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Lobby digital signage: welcome screens and visitor check-in

Quick answer: DigitalSignage.com runs lobby screens on its free plan: the first 3 screens are free forever, then $3 per screen per month, which covers most lobbies at no software cost. A lobby screen shows a welcome board with today's visitors by first name or company, a building or staff directory, meeting room status from Microsoft 365 or Google Calendar, company news and weather. Visitor check-in on a touch screen uses SignStudio touch components on the Plus+ plan, and a locked-down self-service kiosk is an Enterprise feature. Put the screen where people wait, not where they walk.

Last updated October 22, 2026. Product facts from the SignStudio components documentation, the corporate signage page and the visitor management kiosk page; figures from our brightness and cost pages.

What a lobby screen should show​

A lobby audience is small and attentive: visitors waiting for a host, candidates before an interview, couriers, staff on the way in. The screen earns its place when it answers "am I in the right place, who is expecting me, and what do I do now".

ContentSource in SignStudioWho maintains it
Welcome board ("Welcome, Acme Corp, 10:00 with J. Lee")Google Sheets component, or a text zoneReception, from a sheet
Building or staff directoryGoogle Sheets componentOffice manager
Meeting room status and today's eventsCalendar component (Google Calendar, Outlook/Office 365, iCal)Automatic
Company news, awards, new hiresImages and video, slideshowCommunications
Weather and local newsWeather and RSS componentsAutomatic
Wi-Fi for guests, parking rules, safety noticeText zone with a QR codeFacilities
Emergency messageEmergency priority campaignPrepared in advance

Keep internal financials, customer names and anything confidential off a screen that visitors can see. The corporate page covers the staff-area dashboards that belong behind the reception desk.

Welcome boards​

The simplest welcome board is a spreadsheet. Share a Google Sheet with the SignStudio service account, add the Google Sheets component to the welcome zone and select the range; reception types the day's visitors in the morning and the screen follows automatically. Show company names or first names only; some visitors (candidates, lawyers, auditors) would rather not be announced at all, so agree a rule with HR first.

Directories and wayfinding​

A directory on screen replaces the letter-board nobody updates. Keep it in the same sheet as the welcome board, one tab per floor, sorted the way visitors search (by company in a multi-tenant building, by department otherwise). For a campus, the wayfinding systems page covers maps, and a QR code on the directory can hand the visitor a map on their phone.

Visitor check-in kiosks​

Check-in changes the screen from passive to interactive, and the plan changes with it:

  • Touch components (buttons, forms, lists, a soft keyboard) are part of the Plus+ plan at $3 per screen per month. A visitor taps "I have a meeting", types a name and a host, and the scene confirms.
  • Full kiosk mode, where the device is locked to the check-in app and runs unattended, is an Enterprise feature, priced through the public calculator.

Badge printing, ID scanning, NDA signatures and host notification come from a dedicated visitor management system; SignStudio covers the screen side. If you need the check-in scene itself to notify a host or print a badge, ask support (support@digitalsignage.com, live chat at https://chat.digitalsignage.com/ or +1-877-344-7446) before buying hardware. Our visitor kiosk page gives the baseline: a 15 to 32 inch PCAP touch display, plus camera, scanner and badge printer as needed. Public kiosks should follow ADA reach and height guidance; see the kiosk accessibility page and confirm with counsel.

Where to place the screen​

  • Facing the seating, not the entrance. People read while waiting, not while walking in.
  • Beside reception, not behind it, where the receptionist blocks it and the screen competes with the person.
  • Out of direct window light. Lobbies and atriums near large windows need 700 to 1,500 nits by our brightness guide; an office corridor position needs 350 to 500 nits. A consumer TV at 250 to 400 nits is fine in a windowless lobby and washed out opposite a glass wall.
  • Eye height when seated for the welcome board, higher for a directory read while standing.
  • Portrait suits a directory and a welcome list; landscape suits video and room status.

Hardware​

A lobby is the easiest place in the building to run signage. A TV or commercial panel plus a $40 to $100 Android stick, a complete Raspberry Pi build at $81 to $137, a Chromebox or a spare PC runs the free DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer. SignPlayer does not run on Fire OS, Tizen or webOS displays. For long hours and a bright room a commercial panel with a 3-year warranty is $995 to $1,450 at 55 inches; a consumer 55-inch TV is $300 to $450. For a check-in kiosk, buy the touch display first and a player that the display's touch input supports.

Cost at 1 to 3 screens​

Most lobbies need one or two screens. One to three screens cost nothing in software on DigitalSignage.com: no credit card, no ads, no watermark, about 90 percent of the features. Scheduling and the emergency override are on the free tier. A check-in screen with touch components moves the account to Plus+, $3 per screen per month, billed for every screen once the account has 4 or more. Electricity is about $75 a year per screen at 12 hours a day.

Measurement​

Lobby screens are judged by the front desk. Count "where is" and "who do I see" questions at reception before and after; count check-ins per day if the kiosk is live; and ask visitors in your post-visit survey whether the lobby told them what they needed. SignStudio player management shows the screen's status and a remote screenshot so you know the board is current; dynamic QR codes on the Wi-Fi and map slides give you scan counts.

18 lobby content ideas​

  1. Today's visitors by company and time.
  2. Staff directory by department, with floor and extension.
  3. Meeting room status: free, busy until, next meeting.
  4. Guest Wi-Fi name with a QR code to join.
  5. Where to park and how to validate.
  6. The company in one slide: what we do, since when.
  7. New hires this month.
  8. Awards you can document.
  9. Community and charity work.
  10. Weather and traffic for the trip home.
  11. Local news headlines from an RSS feed.
  12. Today's events in the building.
  13. Health and safety notice for visitors.
  14. Evacuation route from the lobby.
  15. Cafeteria menu and hours.
  16. Job openings with a QR code to apply.
  17. Customer logos or project photos you have permission to show.
  18. Multilingual welcome for international visitors.

Frequently asked questions​

What should a lobby welcome screen show?

Today's visitors by company or first name with their meeting time, a building or staff directory, meeting room status, company news, guest Wi-Fi with a QR code and weather. Keep confidential material and full visitor names off a screen the public can see, and prepare an emergency message that can take over the screen when needed.

How does reception update the welcome board?

From a spreadsheet. The SignStudio Google Sheets component reads a sheet shared with the SignStudio service account and shows the selected range on screen, so reception types the day's visitors into the sheet and the board updates automatically without anyone opening the layout editor.

Can visitors check in on the lobby screen?

Yes, on a touch display. Touch components such as buttons, forms and a soft keyboard are part of the DigitalSignage.com Plus+ plan at $3 per screen per month, and a locked-down self-service kiosk is an Enterprise feature. Badge printing, ID scanning and host notification come from a visitor management system; ask support if you need the check-in scene itself to notify hosts.

Where is the best place for a lobby screen?

Facing the seating area at seated eye height, beside the reception desk rather than behind it, and out of direct window light. A position near large windows needs 700 to 1,500 nits; a windowless lobby is fine with an ordinary TV.

How much does lobby digital signage cost?

One to three screens are free forever on DigitalSignage.com, with no credit card, ads or watermark. Hardware is a TV plus a $40 to $100 Android stick or an $81 to $137 Raspberry Pi build, or a commercial 55-inch panel at $995 to $1,450 for a bright room. A touch check-in screen moves the account to Plus+ at $3 per screen per month.

Can the lobby screen show meeting room availability?

Yes. SignStudio has a calendar component that connects to Google Calendar, Outlook and Office 365 or an iCal feed and shows today's events and room status. Show room names and times only, not meeting titles that reveal client names.

Try it on your own screens, free​

DigitalSignage.com, which publishes this guide, runs a permanent free plan: the first 3 screens are free forever (no credit card, no ads, no time limit), then from $3 per screen per month with volume pricing via a public calculator. The free SignPlayer runs on Windows, Mac, Android and Android TV, Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi, iPad or any modern web browser. Start free · 2026 pricing

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