About image ads

Create and export images (image ads, backup images) - Google Web Designer

You can build image ads with Google Web Designer's content creation tools and export them as JPG or PNG images.

Creating an image ad

Google Web Designer lets you create image ads by using a specific document type, or by exporting image versions of existing documents (not including AMPHTML and video documents).

To create a new image ad:

1. Select File > New... from the top menu, or Create new file from the start page.
2. In the left-hand pane, select Image for the ad type.
3. Enter a filename, and select the file location.
4. Select the dimensions of your ad.
   • Custom - Select Custom to specify the width and height.
   • Multi-size layout - Check this box if you want to publish multiple sizes of the ad. (This option can be changed later.)
5. Press OK.

If you want to export images from an existing document, see Exporting an image ad.

Working on an image ad

Most tools are available in image ads, with some limitations. Despite the restrictions, you may prefer to create an image ad instead of exporting images from an HTML5 ad for the following reasons:

• Ensure that you only create content that can be exported as an image
• Use features such as the backdrop tool, a multi-size layout, and variants
• Enable publishing the image directly to Campaign Manager 360 and Display & Video 360

Multi-size layout

A multi-size layout lets you use the responsive workflow in Google Web Designer to adjust your image ad to work for different ad sizes. Each size is exported as a separate image file.

Learn more about multi-size layouts.

Variants

Variants let you build multiple versions of an image ad with different styles and content, all within a single document. For example, the same image document could have multiple variants for different products, with each variant switching in text and images specific to a product. Each variant is exported as a separate image file.

Learn more about variants.

Limitations

The following functionality is unavailable for image ads:

• Pages
• Components
• Events and JavaScript libraries
• Timeline and animation
• Motion paths
• Ad Validator
• Ad environments
• Copying and pasting between image ads and other document types
• Previewing the image ad in a browser
• Publishing multiple image ads at the same time
• Publishing to Google Drive or Studio

Previewing an image ad

If you're using a multi-size layout, you can use the responsive preview panel while working on your ad to see how it looks in multiple sizes.

You can also generate an online preview of your image ad so that other people can review it:

1. Click the Preview button.
2. Select Get shareable link.
3. If your image ad uses a multi-size layout, select the sizes that you want to include in the preview.
4. If your image ad has variants, select the variants that you want to include in the preview.
5. Click Generate link.
6. You can either scan the QR code or click Copy link for the URL of the preview page.

The preview URL can be viewed by anyone and will expire after 14 days.

Publishing an image ad

When you're ready to export your document into an image file, use the File > Publish menu command or the Publish button. You can publish locally, to Campaign Manager 360, or to Display & Video 360.

Note that each time you publish to Campaign Manager 360 or to Display & Video 360, the image ad will be added as a new creative. You currently cannot update or overwrite an existing Campaign Manager 360 or Display & Video 360 creative.

The export dialog contains options only available for image ads:

• Exit URL (Display & Video 360 only) - The click-through URL for the image ad
• Export as - The image format, either JPG or PNG
  • Quality (JPG only) - The quality level
• Variants (multiple variants only) - All or selected variants

If your image ad has a multi-size layout, each serving size is exported as a separate image. If you select multiple variants, each variant is exported as a separate image. If you have multiple serving sizes and multiple variants, each combination of size and variant is exported as a separate image.

Previewing JPG quality

If you select JPG as the export format, you can set the quality level from 0% to 100%. A lower quality level results in a more compressed image with a smaller file size, but may lose detail or add artifacts. To help you determine an acceptable quality level, you can preview how the exported JPG will appear by clicking the Check JPG quality button in the export dialog.

The original image displays on the left side for comparison, and the compressed image displays on the right. You can switch which version of the image you're previewing:

• Preview different sizes (multi-size layout only) - Use the Preview size dropdown or the arrow buttons in the upper right
• Preview different variants (multiple variants only) - Use the Variants dropdown
• Preview different quality levels - Use the Quality slider or the percentage field to the right

Exporting an image ad

If you've built an HTML5 ad in Google Web Designer (using the Banner, Expandable, or Interstitial ad type when creating the document), you can export it as an image.

To export images:

1. Select the File > Export images... command from the top menu.
2. Provide the following settings:
   • Name - The image filename
   • Location - The image location
   • Export as - The image format, either JPG or PNG
     • Quality (JPG only) - The quality level
   • Variants (dynamic ads only) - All or selected variants
   • Page (ads with multiple pages only) - The page
   • Capture time (ads with animation only) - The end, start, or specific time in the animation
3. Click Export.

For responsive ads, each serving size will be exported as a separate image ad.

Limitations

Some HTML5 ad features are not supported for image export:

• Multiple pages (a single page can be exported)
• Components
• Events
• Hyperlinks
• Animation (a single frame can be exported)
• Sample data for dynamic ads