• Page scrolled (%) – The animation starts when the page is scrolled for the defined percentage (specify only numerical value from 1 to 100).
• Page scrolled (px) – The animation starts when the page is scrolled for the defined number of pixels (specify only numerical value).
• Element visible – The animation starts when specific HTML element becomes visible. Specify CSS selector for the element (#id or .class).

Trigger offset

This is additional offset in pixels that is taken into account when the animation is triggered (positive and negative values are possible).

Trigger delay

This value defines delay of animation (in milliseconds) after the trigger event. To simply show sticky ad with a delay set animation to Fade and define delay.

Animation delay can be set up to 3000 ms. To show ads with longer delay after the page is loaded use this approach to set additional delay in seconds.

The plugin uses AOS Animate on Scroll Library for animations. In some cases when the library is used also in other plugins or themes it may be needed to prevent multiple initializations of the library. In such case use this javascript code in the header to instruct Ad Inserter Pro not to initialize AOS library:

<script>
ai_no_aos_init = true;
</script>

Trigger only once

Normally the sticky ad will be displayed after the trigger condition occurs and will hide when the condition is not met. Here you can define to trigger animation only once – show the ad and don’t hide it when the page is scrolled back.

Close button

Each ad can have a close button. You can choose one of the four corners where the button will be displayed. The ad will not be displayed until the page is reloaded. This setting is a mirror of the Close button setting on the Misc / Display tab. It is available also here for convenience.

Close button can be customized

The easiest way to test animations is in the preview window where you can also test alignments. Click on the Preview button below the code editor to open preview window.

Check also demo page for sticky ads – scroll the page down to see all the ads.

Sticky ads on AMP pages

Sticky ads as supported by Ad Inserter Pro and described above can’t be used on AMP pages as they use CSS property position: fixed; or Javascript code which is not allowed on AMP pages. Check sticky AMP ads for details on code for sticky ads on AMP pages.

Background behind a sticky ad

To place a semi-transparent white background behind a top or bottom sticky ad wrap ad code with a div:

<div style="width: 100vw; background-color: hsla(0,0%,100%,.8);">
AD CODE
</div>

Pop-up ads

With sticky ads you can also easily create a pop-up ad. Simply center it horizontally and vertically, add a close button and set animation:

Test it in the preview window:

Pop-up ads with background

You can also add a semi-transparent background behind the pop-up ad. Add the following div to the ad code (modify CSS code as required):

AD CODE

<div style="position: fixed; top: -100vh; left: -100vw; width: 200vw; height: 200vh; z-index: -1; user-select: none; background: #000; opacity: 0.85;"></div>

Please note that if you use animation to show the pop-up ad you should select fade as this is the only animation that makes sense with the background.

Check also demo page for sticky ads – scroll the page down to see all the ads.

Background ads

A background ad (also called a skin ad) appears in the background on both sides of the web page and it can be made clickable. In Ad Inserter Pro background ads are implemented as a special mode of sticky ads – ads that are displayed on the top of the page. However, they look like a clickable background on the left and right side of the page. This approach is used because WordPress themes use very different layouts and putting a background image behind the page content may not work well or clicks on the background may not work. Of course, Ad Inserter Pro supports also real background ads (background image behind the content).

Please note the difference between “normal” and background sticky ads:

• Normal sticky ads are expected to be seen in whole – they need to fit into the space left or right of the page content. If they are wider they will overlap the content (or will not be inserted if they are too wide).
• Background ads are usually wider than the space left or right of the content and are “cut” to fill only the empty space so they do not overlap the content – they appear as page background.

To configure background ad select Sticky as Alignment and check Background checkbox. 

When you check Background checkbox, icons for Horizontal positions slightly change. The behavior of background ads is similar to normal sticky ads with the following differences:

• Stick to the left and Stick to the right: this alignment displays ad next to the left or right screen edge and cuts it where the page content begins. Therefore, the ad is visible as a page background. Use this alignment where your main ad content is near the left side of the ad (for left side of the page) and near the right side of the ad (for the right side of the page). You can use this approach with single background image or separate left and right background images.
• Stick to the content  left and Stick to the content right: this alignment displays ad next to the left or right edge of the page content and cuts it at the screen end. Therefore, the ad is visible as a page background. Use this alignment where your main ad content is near the right side of the ad (for left side of the page) and near the left side of the ad (for the right side of the page). For this approach you need separate left and right background images.

Page content width is in most cases automatically calculated and it is assumed that the content is centered horizontally. In the case the page width is not properly calculated you can manually define main content element with CSS selector or width in pixels (tab ⚙ / tab General).

Configure background image (with optional link) as normal sticky ad – use code generator for banners to generarate banner code. While you can configure all the settings for background ads here, it is much easier to configure and test settings in the Preview window where you can also test all the alignments. Click on the Preview button below the code editor to open preview window.

Example of two background images – shown with border to mark image size. They are wider than the space available left or right of the content so they can be used regardless of content or page width:

  

Since we have two background images and they have ad aligned toward the page content we need to use two blocks, first with Stick to the content left and second with Stick to the content right alignment. This is how they look in the preview window:

This is how it looks when both blocks with the background are inserted:

Please note the difference between “normal” and background sticky ads:

• Normal sticky ads are expected to be seen in whole – they need to fit into the space left or right of the page content. If they are wider they will overlap the content (or will not be inserted if they are too wide).
• Background ads are usually wider than the space left or right of the content and are “cut” to fill only the empty space so they do not overlap the content – they appear as page background.

Page background

Ad Inserter Pro supports also real background ads (background image behind the content), but for such ad the clickable areas on left and right side (if needed) need to be configured separately to ensure maximum compatibility with most themes. To select this mode select Center as Horizontal position. Now you can configure additional background settings:

This bacground mode will create a real background behid the page content (either a div with z-index property set to - 1 or <body> inline style for background). The background can be either solid color, image (single or repeated) or combination of image and solid color.

Click on the input field Color opens a small pop-up window where you can select background color. You can also enter directly 6-digit hex value of the color (with leading #).

Click on the button Select image selects image for the background. A pop-up window will open where you can select existing or upload a new background image.

Background image has two additional settings: Size and Repeat. Both define how background image is resized and repeated.

Image size:

• Default – the background image is displayed in its original size
• Cover – resizes the background image to cover the entire background, even if the image has to be stretched or cut a little bit off one of the edges (background-size: cover)
• Fit – resizes the background image to make sure the image is fully visible (background-size: contain)
• Fill – resizes the background image horizontally and vertically to make sure the background is fully covered (background-size: 100% 100%)

Repeat:

• Default – the background image is repeated if it is smaller than the background
• No – the background image is not repeated (background-repeat: no-repeat)
• Yes – the background image is repeated horizontally and vertically (background-repeat: repeat)
• Horizontally – the background image is repeated only horizontally (background-repeat: repeat-x)
• Vertically – the background image is repeated only vertically (background-repeat: repeat-y)
• Space – the background-image is repeated as much as possible without clipping – the first and last images are pinned to either side of the element, and whitespace is distributed evenly between the images (background-repeat: space)
• Round – the background-image is repeated and squished or stretched to fill the space (no gaps, background-repeat: round)

In this background mode you should not define any block code as only the background needs to be defined with the background settings.

While you can configure all the settings for background here, it is much easier to configure and test settings in the Preview window where you can also test all the background image settings. Click on the Preview button below the code editor to open preview window.

Normally the plugin will create a full-screen div with z-index property set to - 1 which will be displayed as a page background behind the page content. Depending on the page layout for a brief moment the real page background (usually white) will be shown. However, it is also possible to set the background of the <body> element – this will ensure the best user experience. For this you need to enable Output buffering (tab  / tab General) and an additional setting will be shown – Set <body> background:

When this option is checked the plugin will apply background settings to the <body> element (as inline style) and hide div for this block.

Clickable areas

When you configure a real background behind the page, the background will not be clickable. Therefore, if you need to define a link (or separate links for left and right side of the background) you need to configure clickable areas. This approach is needed in order to ensure maximum compatibility with most themes as with many themes direct clicks on the page background are not possible.

Creating clickble areas is simple – you only need to configure two blocks, one for the left and one for the right side. Download this transparent image and upload it to your website. Then create left and right background ad with transparent image (use code generator to generate banner code with transparent image and link) and select Stick to the content horizontal position. Each background ad with transparent image will represent a clickable area above the page background.

Example of background image:

Since the image is wide and symmetrical we’ll use image size Fit to resize its width according to the screen size. The remaining space below the image will be filled with a matching blue color:

This is how it looks in the preview window:

With blocks configured as page background you can have different backgrounds for specific pages.