Store Hours Decal: Glass Door Sizing and Setup Guide

What Should a Store Hours Decal Include?

A store hours decal should include the days and times you are open, grouped where they match, plus one way to reach you: a phone number or a web address. Your business name or logo belongs on the logo decal above it.

Group matching days. "Mon to Fri 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sun Closed" is three lines a passerby reads in a glance. Seven lines with the same time repeated takes longer and looks crowded.

Leave holiday hours off the decal. Holiday hours change every year; put them on a window cling you can peel off. A 12 x 18 inch cling starts at $29.99.

How Do You Lay Out the Hours?

Lay out the hours in a column, days on the left and times on the right, aligned so the eye runs straight down. Use one clean, bold font in a size readable from several feet away. Decorative scripts and thin fonts disappear on glass.

Choose a color that contrasts with what is behind the glass. On a door with a dark interior behind it, white letters read best. On a door with a bright interior, a dark color works. Look through your door at the time of day customers arrive before you choose.

Use the included template. It sets the spacing, so the layout comes back ready to proof.

Keep the type size consistent. Days and times in the same size and weight read as a single block; mixing bold days with light times, or several sizes, makes the eye work harder. If you add a phone number or web address below the hours, set it a little smaller than the hours so the hours stay the first thing people read. Leave a margin of empty glass around the whole decal, so it does not look crowded against the door frame or the handle.

Where Should the Logo Decal Go?

Put the logo decal at eye level, roughly where a person's eyes land as they reach for the handle, with the hours decal just below it. On a double door, the logo can go on one door and the hours on the other, or both on the door people use most.

Leave space around the handle and the lock. A decal that wraps around hardware is hard to apply and gets scraped by keys and hands.

Glass doors without markings can be hard to see. A logo decal at eye level helps people notice the glass. Some buildings have rules about markings on glass doors; check with your landlord.

Should the Decal Go Inside or Outside the Glass?

Either works. Outside, the decal reads directly, is easy to replace when hours change, and is applied without reversing the art. Inside, it is protected from weather, cleaning and scrapers, but it must be printed reversed so it reads correctly through the glass.

Say which side when you order. The proof will show the decal the way it will be read from the sidewalk.

Glass with a tint, a frosting or a film on one side changes the choice. Apply the decal to the clear, smooth side.

How Do You Apply Store Hours to a Glass Door?

Apply store hours with the hinge method on clean, dry glass. Clean the glass with isopropyl alcohol, position the decal with painter's tape, check that it is level by measuring from the bottom of the glass, then tape a hinge across the middle.

Peel the backing from one half, squeegee from the hinge out, then do the other half. Lift the transfer tape slowly, folded back flat against itself, so small letters stay on the glass.

Cut decals ship on the full vinyl sheet with the cut lines plotted. Remove the extra vinyl around the design first. Transfer tape is not included, and most applications need it.

How Do You Update Hours Later?

Plan for change. Hours change with seasons, staffing and new owners, so keep the hours decal separate from the logo. When the hours change, replace only the hours decal and keep the logo.

Remove an old decal with a little heat from a hair dryer, peeling back slowly at a low angle. Clean the adhesive left behind with isopropyl alcohol before applying the new one.

Keep your artwork file. A new hours decal with the same font and colors looks like part of the door, not a patch.

What Else Belongs on the Door?

A glass door is prime space, and it fills up fast. Beyond the logo and hours, a few other pieces earn their place, and the rest belong somewhere else.

Worth a spot on the door:

• Accepted payment marks, if your customers ask.
• Delivery and pickup app decals, if you use them, near the hours.
• A small phone number or web address, if it is not on the hours decal.
• Required notices your building, landlord or local rules call for.

Better elsewhere:

• Sales and promotions, on a window cling in the pane beside the door.
• Menus and price lists, inside or on a sidewalk sign.
• Social media handles, on receipts, bags and business cards.

Keep a clear area at eye level so people can see into the business. A door covered top to bottom in decals looks closed even when it is open.

Which Businesses Need Store Hours Decals?

Any business with a door customers walk through needs posted hours. Retail shops, restaurants, salons, clinics, offices, studios and service counters all get the same question at the door, and a decal answers it before anyone has to call.

Hours on the door also help when you are closed. A customer who walks up after hours learns when to come back instead of guessing. Pair the hours with a web address and that customer can order online or book a time on the spot.

Businesses with changing hours, such as seasonal shops, can keep the logo decal permanent and swap a window cling with the season's hours, applying the decal once the hours settle.

What Should You Check on Store Hours Proofs?

Check first for a wrong time: 9 a.m. to 6 a.m., or a day left out. Read every line against your actual schedule before you approve.

Next, check for the reading side. A decal for the inside of the glass that is not reversed reads backward from the sidewalk.

Also check for a phone number that is too small. If it is there, it should be readable from where people stand.

How Do You Order a Store Hours Decal?

Choose the door set or the hours decal alone, fill in the template, and say which side of the glass it goes on. Artwork prep is $14.99 per item if you send a phone photo or a ChatGPT image, and a free proof comes with every order.

Store hours decals print in 48 hours after proof approval and ship for a flat $10 to any US address. In San Antonio, Inline also installs window graphics; everywhere else, the decals are made to apply yourself.