How to Create an Exhibitor Directory

An exhibitor directory is the list of every company exhibiting at your trade show, with its booth number, a short description, product categories and contact details, so attendees can decide who to visit and find them on the floor. To create one, decide which fields you need, collect them from exhibitors with a deadline, review and categorize the listings, then publish them online, in your event app and, if you print a guide, on paper. Link every listing to its booth on the floor plan. This guide walks through each step, with a field list you can copy.

Why the Exhibitor Directory Matters

The directory does work for three groups at once:

• Attendees use it to plan which booths to visit and to find a company they heard about.
• Exhibitors treat their listing as part of what they paid for, and many check it before the show.
• Your sales team uses it to show prospects who else is exhibiting, which helps sell the remaining booths.

A thin or late directory weakens all three. A complete, searchable one published early keeps working long after the show ends.

Step 1: Decide What Each Listing Includes

Pick your fields before you ask exhibitors for anything, so you only ask once. A trade show exhibitor directory listing usually includes:

• Company name, exactly as it should appear
• Booth number, from your floor plan
• Short description, with a word or character limit
• Product or service categories, chosen from your list
• Logo, with a stated format and minimum size
• Website and social links
• Contact email, phone or form for attendee inquiries
• Location (city, state or country), useful for regional and international shows
• Optional extras: products, photos, videos, show specials and booth staff

Keep the required list short. Every extra required field is another reason for an exhibitor to miss the deadline. If you need a starting format, our vendor list template shows a simple column layout you can adapt for exhibitors.

Step 2: Build a Category List

Categories are what make a directory searchable. Write a fixed list of product or service categories for your industry and let each exhibitor choose a limited number, such as up to three. A fixed list keeps the directory clean; free-text categories end up with ten spellings of the same thing.

Use the same categories in your exhibitor application and attendee registration if you can. Then you can show attendees exhibitors in the categories they said they are interested in, and you can report on which categories are growing.

Step 3: Collect Listings From Exhibitors

There are two common ways to collect directory details:

1. A form or spreadsheet. You send a form, exhibitors fill it in, and your team copies the answers into the website, app and printed guide. Fine for small shows, slow and error-prone for larger ones.
2. Exhibitor-entered profiles. Each exhibitor logs in and completes its own profile, which feeds the directory directly. Changes made by the exhibitor show up without your team retyping anything.

With exhibitor portal software, each company gets one login to complete its profile, add products and booth staff, and see which onboarding tasks are still open. Profile tasks can tick themselves off as exhibitors finish them, so you can see who is missing without chasing every company.

Step 4: Set Directory Deadlines

A directory usually needs two deadlines:

• Online and app listing: a soft deadline, early enough that the directory looks full when attendee marketing ramps up. Late listings can still be added.
• Printed guide: a hard deadline set by your print schedule. Anything after it won't make the guide.

Send reminders before each date, naming what is still missing for that exhibitor. For a full schedule of exhibitor dates, see our exhibitor deadline timeline.

Step 5: Review and Clean the Listings

Before anything goes public, review every listing:

• Company names spelled consistently, without all capitals or trademark symbols unless required
• Descriptions within your limit and free of obvious sales claims you wouldn't want to publish
• Logos at the right size and format
• Booth numbers matching the current floor plan
• Categories chosen from your list
• Working website links

Booth numbers are the most common error, because booths move during sales. Make sure the directory reads booth assignments from the same source as your floor plan rather than from a separate list. A clear booth numbering system makes this easier for attendees too.

Step 6: Publish an Online Exhibitor Directory

An online exhibitor directory should let attendees:

• Search by company name and keyword
• Filter by category
• Sort alphabetically
• Open a company's full listing
• See where the booth is on the floor plan

The link between the directory and the map is the most useful part. With an interactive floor plan, attendees can find an exhibitor's booth on a live, zoomable map, and the map stays current as booths sell or move. You can embed the map or exhibitor list on your event website with a short script, so you don't maintain a separate page by hand.

Step 7: Put the Directory in Your Event App

On the show floor, attendees look things up on their phones. A mobile event app can carry the same exhibitor list, with bookmarks so attendees can save the booths they want to visit, plus navigation on the floor plan. Using one source for the website, app and print means a correction made once shows up everywhere.

Step 8: Produce the Printed Guide

If you print a show guide, export the directory after the print deadline, lock exhibitor editing so nothing changes underneath you, and lay it out in two views: alphabetical with booth numbers, and by category. Include the floor plan with booth numbers large enough to read. Add a line pointing attendees to the online directory and app for late additions.

Step 9: Keep It Updated During the Show

Changes happen onsite: a cancellation, a booth swap, a company that signed during move-in. Update the online and app directory as soon as they happen, and make sure the information desk knows. A printed guide can't change, so the digital directory is the one attendees should trust.

Step 10: Keep It Live After the Show

Attendees often look up exhibitors after they get home, to find a company they visited or one they missed. Keeping the directory live for a period after the show adds value for exhibitors and gives you something to point to when you sell next year's booths.

Exhibitor Directory Field List You Can Copy

• Company name (required)
• Booth number (from floor plan, required)
• Description, up to a set length (required)
• Categories, up to three from the list (required)
• Logo, in a stated format and size (required for print)
• Website (required)
• Contact email or inquiry form
• City, state or country
• Social links
• Products or services, with photos
• Show specials or demos
• Booth staff names

Write Clear Instructions for Exhibitors

The quality of your directory depends on the instructions exhibitors get. A short guide, sent with the portal invite or form, saves a lot of cleanup later. Include:

• The deadline for online listings and the separate print deadline
• The description length, with an example of a good listing
• Logo format, minimum size and whether a transparent background is needed
• How many categories they may choose, and the full list
• Who to contact if their booth number or company name is wrong
• When editing will be locked for print

Ask exhibitors to write descriptions for attendees, not for investors: what they sell, who it is for and what they will show at the booth. A line about a demo or show special gives attendees a reason to visit.

Common Exhibitor Directory Mistakes

• Publishing too late to help attendee marketing
• Keeping booth numbers in a separate spreadsheet from the floor plan
• Allowing free-text categories
• Asking for too many required fields
• Letting exhibitors edit after the print deadline without locking the guide version
• Taking the directory offline the day after the show

Get these right and the exhibitor directory becomes one of the most-used parts of your show, for attendees deciding where to go and for exhibitors deciding whether to come back.