# Ad creative specs and best practices for desktop

Sizing, playback, engagement, redirect, and tracking settings for ad creatives that run on desktop publisher and partner pages, with the practices that protect performance.

A desktop ad creative is a video unit generated from approved posts in your Business Account and delivered to external desktop placements. It takes your video beyond your own sites and apps, into publisher inventory, partner sites, or programmatic placements, while you keep control over content, tracking, and engagement.

Ad creatives are part of Offsite. For the product as a whole, see [Offsite: what it does and where to start](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/offsite/offsite-what-it-does-and-where-to-start). For the full setup, see [Create an ad creative for partner pages](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/offsite/how-brands-implement-iab-compatible-embeds-for-media-and-advertising-partners).

## Where desktop placements fit

Desktop placements carry high-intent research and discovery, long browsing and comparison journeys, and premium publisher inventory and direct deals. With desktop ad creatives, you can:

- Run shoppable video and posts from the communities you manage across the open web.
- Reuse approved posts on partner pages without duplicating them.
- Measure performance the same way on onsite and offsite surfaces.
- Pause, update, or deactivate creatives centrally from your Business Account.

Your governance stays in one place while distribution scales. For how creator consent and attribution work when posts run on partner pages, see [Creator Content on Partner Pages](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/offsite/creator-content-on-partner-pages).

## What a desktop ad creative supports

- Standard desktop ad sizes.
- Autoplay and user-initiated playback.
- Engagement actions, where the publisher allows them.
- Profile redirects and tracking.

Every desktop ad creative inherits three things from the original post configured in your Business Account: its brand safety rules, its moderation status, and its reporting and analytics.

## Settings

| Setting | Recommendation on desktop |
| --- | --- |
| Size | The exact width and height in the publisher's specs |
| Autoplay Video | On only for muted placements that are viewable above the fold |
| User-initiated play | Preferred for premium or content-heavy environments |
| Enable Engagement Tools | On only where publisher policies allow |
| Redirect to Profile | On when you want offsite views to drive discovery back to you |
| Google Tag Manager ID | Your container ID, for tracking |

### Creative size

Set the exact width and height to match the publisher's specs. Avoid responsive resizing unless the placement explicitly supports it. For the sizes the ad creative editor offers, see the limitations in [Create an ad creative for partner pages](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/offsite/how-brands-implement-iab-compatible-embeds-for-media-and-advertising-partners#limitations).

### Media play

We recommend **Autoplay Video** only for muted placements that are viewable above the fold, because publishers restrict autoplay with sound. In premium or content-heavy environments, prefer user-initiated play: leave autoplay off so the viewer starts the video.

Genuin logs autoplay behavior for reporting and compliance.

### Engagement tools (Optional)

**Enable Engagement Tools** shows Repost, Spark, Comment, and Share where publisher policies allow them. Use them selectively, for:

- Native and owned-partner inventory.
- Contextual campaigns and campaigns driven by member posts.

### Redirects and profile navigation

You can let viewers:

- Click through to a brand profile.
- Open a community or group page.
- Follow deep links tied to the post.

Redirects let offsite impressions drive discovery back in your social experience.

### Tracking and reporting

Desktop ad creatives support:

- Google Tag Manager ID integration.
- Impression and view tracking.
- Click-through and engagement metrics.

All reporting rolls up into your Business Account for one view of performance. For the consent strings that offsite tags carry, see [Macro and Consent Passthrough](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/offsite/macro-and-consent-passthrough).

## Best practices

### Use desktop-first creatives

Don't reuse mobile-first assets. Desktop viewers expect:

- Clear visuals at larger resolutions.
- Legible text and calls to action.
- Stable playback without aggressive motion.

### Respect publisher policies

Many desktop environments restrict autoplay with sound, excessive overlays, and certain engagement actions. Align the creative's settings with each publisher's guidelines.

### Prioritize load performance

- Keep creative payloads lightweight.
- Avoid unnecessary animations.
- Use fixed dimensions to prevent layout shifts.

A light, fixed-size unit improves viewability and campaign results.

### Manage the lifecycle centrally

Central control is one of the main advantages of Genuin ad creatives:

- Pause or deactivate a creative instantly.
- Update content without re-trafficking the code.
- Make sure expired or rejected posts never run.

## Governance and safety

All desktop ad creatives use pre-approved posts only and respect your moderation and brand safety rules. You can disable them globally or per campaign.

People stay in the loop at every stage, before and after activation. For the moderation rules behind it, see [Moderation Baselines and Queue](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/control/moderation-baselines-and-queue).

## See also

- [Creator Content on Partner Pages](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/offsite/creator-content-on-partner-pages)
- [Create an ad creative for partner pages](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/offsite/how-brands-implement-iab-compatible-embeds-for-media-and-advertising-partners)
- [Ad creative specs and best practices for mobile](https://begenuin.com/developers/browse-by-products/offsite/offsite-embeds-for-mobile-devices-best-practices-and-specs)
- [Player card sizes and IAB footprint spec](https://begenuin.com/developers/get-started/any-business/player-card-sizes-and-iab-footprint-spec)