What to put on your van (and what to leave off)

Most vans get about three seconds of attention. Someone stuck behind you at the lights, a neighbour glancing out of the window, a dog walker going past the driveway.

Three seconds is enough to take in three things. So the trick isn’t fitting more on. It’s picking the right three and making them impossible to miss.

The three things that matter

• Your name, big. If they remember one thing, make it this. It’s what they’ll type into Google or mention to a neighbour.
• What you do, in plain words. “Plumbing + heating” beats “Complete property solutions” every time. If people can’t tell what you do, they can’t recommend you.
• One way to get hold of you. One phone number, big enough to read from across the road. Or your website, if that’s where you want people to go. Not three of them fighting for space.

Put the important stuff on the back

The back doors are the most-read part of any van, because that’s what people stare at in traffic. Name, trade and number go there, big.

The sides are for the brand: your logo, your colours, the stuff that makes people recognise you parked on a driveway three streets away. Think of the sides as the billboard and the back as the business card.

The nice-to-haves

• Accreditations you’ve actually earned. Gas Safe, NICEIC, TrustMark, Checkatrade, whatever applies. Keep them small, tidy and together. A neat row of badges looks trustworthy. A scatter of them looks like a car boot sale.
• Your patch. “Manningtree, Colchester + Ipswich” tells locals you’re local.
• Your social handle, but only if you actually post. An Instagram account with three photos from 2021 does more harm than good.

What to leave off

• The full list of services. If you list fourteen things, nobody reads any of them. Your website can do the long list.
• Two mobiles and a landline. Pick one.
• Clipart. The tap, the spanner, the lightning bolt, the little house with a roof on it. Four hundred other vans have the same one.
• Slogans that need reading twice. If it doesn’t land at 30mph, it doesn’t land.
• Tiny text. If you have to squint at the design on a laptop, nobody’s reading it on the A12.

Get the design sorted before the wrap

This is the bit people get backwards. A good sign shop will print and fit brilliantly, but they’re working from whatever you give them. If that’s a blurry logo saved off Facebook, you’ll get a very well-fitted blurry logo.

Get the design right first, laid out on your exact make and model, then take it to the fitter. The wrap is the expensive part. Getting the artwork wrong means paying for it twice.

For what it’s worth, that’s how we work too. Our Brand + Van Design packs include the van livery design, ready for your sign shop. Printing and fitting are quoted separately, and once your design’s approved we’ll introduce you to a supplier we trust or help you get a quote.

The fridge test

Print a photo of your van design, stick it on the fridge and walk to the other side of the kitchen. Can you read the name, the trade and the number?

If yes, you’re done. If you’re squinting, so will everyone else. Or WhatsApp us a photo of your van and we’ll give you three honest fixes for free. Gently.