Advertising Policy

Editorial Independence

Article topics, templates, tools, and recommendations are selected by editorial judgment. Spec Coding does not sell paid placement inside guides, does not publish sponsored articles, and does not use affiliate links in template or tool recommendations.

If a commercial relationship is introduced in the future, it will be disclosed on the relevant page, not hidden only in this policy.

Ad Placement Rules

• Ads must not be styled as navigation, download buttons, copy buttons, or generated spec output.
• Ads must not interrupt a form field, code block, checklist, or copy-ready template in a way that creates accidental clicks.
• Ads must remain visually separated from tool actions such as Copy Markdown, Download, Export OpenAPI, and Reset.
• Ads must not appear in a layout that implies endorsement of a particular template, provider, or external tool.

How Ads Are Reviewed on Tool Pages

Tool pages are the highest-risk placement surface on Spec Coding because readers are actively clicking form controls, copy buttons, export buttons, reset buttons, and download links. The current implementation does not load AdSense on tool pages. If tool monetization is reconsidered later, each page must pass a fresh desktop and mobile review before any placement is enabled.

That review must reject any ad position that can be confused with a generated artifact, appears inside a live preview area, sits between a primary action and the result of that action, creates tap-target crowding, introduces sticky obstruction, or causes layout shifts after the generator renders output. If a safe placement cannot be found, the page remains ad-free.

Ad Density and Reader Experience

Spec Coding is a documentation-style site, so ad density should never compete with reading or copying a template. The first-pass AdSense implementation is intentionally conservative: ads load only after cookie acceptance and only on low-risk content pages such as article pages, guide detail pages, and template detail pages. AdSense is disabled on the homepage, tool pages, download/resource pages, index and archive pages, and trust/legal pages.

Ad placement uses configurable manual slots rather than broad automatic placement. A page can mount no more than two ad slots, and slots are left inactive until AdSense slot IDs are explicitly configured. This keeps layout, density, and review responsibility under editorial control.

A page can be monetized only after the primary reader task remains clear: read the guide, copy the template, use the generator, download a resource, or send a correction. If ads make the next step harder to find, the layout is considered failed even if it technically follows placement rules.

We do not add ads to artificially lengthened content. Pages are expanded only when they need clearer examples, stronger policy disclosure, better evidence, or a more useful workflow. If a page has no meaningful next action for the reader, it should be improved, merged into a stronger hub, or removed from promotion instead of padded with extra sections.

What Ads Do Not Mean

• An ad does not mean Spec Coding recommends, uses, or verifies the advertiser.
• An ad does not override the editorial advice in a guide, template, or tool page.
• An ad should not be treated as a software vendor recommendation, legal notice, or implementation requirement.
• An ad should not ask readers to bypass their own company security, procurement, or data handling rules.

Readers should evaluate external products under their own team policies. Spec Coding articles and tools are meant to help with specification quality; they are not a procurement shortlist.

Internal Placement Checklist

Before a new ad position is considered acceptable, it should pass this checklist:

• The page is on the approved low-risk content allowlist and is not a tool, resource/download, legal, trust, archive, or index page.
• The ad is visually separated from site navigation, table of contents links, and footer links.
• The ad is not adjacent to a download, copy, export, reset, or submit button.
• The ad does not create cumulative layout shift around forms, code blocks, or generated previews.
• The ad remains distinguishable in light mode, dark mode, and narrow mobile layouts.
• The ad does not appear inside a code sample, template block, or article artifact preview.
• The ad position is removed if readers report confusion or accidental-click risk.

Reader Expectation Standard

A reader should be able to identify the article, the usable artifact, and the next action before noticing any advertisement. On a guide, that means the heading, summary, examples, and internal next step remain dominant. On a template page, the copyable Markdown and review guidance remain dominant. On a tool page, the form and generated output remain dominant. This standard is intentionally stricter than a minimum compliance check because the site depends on trust and practical use.

Ad Networks and Reader Controls

Spec Coding may use Google AdSense on eligible content pages after cookie acceptance. Google and its advertising partners may use cookies, device identifiers, or similar technologies to show, measure, and limit ads. The site initializes Google Consent Mode with analytics and advertising signals denied by default; a Google-certified consent management platform or Google Privacy & messaging setup should update the same consent state if configured. Choosing Necessary only in the cookie banner prevents this site from loading analytics and advertising scripts for that visit. Privacy details and opt-out links are maintained in the Privacy Policy.

For platform rules, see the official Google Publisher Policies and Google advertising technologies policy.

Content Safety Boundaries

Spec Coding is a software engineering resource site. We do not intentionally publish or monetize content around adult material, gambling, weapons, illegal activity, deceptive downloads, malware, personal data exploitation, or copyrighted material offered without permission.

Examples involving billing, payments, security, or incidents are educational engineering examples. They are anonymized and are not financial, legal, tax, medical, or investment advice.

Report an Ad or Placement Problem

If an ad appears too close to a tool action, looks like site navigation, creates accidental-click risk, or conflicts with the purpose of the page, contact support@spec-coding.dev with the URL, screenshot, device, and approximate time.

Placement reports are reviewed as site-quality issues. Confirmed problems are fixed in layout, policy, or ad configuration before additional ad density is added.

Useful reports include the page URL, browser width, device type, whether the page had just loaded or changed after interaction, and what action you intended to take. That context helps distinguish an ad creative problem from a layout problem.