Okay, so I wanted to share this little project I’ve been messing with – a foot traffic counter for stores. I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to have a simple, mobile-friendly way to track how many people are coming in and out? Nothing fancy, just a basic count.
The Idea Kicked Off
It all started when I was chatting with a friend who owns a small boutique. She was curious about her peak hours, but didn’t want to invest in some complicated, expensive system. I figured, “Hey, I can probably whip something up!” I’m no coding genius, but I like to tinker.
Getting My Hands Dirty
First, I needed a way to actually count the people. I thought about using a fancy sensor, but that seemed overkill. Then it hit me: a simple button! Every time someone enters or exits, someone just taps a button on a phone or tablet. Easy peasy.
Next, I needed something to store the count. I started messing around with, like, basic text files. Real primitive, I know. It worked, but it was a pain to keep track of.
I wanted it to be mobile-friendly, so I decided to make it a basic web page that I can open up on my mobile. I built this super simple webpage with two big buttons: “Enter” and “Exit”. No design awards here, trust me. Just functional.
Making it (Slightly) Smarter
I just made an interface that displayed the total count. I realized I needed a way to reset the count each day. So, I added another button for that. Super basic, I know, but it does the job.
The (Not So) Grand Finale
So, I tested this thing out in my friend’s store for a week. The staff just kept a phone by the door and tapped the buttons. I didn’t want to make too much changes to the base setting, so it’s pretty basic.
It’s definitely not perfect. It relies on someone remembering to tap the buttons. If they forget, the count is off. It’s also super basic. No fancy graphs or anything. But, it gives a rough idea of the traffic, and that’s what I was going for.
There are also some issues with the counting, but I didn’t want to make a complex calculation on the number.
It was a fun little project, and it showed me that sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Plus, it was a good excuse to mess around with some basic coding. If you decide to use this method, you can customize the webpage, and use it as a base to develop.