Wi‑Fi Design: Right‑Size Access Points for Mixed Client Density Without Over‑Spending

Quick summary

Good Wi‑Fi starts with people and rooms, not a parts list. Count peak devices, place access points where people actually sit and meet, choose modest channel widths (20–40 MHz), and keep transmit power reasonable so clients roam. More APs isn’t automatically better — unnecessary radios add co‑channel contention and cost without improving airtime.

For commercial spaces we prefer UniFi for predictable design, VLANs and PoE. For residential, UniFi or Eero both work well depending on wiring and management preferences. Use the heuristics below as a starting point, then validate on site with a short walk and a couple of video calls.

• Small office Wi‑Fi AP density plan
• Networking & Infrastructure services
• Wired vs Wireless: the right mix

Start with demand, then geometry

List people and devices during a busy hour: laptops, phones, tablets, TVs/streamers, conferencing bars, printers and IoT. Note which apps are sensitive to jitter (calls, video meetings, screen share). Peak concurrency, not square footage alone, drives whether you need capacity cells or just broad coverage.

Sketch the floor plan. Mark desk clusters, meeting rooms, bedrooms, living areas and outdoor zones. Materials matter: stone, plaster with wire lath, elevator shafts and mirrored glass attenuate 5 GHz/6 GHz more than drywall.

• Networking quick wins (placement basics)

Coverage vs capacity (and when fewer APs win)

Coverage ensures signal everywhere you work; capacity ensures enough clean airtime when the room is busy. Oversizing AP count without a plan increases co‑channel interference and makes roaming sticky. Prefer fewer, better‑placed APs with narrower channels over many wide channels that collide.

Wire stationary bandwidth hogs (desktops, TVs, cameras) when possible to free airtime for mobile devices. Move heavy file syncs out of peak hours.

• Gigabit internet: what actually helps
• Wired vs Wireless

Heuristics for AP count (validate on site)

Use these starting points, then confirm with a short validation walk. Adjust for construction and how dense the busiest hour really gets.

Placement that behaves

Place APs where people are: ceilings or high walls in open areas and collaboration zones. For clusters of small offices or bedrooms, favor corridor placement just outside doors. Avoid closets, behind metal, above foil‑backed insulation, and directly over ductwork.

• Aim for ~15–20% cell overlap for smooth roaming
• Keep line‑of‑sight to seating when possible; avoid corners
• Don’t face two APs across a thick wall on opposite sides

• Small office AP density plan (examples)

Channels and widths that keep airtime clean

Prefer stability over theoretical throughput. In busy neighborhoods and offices, 20–40 MHz on 5 GHz provides more usable airtime than 80 MHz that collides. Use 2.4 GHz (1/6/11) for legacy/IoT only. Enable 6 GHz where modern clients benefit, noting its shorter range.

• 2.4 GHz: 1/6/11 only; 20 MHz width
• 5 GHz: start at 40 MHz; widen only after validation
• DFS: enable only if empirically stable at your site

• Networking quick wins (channel basics)

Power, roaming and sticky clients

High transmit power makes clients cling to far APs. Keep power modest and let received signal dictate hand‑off. Enable 802.11k/v to assist roaming; use 11r only where clients behave well. Minimum RSSI is a gentle nudge — start conservative and tune after a week of real use.

• Set modest transmit power; avoid max settings
• Enable 802.11k/v; 11r selectively based on client mix
• Use a gentle minimum RSSI; verify with walk tests

Model picks by scenario (UniFi for most businesses; UniFi or Eero at home)

For commercial deployments, UniFi provides predictable controller‑based design, VLANs, and PoE — our default. In homes, UniFi or Eero both work well: use UniFi when you want wired backhaul and granular control; use Eero when you prefer a simpler, auto‑managed system. Bridge ISP gateways so the Wi‑Fi platform runs the network.

• UniFi deployment flow for predictable Wi‑Fi

Switching and PoE budgets

Size PoE for today’s APs and near‑term additions with 30–50% headroom. Leave spare ports at each switch and protect with a UPS. Mix 1G/2.5G/10G based on uplinks and NAS needs — Wi‑Fi backhauls benefit from 2.5G where available.

• Add 30–50% PoE headroom for APs and cameras
• Label ports and document VLANs for quick service
• Use UPS for graceful shutdown and surge protection

• Best low‑cost PoE switches (guide)

Validation walk (15 minutes)

After placement, do a short validation. Walk common paths with a phone running two video calls back‑to‑back, watch roaming between APs, and look for channel congestion. Adjust lightly and re‑test.

• Walk with a Wi‑Fi app to confirm RSSI and noise
• Place two calls while crossing AP boundaries
• Pin channels or nudge power if hand‑offs lag

Budget guardrails

Typical 2‑story homes (1,800–3,000 sq ft) land at 2 well‑placed APs with wired TVs and desktops. Small offices (3,000–6,000 sq ft) often need 3–5 APs depending on meeting density and materials. Beyond that, predictive heat‑maps plus on‑site validation keep costs aligned to real demand.

• Cat6 cabling guide (pre‑wire vs retrofit)
• Find a good network installation team

FAQs

Next steps

If you want a clean plan and quick deployment, we can survey, design placement, pull neat cabling, size PoE correctly, and hand off documentation so future changes stay painless.

• Talk to a network installer