Prepare your outdoor signs for the cold weather

Depending on whereabouts your business is based, you may already have experienced some of the winter weather that has swept across parts of the country. While many businesses will have taken precautions to protect themselves from the wintry weather – precautions such as gritting walkways, protecting stock and others – have you stopped to think how the weather will affect your mandatory signs and other signage?

Size of signs

During the winter, visibility can be poor, so you’ll want to make sure that any signs stand out. Check all health & safety signs, emergency exit signs, parking signs and other signage are large enough to be visible from an appropriate distance – even during poor visibility – with this distance depending on their use. A no entry sign, for example, will need to be visible in bad weather from a much further distance than a hot water warning sign on a tap.

If appropriate for your business, you could even consider investing in LED signage or neon signs, which will stand out even at times of poor visibility and will help customers to notice that your business is not only there, but also that it is open during the winter months.

Hardy Signage

Finally, during the winter you should also make sure that any signage that is displayed outdoors is hardy enough to stand up to the bitter winds, snow, ice, hail and stinging rain that normally accompany the season. Signage should be as heavy duty as is required for the weather conditions that are expected to affect your geographical area: while purchasing cheap signage may be best for your budget at the time, this may not be the case in the long run. Buying high quality, all weather signs may involve more of an initial outlay than some of the cheaper alternatives, but will ensure that this is an investment that will last.

You may think that signage is the last of your worries during the winter, but the truth is that choosing custom signs that are heavy duty and stand out during poor weather will only benefit your business, not only during the winter months but also in the long run.