WordPress Ad Server (CMAC) - Getting Started - Free Version Tutorial
The Free Plugin
This guide covers the free version of the WordPress Ad Server plugin.
Download from WordPress.org | Learn about the Pro version of WordPress Ad Server
The WordPress Ad Server free version acts as a fully customized banner rotating service for one site. Banner advertisements can be placed anywhere in a page or post using a custom shortcode or displayed as a customized widget.
There is no limit for the number of banners that can be made to appear on a given page. Changing the CSS of the banner can be done via a control panel in the admin user interface.
Example
![Front-end example - Ad Server WordPress Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/5f1f23db2c7d3a10cbab5e2f/file-DZvRdu3Kv5.png)
Displaying Banners with the WordPress Ad Server Free version
There are only a few steps required to add a clickable image banner to a page or post:
1. Create an Advertising Campaign
Navigate to Admin Panel → CM Ad Changer → Campaigns.
![Campaigns dashboard - Ad Server WordPress Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/65b1129c87e88924b5fa2046/file-0pLYJL7pCH.png)
Then click Create a new Campaign.
![Creating new campaign - WordPress Ad Management](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/65b112ac05bc62438dd2b6a4/file-ENWu6GftTu.png)
2. Give Name and Description
Under the Campaign Settings tab, you can give a name, add notes and activate the campaign.
Here's what you will see:
![Adding name and description - WordPress Advertising Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/65b112b811a1ca1c986cd413/file-9xt3THkYVe.png)
3. Add Banners to Campaign
Add images to the campaign and choose if they will be displayed in order (based on weight) or randomly.
![Adding campaign banners - WordPress Banner Ad Management](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/65b112ca87e88924b5fa2047/file-8WaO7bUamo.png)
4. Add a shortcode or widget to any post or page
You can display campaigns by applying the shortcode [cm_ad_changer campaign_id=""]
You can add the following attributes to it:
- campaign_id – ID of a campaign (required).
- linked_banner – Should your banner images be linked to a URL? Can be 1 or 0 (default: 1)
- debug – Show the debug info? Can be 1 or 0 (default: 0).
- wrapper – Wrapper On or Off? Can be 1 or 0 (default: 0).
- class – Banner(wrapper) class name?
- no_responsive – Banner not responsive? Can be 1 or 0 (default: 0). If a non-responsive banner attribute is defined, this cancels the use of banner variations, and instead, only banners with original dimensions are requested.
- custom_css – The CSS code which would only be outputted if the banner is shown. (default: empty).
- allow_inject_js – Allow server to inject JS? Can be 1 or 0 (default: 0).
Examples of custom shortcodes:
- [cm_ad_changer campaign_id=”1″] – minimum attributes
- [cm_ad_changer campaign_id=”1″ debug=”1″] – outputs all banner info
- [cm_ad_changer campaign_id=”1″ linked_banner=”0″] – outputs banner as image without link
- [cm_ad_changer campaign_id=”1″ wrapper=”1″] – wraps banners with div tag
![Front-end example - WordPress Ad Management Plugin](http://d33v4339jhl8k0.cloudfront.net/docs/assets/558f9e89e4b01a224b42f278/images/65b112dd05bc62438dd2b6a5/file-I94RZbbMLF.png)
Learn more:
- WordPress Ad Server (CMAC) - Campaigns - Displaying a Campaign
- WordPress Ad Server (CMAC) - Getting Started - Inserting Shortcode to the Theme Template
Why Upgrade to Pro - Differences Between Free and Pro
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