Creating Slots
Slots are the ad placements you define on your site. Each slot has a name, an aspect ratio, and a daily price. The name in your code must match the name in the dashboard exactly.
Two ways to create a slot
You can create slots entirely in code — just add the component or div with the correct attributes and the SDK will detect and register it automatically on the next page load. It will appear in your dashboard once detected.
Alternatively, you can create a slot from the dashboard by clicking "Create slot" on the Slots page. The dashboard will walk you through naming it, choosing an aspect ratio, and setting a price, then show you the code to add.
Slot names
Slot names must contain only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores. No spaces. Names are unique per site — you can't have two slots named sidebar on the same site, but you can have a sidebar on each of your different sites.
The name you use in code and the name in the dashboard must match exactly. The identity Adkit uses to serve ads is siteId:slotName — the combination of your site ID and slot name.
Slot names are not page-specific
A slot named sidebar on /blog/post-1 and /blog/post-2 is the same placement. When an advertiser books your sidebar, their ad appears everywhere that slot appears — across all pages. This is intentional: advertisers rent a placement, not a URL.
homepage-hero, blog-sidebar, etc.Aspect ratios
Five options are available. The SDK enforces the aspect ratio with CSS — only set the width, height is always derived automatically.
| Value | Ratio | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 16:9 | 16:9 | Hero banners, video-style placements |
| 4:3 | 4:3 | Sidebars, content blocks |
| 1:1 | 1:1 | Square placements |
| 9:16 | 9:16 | Vertical/mobile placements |
| banner | 728:90 | Leaderboard banners |
Setting a price
Price is set in cents. 2500 = $25.00/day. The price you set in code is registered automatically the first time the slot loads on your site, and the slot becomes immediately bookable.
You can also change prices directly in the dashboard on the slot detail page.
Price changes require confirmation
Slot statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending setup | Slot created but not yet detected on your site. |
| Available | Slot is live and accepting bookings. |
| Filled | Slot has an active ad running. |
| Inactive | Slot hasn't received traffic in the last 2 hours. |
| Paused | You've manually paused the slot — it won't accept bookings. |
| Archived | Slot is hidden from your active list but data is preserved. |
Installation detection
After you add the slot to your code and deploy, Adkit polls for it automatically every 3 seconds. Once detected, the status changes from "Pending setup" to "Available" and the slot is ready to receive bookings. No manual action is needed.
Slot detail page in pending setup state showing installation instructions and polling indicator
Pausing and archiving
You can pause a slot from the slot list or the slot detail page using the actions menu. A paused slot won't show a booking CTA to visitors and won't accept new bookings. Slots with an active booking cannot be paused until the booking ends.
Archiving removes the slot from your active list. Archived slots still preserve all historical data and bookings. You can restore an archived slot at any time.
Slot list showing statuses, revenue column, and dropdown actions menu