Frequently Asked Questions

A fully interactive demo is available at demo.adserverx.net. It covers all major areas of the platform: campaigns, analytics, publisher management, billing, fraud detection, and more.

AdServerX supports five ad types:

• Banner - static or animated image ads (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP)
• Text - headline and description text ads 
• Video - video ads served from a URL (MP4, WebM, OGG)
• HTML5 - interactive rich-media ads uploaded as a ZIP archive
• Script/Tag - third-party ad tags (e.g. Google AdSense, Taboola) served in a sandboxed iframe

Advertisers can run campaigns on CPM (cost per thousand impressions), CPC (cost per click), CPA (cost per action/conversion), CPV (cost per video view), or Flat Rate (fixed fee for a placement period).

AdServerX supports several targeting dimensions that can be used together:

• Geographic - country, region (state/province), or city (requires GeoIP setup)
• Device type - desktop, mobile, or tablet
• Browser - Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera
• Operating system - Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
• Day-parting (schedule) - specific days and hours of the week, with timezone selection
• Contextual keywords - matched against the publisher page URL and referrer

Targeting can be set at the campaign level and optionally overridden per individual ad.

Yes. AdServerX ships with 8 configurable fraud detection rules:

• IP Frequency - blocks IPs generating too many impressions too quickly
• Click Timing - flags clicks that arrive suspiciously fast after an impression
• Missing Impression - rejects clicks with no matching prior impression
• User Agent Validation - filters known bots, headless browsers, and malformed user agents
• Geographic Anomaly - flags inconsistencies between IP geolocation and browser language headers
• Session Analysis - nightly batch rule flagging abnormal session-level impression volumes
• Referrer Validation - checks that impressions arrive from the publisher's registered domains
• Pattern Detection - nightly batch rule flagging zones or publishers with abnormal CTR or CVR

Each rule is independently configurable to log, flag, block, or auto-blacklist sources.

Yes. AdServerX includes built-in ad block detection. When enabled, the ad serving script automatically detects whether a visitor's browser is blocking ads and displays a customizable modal notification. Every detection event is logged and viewable in the Ad Block Analytics dashboard, which shows totals, a 7-day trend, and a breakdown by zone.

AdServerX supports three configurable response modes:

• Warn Only - a dismissible modal notifies the visitor their ad blocker is active. The page remains fully accessible.
• Soft Block - the page is blurred behind the modal. The visitor can dismiss it and continue browsing.
• Hard Block - the modal cannot be dismissed and the page is locked until the visitor disables their ad blocker.

Yes. The modal title, body message, and button text are all configurable. The button is only shown in Warn Only and Soft Block modes; Hard Block mode displays no dismiss option.

The Ad Block Analytics page (accessible to Network Owners and Administrators) shows all-time and today's detection counts, a 7-day daily trend, and a ranking of your top 10 zones by detection volume. This helps you identify which placements are most affected by ad blockers.

The platform tracks impressions, clicks, CTR, conversions, revenue, and eCPM in real time. Analytics are available at the dashboard, campaign, and individual ad level with breakdowns by device type, browser, and hour of day. A Reports page supports date-range filtering and CSV export (overview, daily, per-campaign, and per-ad).

Yes. AdServerX has four user roles: Network Owner, Administrator, Advertiser, and Publisher. Advertisers see only their own campaigns and invoices. Publishers see only their zones, traffic, and earnings. Neither role can see the other's data.

Yes. Advertisers are billed monthly based on their campaign spend; they pay via Stripe (credit/debit card), PayPal, or offline methods. Publisher earnings are calculated as a configurable revenue share percentage of that spend. Payout statements are generated automatically at the start of each month, and the network administrator then manually processes and sends the actual payments to publisher

Yes. Conversion tracking fires a POST request to AdServerX when a user completes a desired action (purchase, sign-up, etc.) on your site. Both server-side and JavaScript implementations are supported. Conversion data appears in campaign analytics as Conversions, CVR, and conversion value.

Yes. AdServerX includes a full REST API for managing campaigns, ads, zones, publishers, reports, invoices, and more. API keys are managed from each user's account settings. The ad-serving and tracking endpoints are public (no auth required); all management endpoints require a Bearer token.

Yes. Webhooks deliver real-time HTTP POST notifications when events occur - campaign and ad status changes, payments, publisher approvals/rejections, and fraud alerts. A retry system automatically re-attempts failed deliveries, and a delivery log tracks every attempt.

Yes. The platform name shown in the UI, emails, and invoices is configurable. The full unencrypted source code is included with your license, so deeper branding and UI customization are possible.

Required PHP extensions: pdo_mysql, mbstring, json, curl, zip, openssl, fileinfo.

AdServerX runs on standard shared hosting, VPS, or dedicated servers. It does not require Docker, Kubernetes, or any cloud infrastructure. A standard cPanel shared hosting account is a valid and supported deployment environment.

Apache 2.4 with mod_rewrite is required and strongly recommended. Nginx is technically possible but requires manually translating the included Apache .htaccess rewrite rules and is not officially supported.

On typical shared hosting, AdServerX sustains approximately 55 ad-serving requests per second - sufficient for small to medium ad networks. On a 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM VPS with OPcache enabled, it can sustain 300-500 requests per second.

Installation is handled by a web-based 5-step wizard. After uploading the files and setting correct directory permissions, you navigate to /install/ in your browser. The wizard checks server requirements, sets up the database, writes config files, and creates your Network Owner account. Full step-by-step instructions are in the documentation included with your license.

No. The download package includes all dependencies pre-built. No Composer, npm, or build step is required on the production server.

SSH is not strictly required - files can be uploaded via FTP and the installer runs through your browser. SSH is helpful for setting file permissions and configuring cron jobs, but shared hosting alternatives (cPanel, web-based cron services) work as well.

Yes. AdServerX relies on seven scheduled background scripts for: daily stats aggregation, publisher earnings calculation, monthly invoice generation, automatic payouts, overdue invoice detection, fraud batch analysis, and webhook retry processing. If SSH crontab is unavailable, the scripts can also be triggered via a web cron service (e.g. cron-job.org). Full setup instructions are in the documentation.

Geographic targeting (country, region, city) requires the MaxMind GeoLite2-City database to be downloaded and placed on your server. Setup instructions are included. Without it, the platform still works - geographic targeting rules are simply skipped and ads are served to all users regardless of location.

AdServerX is a one-time purchase - no subscriptions and no monthly fees. The license includes one year of updates and support. After the first year, an optional annual renewal keeps access to new software releases and priority support active.

No. Your installation continues to work indefinitely after the renewal period expires. The annual renewal only affects access to new software updates and priority support - it does not affect your ability to run the ad server.

• Full unencrypted PHP source code
• One production domain installation
• All platform features
• One year of updates and support
• Lifetime use of the software

Each license covers one production domain installation. Local and development installs do not count toward this limit.

Yes. License transfers are supported. There is a cooldown period between transfers. Contact support if you need to move your installation to a new domain sooner.

Yes. AdServerX comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Discount codes are occasionally available. If you have a coupon code, enter it at checkout before completing payment.

Payments are processed via Stripe (credit and debit cards) or PayPal.

Yes. An invoice is generated for every order and is accessible from your customer portal.

Licensed customers can open support tickets directly from the customer portal. Pre-sales questions can be submitted via the Contact form on the website.

We typically reply within 1-2 business days.

Renewing annually keeps your access to new software releases and priority support active for another year.

Full documentation - covering installation, admin guide, advertiser guide, publisher guide, API reference, webhook setup, and more - is available in the customer portal.

Yes. Services such as installation, custom development, and integration work are available for an additional fee. Visit the Pricing page or contact us to discuss your needs.

Advertisers get a self-serve portal where they can create and manage campaigns, upload ad creatives, set budgets, configure targeting, and monitor performance - all without admin involvement. Campaigns support total budget limits, optional daily spending caps, start and end dates, and frequency capping.

AdServerX supports CPM (per thousand impressions), CPC (per click), CPA (per conversion), CPV (per video view), and Flat Rate. Advertisers choose the model and bid amount when creating a campaign.

When an advertiser activates an ad, AdServerX automatically matches it to every compatible publisher zone on the network based on ad type and dimensions. Advertisers do not manually assign ads to placements - matching is handled by the platform.

Advertisers accumulate spend as their campaigns run. At the start of each month, the platform generates an invoice for the previous month's spend. Advertisers pay via Stripe, PayPal, or offline methods you configure. The billing cycle, invoice due dates, and tax rates are all configurable by the network administrator.

Yes. AdServerX provides a conversion tracking endpoint that advertisers place on their confirmation or thank-you pages. When a visitor completes a desired action after seeing or clicking an ad, the conversion is recorded and attributed to the campaign. Both JavaScript and server-side implementations are supported.

Publishers register for an account and submit a publisher profile for administrator review. Once approved, they can add their websites and create ad zones for each placement. The approval step lets you control which sites carry ads on your network.

Each zone generates a short JavaScript snippet that the publisher pastes into their page HTML wherever they want the ad to appear. No server-side code or technical setup is required on the publisher's end. If no ad is available for a zone, the container hides itself automatically - no blank space is shown to visitors.

You set a revenue share percentage in your platform settings. When an advertiser invoice is paid, the platform automatically calculates each publisher's share based on the proportion of impressions their zones contributed during that billing period. Publishers can see their earnings in real time from their portal.

Payout statements are generated automatically each month for publishers whose earnings exceed the minimum threshold. The network administrator then processes and sends payments using any method they choose - PayPal, bank wire, Zelle, CashApp, check, or other. The minimum payout threshold is configurable per publisher.

A lightweight JavaScript snippet on the publisher's page detects the zone container and sends a request to the ad server with visitor context (IP, user agent, page URL). The server evaluates targeting rules, fraud checks, and frequency caps, selects the best matching ad, and returns it to the browser for rendering - all asynchronously, without blocking page load.

No. The ad serving script loads asynchronously and does not block page rendering.

Yes. AdServerX requires HTTPS in production and serves all ad content over HTTPS.

Yes. The ad serving endpoint and management API both have configurable rate limits to protect server resources. The ad serving endpoint is designed to handle high traffic volumes; management API limits are adjustable in the admin settings.

Webhooks can fire on campaign and ad status changes, payment completions and failures, publisher approval and rejection events, and fraud alerts. Each webhook endpoint receives a signed JSON payload with event details.

Yes. Failed deliveries are retried automatically on an escalating schedule. A delivery log tracks every attempt and its HTTP response code so you can diagnose integration issues.

The built-in billing system supports Stripe and PayPal for online payments. Manual offline payments (wire, check, Zelle, etc.) can also be recorded through the admin interface. Custom integrations are possible via the REST API.

You do. Because AdServerX is self-hosted, all data - campaigns, impressions, publisher records, billing information - lives on your server. AdServerX has no access to your installation's data.

Yes. TOTP-based 2FA (compatible with Google Authenticator, Authy, and similar apps) is available for all user accounts. As the network administrator, you can enforce 2FA for every user on your platform.

Yes. Every license includes the full, unencrypted PHP source code. You can review, audit, or modify it without restriction.