AdSanity Custom Ad Sizes - WordPress Plugin

A Guide to Configuring AdSanity Custom Ad Sizes for Ad Dimensions in WordPress

AdSanity Custom Ad Sizes becomes useful when the standard set of ad formats in AdSanity is no longer enough: the site sells its own sponsored placements, uses a non-standard content width, works with a specific ad network, or needs to hide unnecessary size options from editors. In this guide, we will cover not just how to install the add-on, but also how to choose the right sizes, what to configure after activation, how to verify the output in a WordPress theme, and which common mistakes make a banner look broken or appear in the wrong place.

It is important to understand what this product does: it is not a standalone ad manager, but an extension for AdSanity Core. It adds an interface for managing ad block sizes, shows registered standard sizes, and lets you create new ones or remove the ones you do not need. According to the product page, custom sizes receive dynamic CSS that is automatically loaded into the theme in the current AdSanity branch.

This guide is written for site owners, ad managers, webmasters, and developers who place banners into templates. We will focus on fixed dimensions, because those are usually what you need for direct advertisers, sponsored banners, HTML5 creatives, and ad code where the width and height are already defined by the network.

What problem this add-on solves

In AdSanity, an ad is tied not only to an image, code snippet, or HTML5 archive, but also to an ad size. If a site uses only familiar formats such as 300x250, 728x90, or 160x600, the standard list is often enough. The issue starts when the site design requires a size that is not on the list, such as a wide sponsored banner above an article, a narrow block in the sidebar, a partner strip between sections, or a custom format for a commercial content category.

AdSanity Custom Ad Sizes fills exactly that gap. The add-on gives you a dedicated screen inside the AdSanity section where you can view existing registered sizes, add a new size, and remove the options editors should not use. This is useful not only for creating new formats, but also for keeping your ad inventory disciplined: fewer random sizes means fewer broken banners, empty spaces, and advertiser complaints.

The main difference from editing CSS by hand is that the size becomes part of the AdSanity workflow. You can select it when creating an ad, use it in groups, and place it via a block, widget, shortcode, or template tag. CSS helps the theme account for the custom format correctly, but it does not replace the basic check: the layout slot must be wide enough, and the creative itself must match the selected width and height.

Practical rule of thumb: create a new size only after you have identified a specific placement in the layout and know what creative will go there. A size created “just in case” quickly turns the ad size list into junk.

Who it is for, and when another approach is better

This add-on is useful for sites where ads are managed inside WordPress and predictable dimensions matter. That can include media sites, blogs with direct advertisers, directories, local portals, niche projects with affiliate banners, and agency sites that manage advertising for clients. It is especially well suited when AdSanity is already being used as the main ad manager and you simply need to expand its size list without moving to another tool.

There are also cases where Custom Ad Sizes may be unnecessary. If the site relies entirely on responsive ad units from an ad network and the network code decides the width and height on its own, a fixed size may get in the way. If you need advanced automatic insertion after every third paragraph, geotargeting, frequency caps, or display conditions based on many rules, a heavier ad manager may be a better fit. But if the task is simpler, such as adding a few cleanly defined sizes to an existing AdSanity setup, switching to another plugin usually does not make sense.

When the add-on is especially appropriate

• The site sells direct ad placements with exact width and height requirements.
• The theme uses a non-standard grid, such as a content area that does not fit the classic 728x90.
• Editors should see only approved sizes so they do not pick random options.
• Different areas of the site require different sizes: above the article, in the middle of content, in the sidebar, or in the footer.
• AdSanity ad groups are used, and all creatives within a group need to share the same dimensions.

When to be more careful

If your ad network requires you to use only its own code and does not recommend manually fixing the container size, check that network’s documentation first. Google Ad Manager, for example, supports multiple sizes and provides guidance on popular formats, but the specific slot still has to match the settings in the ad account itself. You can create a size in WordPress, but that will not force an external network to serve a creative in that format.

What to check before installation

Do not start with the upload button. This add-on depends on AdSanity Core, and the product page states that all add-ons require a current version of the core plugin. The same page also lists the minimum requirements: AdSanity Core at or above the developer’s specified version, WordPress 5.6, MySQL 5.7, and PHP 7.4. It is best to verify those values in your account and on the add-on page before installation, because the requirements may change as the product is updated.

The second check is your placement plan. Open the theme or a finished layout and measure not just the banner you want, but the actual available width of the container. The area above an article may look wide, but on a page with a sidebar there may be less room than you expect. A sidebar might be 300px on one template and 336px on another. If you do not check this in advance, the new size may appear in AdSanity, but the ad itself will end up constrained by the theme CSS.

The third check is the ad type. AdSanity can work with locally hosted ads, code from external ad services, and HTML5 ads. For a local banner, you need an image file prepared in the correct size. For an external service, you need slot code for that same size. For an HTML5 archive, the creative must actually be built for the selected width and height, not just dropped into an archive.

Installation and initial check in the admin panel

Installing the add-on is similar to installing a typical commercial WordPress plugin from a ZIP archive. The official AdSanity documentation describes downloading the file from your account, going to Plugins, Add New, Upload Plugin, selecting the ZIP file, installing it, and activating it. After activation, AdSanity adds its own section to the admin panel, and licenses are entered on the AdSanity settings page.

The logic for Custom Ad Sizes is the same: first make sure AdSanity Core is already installed and up to date, then install the add-on ZIP file. After activation, a new item related to custom sizes should appear in the AdSanity section. The product page shows that the add-on adds a separate menu entry inside AdSanity and displays a list of registered sizes.

1. Download the ZIP file from your AdSanity account without unpacking it manually.
2. Go to Plugins - Add New - Upload Plugin.
3. Select the add-on ZIP file and click Install Now.
4. After installation, click Activate Plugin.
5. Open the AdSanity section and confirm that the Custom Ad Sizes screen is now available.
6. Open the AdSanity license settings and make sure updates for the core plugin and add-ons are not blocked.

Quick check: if the Custom Ad Sizes menu item does not appear, first confirm that AdSanity Core is active, then check the current user’s permissions, and only after that look for a conflict with other plugins. The add-on is not meant to work as a standalone module without the core plugin.

Detailed size configuration after activation

Configuration starts with inventory, not with the width field. Open the Custom Ad Sizes page and review which sizes are already registered. The official add-on page emphasizes that the list of supported standard sizes is shown on a convenient screen so users do not create a format that already exists. This is an important safeguard against duplicates: two almost identical sizes are easy to mix up when creating ads, especially on sites managed by several people.

Then decide which standard sizes are actually in use. The add-on allows you to remove both custom sizes and standard sizes. That does not mean you should clean out the entire list right away. A better approach is to start conservatively: keep the popular formats you actually use, and remove only the ones that definitely do not belong in your current ad setup and confuse editors. If you later need to restore a standard format, it is safer to check the documentation and a staging site first, because the behavior may depend on the product version and existing saved ads.

How to add a new size without creating chaos

For a new size, prepare a short internal name and exact pixel values. The name should help an editor understand the placement, not just the numbers. For example, for a sponsored banner above the content you could use something like 970x250 Sponsor Header, and for a sidebar placement, 300x600 Sidebar Sponsor. If the interface provides only width and height fields, keep the placement description in the ad name itself or in AdSanity notes.

1. Open the Custom Ad Sizes page in the AdSanity section.
2. Check whether that size already exists in the list.
3. Enter the width and height in pixels, without units in the number field if the interface expects numbers only.
4. Save the size and return to the list to confirm that it now appears among the registered formats.
5. Create a test ad with a file or code snippet in that same size.
6. Place the test ad in the intended location and verify the result on the front end of the site.

Which settings to use only when necessary

The add-on itself solves a narrow problem, so the main risks sit nearby: ad grouping, placement method, and caching. Do not add a new size to a group that already contains ads in a different format. The official AdSanity group documentation explicitly notes that in most cases, the ad block size within a group should be consistent across all ads. Otherwise, rotation in the same placement will alternate between a square, a long banner, or an empty area around the image.

Do not force a maximum width through a shortcode unless there is a reason to do so. In the AdSanity shortcode documentation, the max_width parameter can help prevent an ad from stretching wider than intended. But if you have already created an exact size and the theme allocates space correctly, that extra limit can make troubleshooting more confusing. Use max_width only when you need to keep an ad inside a container, not as a universal fix for every problem.

[adsanity id="107" align="aligncenter" max_width="970"]
[adsanity_group num_ads="1" align="aligncenter" num_columns="1" group_ids="2" max_width="970" random="1"]

After saving the settings, open the page in incognito mode or in another browser, clear the site cache, and check whether the actual container width matches the selected size. If the ad extends beyond the block, roll back the last change: temporarily remove the new size from the live scenario, restore the previous ad size, or place the test on a separate draft page.

How to connect the size, creative, and placement

A custom size does not place anything on the site by itself. It simply adds a new option that can be selected when creating an ad. The working chain looks like this: site area - size - ad creative - placement method - result check. If you skip even one step, the problem may look like “the plugin does not work,” when in reality the size may be created correctly but the creative does not match or the theme placement is too narrow.

Blocks, widgets, shortcodes, and template tags

AdSanity supports several ways to display ads. In the block editor, there are blocks for a single ad, a random ad, and an ad group. In classic theme areas, you can use widgets: a group, a random ad, or a single ad. Shortcodes are available for inserting ads into posts and pages, and developers can use template tags in theme files.

For Custom Ad Sizes, that means one thing: the placement method is determined not by the add-on itself, but by where you want the ad to appear. In a sidebar, it is easiest to start with a widget. In the middle of an article, a block or shortcode is often more convenient. In the header, between template elements, or in a custom theme position, a template tag is usually more reliable, but it should be added by someone who understands the theme structure and is using a child theme or another safe customization method.

Why consistent group size matters more than a nice label

If you are building a group with multiple banners for a single placement, keep the geometry consistent. Suppose the area above the article is designed for 970x250. That group should not also contain 728x90 and 300x250, even if they all belong to the same advertiser. From AdSanity’s perspective they are ads in one group, but from the layout’s perspective they are different rectangles that affect page height differently.

Group rule: one placement - one size set. If you need to show different formats for the same advertiser, create separate groups for different areas of the site.

Practical example: a sponsored banner above an article

Let us look at a concrete scenario: a media site wants to sell a wide sponsored placement above the body of an article. The standard list includes similar formats, but the page design calls for a wide 970x250 banner. The task is to add that size, create a test ad, place it in the right area, and make sure the banner does not break the layout.

Goal and preparation

The goal is to create a manageable ad placement for direct advertisers that an editor can select in AdSanity without editing the template each time. Before you start, you should have AdSanity Core installed, the Custom Ad Sizes add-on active, a test 970x250 creative ready, and a page where you can safely test the output. If the ad will come from an external network, create a slot of the same size in that network first and obtain the correct code.

Setup steps

1. Open Custom Ad Sizes and confirm that 970x250 is not already in the list.
2. Add a new size with width 970 and height 250.
3. Create a new ad in AdSanity and select the newly created size.
4. Upload the prepared banner or paste the code from the external ad service if it is configured for the same format.
5. Create a separate group for the top sponsored placement if multiple advertisers will rotate there.
6. Place the ad using a block, shortcode, or template tag in the area above the content.
7. Open the page as a regular visitor and check visibility, clickability, alignment, and the absence of horizontal scrolling.

Verification and one important detail

A normal result means the banner is visible in the selected area, is not cropped, stretched, or surrounded by unnecessary empty space, and does not cause horizontal scrolling. If the banner does not appear, check whether the ad is published, whether its display dates have expired, whether the correct group is selected, and whether the cache is still serving an older version of the page. If the banner does appear but takes up too much space, measure the parent container width in the browser developer tools and temporarily test a smaller size.

On mobile screens, a fixed 970x250 almost always requires a separate solution: a different size, hiding that specific placement, responsive ad network code, or a more cautious display location. Custom Ad Sizes creates the format, but it does not turn a wide banner into a universally responsive ad unit.

Fixed custom size, standard format, or responsive unit

Your choice of format affects not just the visual result, but also who will prepare the creatives. Standard sizes are easier to explain to advertisers and ad networks. A fixed custom size gives you an exact match with the site design, but it requires discipline: every banner, code snippet, or HTML5 archive must be prepared for that format. A responsive unit adapts more easily to different screens, but it is not always suitable for direct placements with pre-approved dimensions.

When to choose a fixed custom size

A fixed size works well for direct sales and branded placements where the advertiser provides a file in the required dimensions ahead of time. This approach is useful for sponsored blocks, natively embedded banners, partner showcases, and large formats in the header or below the first screen of an article. It is also helpful when the site design is already finalized and you cannot adjust the layout to fit a standard ad format.

When to keep a standard size

If a format from the standard list works for you, do not create a duplicate. Google Ad Manager separately highlights common sizes such as 728x90, 336x280, 300x250, 160x600, and 300x600. Those sizes are easier to align with external networks and advertisers. In AdSanity, standard sizes already serve as the baseline, and Custom Ad Sizes helps you avoid multiplying sizes that are already registered.

When responsive placement is the better choice

A responsive approach makes sense if you do not control the exact size of the creative or if most of your audience comes from a wide range of screen sizes. In the AdSanity HTML5 ad documentation, responsive sizes are noted as being particularly well suited for HTML5. But it is not a universal answer: a direct advertiser may require a fixed width, while an ad network may impose its own slot restrictions.

Checking the result after setup

It is best to verify the result in two passes: first in the admin area, then on the front end. In the admin area, confirm that the size appears in the list and is available when creating an ad. Then check the ad itself: the correct size is selected, the creative is attached, the publishing dates are set, and the required group is assigned if one is being used.

On the front end, do not check only whether the ad is visible. For an ad block, five things matter: size accuracy, visibility, clickability, rotation, and impact on the layout. If the ad is local, AdSanity tracks views and clicks in its basic reporting. If it comes from an external network, the AdSanity documentation notes that clicks and views should be reviewed in that network’s tools unless a matching analytics integration is in use.

• Open the page while logged out so you do not confuse the admin view with the real result.
• Clear the site cache and browser cache if the block does not update after setup.
• Check both a desktop screen and a narrow screen, even if the size was designed for desktop.
• Open the browser developer tools and see whether the ad container overflows its parent.
• For a group, refresh the page several times and confirm that all ads in the group use the same size.
• Make a test click only where it does not violate ad network rules or distort reporting.

Sign of a successful setup: the editor can select the new size in AdSanity, the ad appears in the correct area, the theme does not alter the layout, and the reports or external analytics show data in the expected place.

Cache, theme, and ad networks: where conflicts happen most often

The most common source of confusion is the boundary between size, CSS, and dynamic output. Custom Ad Sizes adds the size and wires in CSS support, but AdSanity still has to select the ad on the server side or through its intended rendering mechanism. In the official AdSanity caching documentation, the team explains that some types of cache block server-side requests and are therefore incompatible with dynamic ad selection. At the same time, fragment caching or object caching may behave more predictably, while rotation in groups and random widgets may update with some delay rather than instantly.

The theme can also interfere. A widget area may require a title for correct output, as noted in the AdSanity widget documentation. The content grid may shrink images, apply a maximum width, hide overflow, or change block behavior in the editor. That is why troubleshooting should move from simple to complex: first confirm that the size has been created, then that the ad is published, then that the theme placement is wide enough, and only after that move on to caching, external networks, and custom code.

A safe improvement without editing the plugin

If a fixed banner is slightly wider than its container, do not edit AdSanity files and do not modify the theme core. Start with safer options: choose a different size, use the max_width parameter in the shortcode, place the block in a wider area, or add CSS only in a child theme if you fully understand which container you are targeting. A universal CSS rule for all ad blocks can break other placements, which is why this article does not provide a one-size-fits-all snippet.

If a CSS adjustment is needed, first identify the exact container class in the browser developer tools, test the change on a staging page, and prepare a rollback plan: remove the rule from the child theme or from the additional CSS field. After rolling it back, clear the cache again and recheck the page as a visitor.

Is it worth moving on to testing

AdSanity Custom Ad Sizes is worth testing if you already use AdSanity or plan to build your advertising workflow around its ads, groups, blocks, widgets, and shortcodes. The add-on is valuable not because it offers a huge number of settings, but because it adds precision: it helps align ad sizes with the real placements on the site and removes unnecessary options from the workflow.

Before rolling it out on a live site, prepare one clear scenario: one specific placement, one specific size, one specific creative, and a straightforward way to verify the result. If that test passes without breaking the layout, you can gradually add other placements. But if what you really need is not size configuration, but complex display conditions, automatic insertion based on dozens of rules, or a full migration to another ad system, compare the product with alternatives first.

Once the server requirements are in place, AdSanity Core has been verified, and the site’s ad layout is clearly understood, you can download the installation file and test the add-on on a site copy or in a safe draft area.