A counter sign is the cheapest member of staff a small business ever hires. It answers the same question forty times a day without getting tired of it — what's the WiFi? — and it never forgets to mention that you'd love a Google review.
Most of them are done badly. Not because the design is wrong, but because nobody decided what the sign was for before it was printed. Here is what actually works, learned from making them to order.
Decide what the sign is for before you decide what it says
One sign, one job. The temptation is to fit the WiFi password, the QR menu, the Instagram handle and the opening hours onto one small panel. Do that and customers read none of it — a counter sign is scanned in about two seconds from a metre away, not studied.
If you need three things said, three small signs in different places outperform one crowded one. The WiFi sign belongs on the table or by the sockets. The review QR belongs by the till, where people stand while they pay. The menu QR belongs where people queue.
WiFi signs: the wording that stops people asking
A WiFi sign only works if it removes every ambiguity. Four rules:
Label the two lines clearly. "Network" and "Password", not one block of text. People are typing into a phone with one hand and holding a coffee in the other.
Say how the password is capitalised. This is the single most common reprint we see. If the password is FlatWhite2024, a customer will try flatwhite2024 and conclude your WiFi is broken. Printing it in a clear mixed-case font, exactly as typed, saves the conversation.
Avoid characters that look like other characters. A capital I, a lowercase l and the digit 1 are nearly identical in most fonts. So are O and 0. If you are choosing a new password anyway, choose one without them — two ordinary words and a number beats a random string every time on a printed sign.
Do not print a password you are going to change. Obvious, and still the most expensive mistake. If your router password changes when the broadband contract does, set up a separate guest network with a password you control, and print that one instead.
A QR code that connects the phone to the network automatically is better still — no typing, no capitals, no complaints. Print the password underneath anyway, for the customer whose camera app will not co-operate.
QR codes: link to the thing, not to your homepage
A QR code is a shortcut, and a shortcut that lands someone on your homepage has failed. Link straight to the page that answers the question they had when they scanned:
- Menu — the menu page itself, not the site. If your menu is a PDF, make sure it opens readably on a phone; a landscape A4 PDF is unreadable on a screen and will annoy people.
- Google review — use the direct review link from your Google Business Profile, which opens the star box straight away. Sending people to your Maps listing and hoping they find the review button loses most of them.
- Booking — the booking form, with the service pre-selected if your system allows it. Salons get the most out of this one.
- Pay or tip — your payment link. Worth testing on both an iPhone and an Android before it goes on the counter.
- Instagram — your profile, not a single post that will be buried in a fortnight.
Scan your own sign before you order it. Print the code on paper, stick it on the counter, and scan it from where a customer would actually stand — not from six inches away. Then have somebody else scan it. A code that works on your phone and fails on theirs is usually a shortened link that a network is blocking.
Wording that earns its space
Say what to do, then what happens. "Scan for the menu" is better than "Menu". "Scan to leave us a review — it genuinely helps" outperforms "Reviews" by a distance, because it asks.
Some that work on a counter:
- Guest WiFi — network and password below
- Scan for today's menu
- Scan to book — we'll see you soon
- Enjoyed it? Scan to leave a review — it really does help a small shop
- Scan to pay · Scan to tip the team
- Follow us — we post the specials here first
Keep it under about eight words above the code. The code needs the room more than the sentence does.
Where it goes, and how big it needs to be
A counter sign is read from roughly a metre. At that distance a 14 cm tall panel is comfortable — big enough that the QR code scans first time, small enough that it does not take over a till area or a treatment room shelf. Anything smaller and phones start hunting for the code; anything much bigger belongs on a wall, not a counter.
A free-standing sign on a solid base matters more than it sounds. Signs that need a stand, a frame or blu-tack end up face down in a drawer within a month. One that stands up by itself gets moved around, wiped down and kept.
Ordering one
Our personalised WiFi and QR code sign is a clear arched acrylic panel, roughly 14 cm by 10 cm, in a natural wooden base, made to order in Cheshire. Send the web address rather than a QR image and the code is generated and positioned for you, then checked before it prints.
There is no minimum order and no setup fee, which matters if you need one sign rather than fifty — and if you are kitting out a whole counter, set the quantity and list what each sign should say, one per line.
Fitting out the rest of the front of house at the same time? The same approach applies to custom logo aprons for café and salon teams — also with no minimum, so a team of three orders three.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to make the QR code myself?
No. Send the link — your menu, booking page, review link or Instagram profile — and the code is generated for you and checked before printing.
Can I change what the QR code points to later?
Not on a printed sign: the code encodes the address directly. If you expect the destination to change, point it at a link you control and can redirect, rather than at a URL that will expire.
What if my logo is low resolution?
You will hear from us before it prints rather than after. Fine lines and small text lose definition on acrylic, so the cleanest file you have is always the right one to send.
How long does it take?
Made to order in 1–3 working days, then Royal Mail Tracked. Free UK delivery on every order.
