Easy Banner Creator (Free Edition)

Banners are perhaps the most obvious way to customize a blog or Web site, especially if you're using an otherwise generic template. Creating a banner isn't always easy, though, if you don't have any graphic design skills. Easy Banner Creator (Free Edition) is an extremely simple utility for creating basic banners. It's nothing fancy, but it will do the job if you need to create a banner without a lot of hassle.

The program's interface is straightforward and easy to navigate. Down the left side there are controls for size, background, text, and animation. From the size dialog you can select from a variety of predefined sizes or enter custom dimensions. In the background dialog, you can select either a color or a custom image to serve as the banner's background. The text dialog lets you specify the font and text size, color, shading, and depth. Finally, the animation dialog gives you the option of animating the text on the banner in a variety of different styles. A Help file explains all of Easy Banner Creator's features, but it's really not necessary, as everything is pretty self-explanatory. The program isn't kidding when it says that users don't need graphic design skills; users who have graphic design skills will likely be frustrated by the lack of features and control that Easy Banner Creator offers. But for people who need banners and have no idea how to create them, Easy Banner Creator might be just the thing.

Easy Banner Creator (Free Edition) comes as a ZIP file. It installs desktop icons without asking and leaves a Start menu item behind upon removal.