How ads on this site work, and why they load lazily

Why there are ads at all

Web3News does not charge for access. Reporting is paid for by advertising, along with clearly labelled sponsored content. We would like readers to understand how the advertising works, partly because both of our beats attract advertisers that deserve scrutiny, and partly because ads are the most common reason news sites are slow.

Where ads appear

Ads sit in a fixed set of zones: leaderboard banners between sections of a page, side rails on wider screens, units within article feeds, an occasional sponsored video slot, and a small anchor at the bottom of phone screens that can be closed with one tap. Every zone carries a visible advertisement label. Ads do not open new windows on their own, and nothing is placed over the text you are reading.

Ads are distinct from sponsored articles, which are covered in our post on labelling. The newsroom does not choose, see in advance or endorse the individual ads that run.

What lazy loading means

On many sites, every ad on a page is requested the moment the page opens, including those far below the fold that most readers will never reach. Each request pulls in scripts and images that compete with the article for bandwidth and processing time.

We do it differently. An ad zone does nothing until the reader scrolls to within a short distance of it. Only then is the ad requested and displayed. A reader who opens an article, reads the first three paragraphs and leaves will have loaded one ad, not six.

Why we bother

• Speed. The article text and layout load first, without waiting for third-party code. This matters most on phones and slower connections.
• Stability. Each zone reserves its space in the layout before the ad arrives. The text does not jump down the screen when an ad appears, which is both irritating and a common cause of accidental clicks.
• Less waste. Ads that are never scrolled into view are never loaded, which saves readers data and battery.
• Honest numbers. Advertisers increasingly pay for viewable impressions, meaning ads that were actually on screen. Loading ads only when they are about to be seen means what we report to advertisers is closer to what happened.

What we accept and decline

Given our subject matter, a large share of our advertisers are crypto and gambling companies. Campaigns are subject to category rules. We do not accept ads for gambling operators we cannot match to a verifiable licence, ads that promise investment returns, or creative that presents gambling as a source of income. Gambling ads are intended for adults only. If you see an ad that appears to break these rules, the contact page has an address for reporting it.

Ad blockers

Some readers use them, and the site will work if you do. We would simply ask those readers to consider that the ads pay for the reporting, and that we have tried to make them as light as we can.