Why the counter is the wrong place for the conversation
Every password question costs the barista about 30 seconds and costs the queue its patience. A code on the table answers the question before it is asked — and a code at the condiment station catches the guests who forgot.
Step 1: One guest network, one code
Use the router's guest network so café devices — the till, the music player, the security camera — stay off the guest SSID. Enable client isolation.
Record the SSID, the password exactly as typed, and the security type before you generate anything.
Step 2: Design for a table, not for a poster
Generate the code in the WiFi QR generator, add the café logo, keep the white padding, and pull the module colour toward your brand only if the contrast stays high. A dark grey code on cream paper scans; a pastel-on-pastel code does not.
Step 3: Sizes that survive a café table
- Table tent, scanned from 30–40 cm: 3–4 cm code width
- Counter card, scanned from 1 m: 10 cm
- Window decal, scanned from 2 m while queueing: 20 cm
Matte stock, not gloss. Café lighting is warm and angled; a glossy card reflects the pendant lamp directly into the camera.
Step 4: Where to place it
Table tents between the sugar and the menu, a counter card next to the pickup point, and a small line in the menu footer. Three placements, one design — do not print five different versions or the brand starts to look improvised.
Step 5: Plan for password changes
Cafés rotate passwords more often than restaurants — after staff changes, after a suspicious login. Keep the generator link and the logo file on the manager's phone, and reprint the table cards the same day the password changes.
Frequently asked
Does a WiFi code make people stay longer?
It removes friction, not judgement: guests who wanted to stay already stay. What it does remove is staff time spent spelling passwords.
Can we put the code on a loyalty card?
Yes if the card is printed at 4 cm or larger. A code on a small, glossy loyalty card often scans worse than one on a table tent.
What if we have two floors with different routers?
Generate one code per floor and label the tents. Mixing them up is the most common mistake in multi-floor venues.