Exhibition Stall Layout Plan: How to Plan, Sell and Show Stalls

For an exhibition organiser, the exhibition stall layout is the product: the floor plan is what exhibitors choose from and pay for. A well-planned trade show floor plan fits more stalls, moves visitors past every booth, keeps the venue safe, and makes it easy to sell the best positions first. This guide covers how to plan an exhibition layout, common stall types and sizes, pricing, and how to show exhibitors which stalls are still free.

Start from the venue

• Get an accurate plan of the hall or ground: dimensions, columns, entrances, emergency exits, power points, loading bays and ceiling heights.
• Mark what cannot be used: exits and the routes to them, fire equipment, service areas.
• Check the venue's and fire authority's rules on aisle widths, exits and stall heights before drawing.

Stall types

• Inline stalls: one side open to the aisle. The most common and cheapest.
• Corner stalls: two sides open. More visibility, usually priced higher.
• Peninsula stalls: three sides open, at the end of a row.
• Island stalls: open on all four sides, for large exhibitors and sponsors.
• Shell scheme vs raw space: shell scheme stalls come with walls, fascia, lights and furniture (a 3 m × 3 m shell stall is a common small unit); raw space is bare floor for exhibitors who build their own stand.

Planning the aisles and flow

• Lead visitors from the entrance through every aisle, so no row becomes a dead end that nobody visits.
• Keep main aisles wider than side aisles, and leave space at the entrance for registration and queues.
• Place anchor exhibitors and sponsors so they draw visitors deeper into the hall.
• Put food courts, seminar areas and lounges where they pull visitors past more stalls.

Numbering and pricing stalls

Number stalls logically by hall and row (for example H1-A12), and keep the same numbers in the floor plan, price list and contracts. Price by area and position: corners, islands and stalls near entrances, the stage or food court are worth more. Offer early-booking rates to fill the hall faster.

Selling stalls: the availability problem

Most organisers still share the floor plan as a PDF and mark sold stalls by hand. Exhibitors ask "which stalls are still available?" again and again, and two sales people can promise the same stall. It is the same problem plotted-project developers face, and the same fix works: one live floor plan where every stall shows its status.

zeplot turns a layout drawing into an interactive map where every unit can be tapped for its number, size and status (available, on hold, booked), opened from one link on any phone, with each enquiry tied to the stall the exhibitor chose. It was built for plot layouts and works the same way for a stall layout. Talk to us about your exhibition floor plan.

Tools for drawing the floor plan

• CAD software for accurate, to-scale hall plans; venues often provide their base plan in DWG.
• Exhibition and event floor plan software that includes stall booking and exhibitor management.
• Simple diagram tools for quick drafts, though not to scale.

See our comparison of layout design software for CAD options.

Frequently asked questions

What is a standard exhibition stall size?

A 3 m × 3 m (9 sq m) shell scheme stall is a common small unit in India and elsewhere, with larger stalls in multiples of it. Organisers set their own sizes.

How do I make an exhibition stall layout?

Start from an accurate hall plan, mark exits and services, plan aisles, then divide the remaining floor into numbered stalls of standard sizes, with corner and island stalls where visibility is best.

How can exhibitors see which stalls are available?

Share a live floor plan where each stall shows its status, instead of a PDF that goes out of date as stalls are booked.