How to Install a WordPress Ad Code

1. Create one or more ad graphics, measuring 125 pixels wide by 125 pixels in height. Use a graphic design software application to create this artwork. Save these ads in a high resolution such as 600 dpi and in a .jpeg or .gif file form. Save them to your hard drive with short but clearly identifiable labels such as 'jonesad' or 'bakeryad.'

2. Open your FTP program and connect with the remote server containing your WordPress blog files. Navigate to your root directory or create new a file folder where you want to store your ad art images. Load all your ad art images to this file using your FTP tools.

3. Download the WP125 plug-in or a theme or widget that creates or features 125x125 ads. Free ad widgets are available on several widget websites, including widgetbox.com. WordPress design studios like Press75.com offer several themes for sale that include ads. The WP125 plug-in is free. Download the plug-in, theme or code file to your hard drive and extract the files to a folder on the drive.

4. Navigate to the appropriate folder on your WordPress server using your FTP program. If you are installing the WP125 plug-in, place the files in the 'wp-content/plugins' folder. If you are installing a theme, place the files in the 'wp-content/themes' folder. If you are using an ad widget however, do not load this onto your server; load it directly into the Widget area on your WordPress dashboard.

5. Open your blog dashboard. If you loaded the plug-in, navigate to 'Appearance/plugins' and find the new WP125 plug-in and click on 'Activate' to install it. If you loaded a theme, navigate to 'Appearance/themes,' find the new theme, and click on 'Activate' to launch it. If you are using a widget, navigate to 'Appearance/Widgets.' Create a new widget box by dragging a 'Text' widget from the 'Available Widgets' over to your widget sidebar. Open the widget box and paste the widget ad code into the box.

6. Configure the plug-in, theme or widget so the code 'points' to the location of the ad art images you've stored on your server. Any of the three options will provide you with this ability to 'point' the code so it knows where to find the corresponding art. Type in the URL of the art location, such as 'http://myblog.com/ads/bakeryad.jpeg.' Save the changes.

7. Set up the WP125 plug-in with some further instructions and refinements. You can schedule several different ads to 'play' in the ad box at different times. You can also place a timer on ads so they will stop showing on the page after a certain date. This plugin will also allow you to use double-width ads, 250 pixels x 125 pixels, without further special modifications to the code or the page.