How to Set Up a Digital Signage Display Using Just a Browser

A screen in a shop window, waiting room or office can show menus, schedules, dashboards or slides from a web browser. You don't need special signage software for simple setups: a computer, a screen and a few settings are enough.

What you need

• A screen: any TV or monitor with HDMI.
• A small computer: an old laptop, a mini PC or a Raspberry Pi. It only needs to run a browser.
• Content as web pages: your own pages, a dashboard, or slides published to the web.

1. Make the content

• Google Slides: File → Share → Publish to web, choose auto-advance timing and tick "Restart the slideshow after the last slide". You get a link that plays on a loop.
• Web pages: a menu page, an events calendar or a live dashboard.
• Use big text and high contrast; signs are read from a distance.

2. Show it full screen with kiosk mode

Chrome's kiosk mode opens a page full screen with no address bar or tabs. On Windows, create a shortcut whose target is Chrome followed by --kiosk and the address, for example chrome.exe --kiosk https://example.com/menu. On a Raspberry Pi, Chromium accepts the same option. Press Alt + F4 to exit.

3. Rotate between several pages

To cycle through a menu, today's specials and a promotion, AutoBrowser plays the pages in a bookmark folder in one tab, staying on each for the time you set (1 second to 5 minutes), and loops. Put each page you want to show in one folder and choose that folder.

4. Keep it running

• Stop sleep: set the screen and computer to never sleep, and turn off the screen saver.
• Start automatically: on Windows, put the kiosk shortcut in the Startup folder (Win + R, type shell:startup). Set up automatic sign-in for a dedicated account.
• Power cuts: in the computer's BIOS settings, set it to turn on when power returns.
• Updates: schedule system updates for when the business is closed.

5. Refresh content that doesn't update itself

Live dashboards update on their own. Static pages may need reloading so changes appear; rotating them with a timer reloads each page as it comes round.

Keep it secure

• Use a separate account with no personal email or passwords signed in.
• Hide or lock the keyboard and mouse if the screen is in a public place.
• Don't display pages that show private customer information.

When to use real signage software

For many screens in different places, scheduling by time of day or remote management, a signage service or managed devices is worth paying for. Managed Chromebooks and Chromeboxes can run in a locked kiosk mode set up centrally. For a single screen or two, a browser is often all you need. See also building a monitoring dashboard.