Ad before the content
Prestitial Ads · experience 08 of 23
An ad that appears before the content loads and gets in the way between the person and what they came to read. It can cover the whole screen, just a part, or be a separate page with only the ad.
Understand it in 1 minute
A prestitial is an ad that appears on a mobile page before the content loads. It blocks the person and stops them from getting to the content they came for. The person tapped a link to read a news story and, instead of the story, finds an ad in the way. It is like arriving at your front door and finding someone standing in front of it holding a sign before you can get in.
According to the Coalition for Better Ads, these ads vary in size. They can take up the whole screen or just part of it. They can also appear as a separate page, with just the ad, that stops the person from reaching the main content. In all these formats, what matters is the timing: the ad appears before the content.
On mobile, the rule is stricter than on desktop. The Coalition's tests for mobile web included the prestitial with a countdown and also the prestitial without a countdown. In other words, a clock does not need to be counting for the ad to fall under this rule on mobile. This is different from desktop, where the Coalition says a prestitial that can be closed immediately did not fall below the standard. The mobile rule has no such exception. So, on mobile, the question is simple: did the ad appear before the content loaded and get in the way? If so, it is a prestitial.
Allowed
- An ad at the top of the article that appears together with the content, without getting in the way before it.
- An ad between paragraphs that appears after the text has already loaded.
- An ad at the end of the article, after the content.
Not allowed
- A full-screen ad that appears before the post loads.
- An ad that covers only part of the screen before the content loads.
- A separate page with only an ad, which appears first and stops the person from reaching the content.
- An ad before the content with a countdown.
- An ad before the content without a countdown.
In practice
Imagine a recipe site that gets visits from social networks. The person taps the link and, before the recipe loads, a full-screen ad appears. Even without a countdown, this is a prestitial on mobile, because the ad shows up before the content and stops the person from reaching the recipe they were looking for.
Why it's annoying
On mobile, any ad screen before the content falls below the standard, with or without a countdown.
How to fix
- Don't show an ad before the visit's first content.
- Use interstitials only on page changes.
- Review plugins that show “loading” or a welcome screen with an ad.
In ConsentMode
Detects ad screens that appear before the content.
Run an audit