Context. The abundances of interstellar CH+ and SH+ are not well understood as their most likely formation channels are highly endothermic. Several mechanisms have been proposed to overcome the high activation barriers, including shocks, turbulence, and H-2 vibrational excitation. Aims. Using data from the Herschel Space Observatory, we studied the formation of ions, in particular CH+ and SH+ in a typical high UV-illumination warm and dense photon-dominated region (PDR), the Orion Bar. Methods. The HIFI instrument on board Herschel provides velocity-resolved line profiles of CH+ 1-0 and 2-1 and three hyperfine transitions of SH+ 1(2)-0(1). The PACS instrument provides information on the excitation and spatial distribution of CH+ by extending the observed CH+ transitions up to J = 6-5. We compared the observed line intensities to the predictions of radiative transfer and PDR codes. Results. All CH+, SH+, and CF+ lines analyzed in this paper are seen in emission. The widths of the CH+ 2-1 and 1-0 transitions are of similar to 5 kms(-1), significantly broader than the typical width of dense gas tracers in the Orion Bar (similar to 2-3 km s(-1)) and are comparable to the width of species that trace the interclump medium such as C+ and HF. The detected SH+ transitions are narrower compared to CH+ and have line widths of similar to 3 kms(-1), indicating that SH+ emission mainly originates in denser condensations. Non-LTE radiative transfer models show that electron collisions affect the excitation of CH+ and SH+ and that reactive collisions need to be taken into account to calculate the excitation of CH+. Comparison to PDR models shows that CH+ and SH+ are tracers of the warm surface region (A(V)