Brand & messaging
Email Signature: How to Create a Professional One (Examples and Sizes)
What to include, the logo at the right size (we measured it), how to set it up in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail, examples to copy and why your logo sometimes arrives as an attachment.
An email signature is the block with your name, title, contact details and, optionally, your logo that gets added automatically to the end of every email. A good email signature fits in four or five lines, still reads when images are blocked and carries one link you can measure.
We checked Google's first page and it's mostly generators that ask you to sign up or hand you an image. Here you build it yourself, no account needed, with the logo at a size we measured and the Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail steps from their official help pages.
On this page
What to include in an email signature
An email signature works like a business card at the bottom of every email: it says who you are, how to reach you and which brand you represent.
An email signature is the block of text, links and sometimes a small image that your email app adds automatically at the end of your messages. It identifies you, makes contacting you easy and reinforces your brand in every email you send, with zero extra typing. It's one of the branding pieces your customers see most often.
What it isn't: it isn't a legally binding electronic signature, the kind you use to sign a contract through an e-signature platform. And it isn't a billboard: if the signature is longer than the message, cut it.
| Element | Include it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Always | It's the first thing people look for |
| Title and company | Always | Context in a few words |
| Phone number | Yes | One tap to call from a phone |
| Website | Yes | The most-clicked link |
| One extra link (LinkedIn or booking page) | Optional | One, not five |
| Logo | Optional | Small, with alt text |
| Confidentiality notice | Only if required | Small text, never an image |
How to create an email signature in 6 steps
To create an email signature, write the details as text, export the logo at twice its display size, host it on your site and test it before you use it.
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Write your signature as text
Four or five lines: name, title and company, phone, website and one extra link. If a line wraps on a phone screen, trim it.
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Export the logo at double size
If it will display at 150 pixels wide, export it at 300 with our image resizer. Use the compact version of your logo: among the main types of logos, a combination mark's symbol or a lettermark reads best when small.
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Host the logo on your website
Upload it to your site or any host with a public address ending in .png. Your signature then links to the image instead of embedding it, so it doesn't arrive as an attachment.
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Build the signature in your email app
Paste the text, insert the logo from its URL, set its width to 150 pixels and add alt text (your brand name).
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Add a link you can track
Tag your website link with UTM parameters (for example, utm_source=email and utm_medium=signature) so Google Analytics shows how many visits it brings. If it points to a booking or quote page, every click is a potential lead.
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Test it before you call it done
Send yourself an email at a Gmail address, an Outlook address and on your phone. Check how it looks with images blocked and when you reply to a thread.
Image signature or HTML email signature?
Go with an HTML email signature: real text, with only the logo as an image. A signature made as one image won't let anyone copy your phone number, supports a single link and shows up as an empty box when images are blocked.
Email signature size: logo dimensions that work
A logo in an email signature looks right at 150 to 200 pixels wide, exported at double size for high-density screens and weighing just a few kilobytes.
The advice is all over the place: ChatGPT suggested about 100 pixels wide and Perplexity 100 to 200. So we tested an email signature with logo ourselves, using our own logotype.
Email signature design: fonts, colors and dark mode
For email signature design, use a font every device has, one brand color with enough contrast and a logo that survives dark mode.
- Fonts: according to Klaviyo's help center, Gmail doesn't generally support web fonts. It shows Roboto and Google Sans only because it ships them, so your brand font won't load. Write the signature in Arial, Georgia or Verdana.
- Color: one brand color for your name or link, dark gray for the rest. Check that the contrast ratio is at least 4.5 to 1, the WCAG minimum for normal text.
- Dark mode: per Litmus' dark mode guide, Outlook.com, the Outlook apps and the Gmail app on Android darken only light backgrounds and leave dark elements alone. The Gmail app on iOS and Outlook for Windows invert every color.
A black logo on a transparent background can end up black on dark gray and vanish. Litmus suggests giving the PNG a light, translucent outline or placing the logo on a background.
Test it: turn on dark mode on your phone, send yourself the signature and check that the logo and links are readable. And keep your phone number out of banners: if the app blocks the image, the number disappears.
How to add a signature in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail
You set the signature up once in each app, and it gets added to new messages and, if you want, to replies.
How to add signature in Gmail?
To add a Gmail signature, open Settings, then See all settings, scroll to Signature, create it and click Save Changes at the bottom. According to Gmail Help, signatures can be up to 10,000 characters, and you can keep several and pick one per email.
How to add signature in Outlook?
In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, your Outlook signature lives under Settings, Accounts, Signatures. In classic Outlook, open a new message and go to Message, Signature, Signatures. Microsoft Support flags two things: classic signatures are stored on your computer, and some images can end up as attachments. If your logo goes missing, insert it from a URL instead of pasting it.
How do you set up an Apple Mail signature?
On a Mac, open Mail and go to Mail, Settings, Signatures. Choose the account, click the add button, name it and type the signature in the preview; drag your logo into it to add the image.
Professional email signature examples
These professional email signature examples double as an email signature template: swap in your details and keep the order, because the order is what makes them scannable.
| For | Example |
|---|---|
| Freelancer | Maya Brooks, Physical Therapist / (555) 010-0142 / yoursite.com / Book a visit |
| Small business with logo | Logo at 150 px + Luis Ortega, Sales Director, Ortega Furniture / (555) 010-0187 / yoursite.com |
| B2B sales | Erin Walsh, Account Executive, Northline Group / (555) 010-0133 / LinkedIn / Book a 15-minute demo |
These are sample details. Notice that none of the email signature examples has more than one call to action: if you need to say more, say it in the email.
Email signature generator: what the free ones ask for
An email signature generator is handy for a first layout, but check what it asks for before you commit: some hand over the code with no account and others make you sign up first.
| Generator | Free? | Account to copy? | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | Yes, per its FAQ | No, per its FAQ | Copy the source code and host the logo yourself |
| MySignature | Free plan; paid plans remove its branding | Yes, to save or copy | Whether the free version carries its branding |
| WiseStamp | Advertised as free | Its steps start with a log-in | Read the plan terms, because its page doesn't spell them out |
This comes from each tool's own page in October 2026. Plans change, so read them again before you rely on one.
Whatever you pick, run a two-minute test:
- Does it give you HTML or source code, not just an image?
- Does the logo load from your own site or from the generator's servers?
- Does the pasted signature add a link back to the generator?
If you can't see the code, you can't fix it the day Outlook turns your logo into an attachment.
Email signature template with AI: copy-paste prompts
AI can trim your signature and write the table code, but the details and the logo come from you.
Act as an email marketing specialist. Here are my details: [name, title, company, phone, website, extra link]. Write me a professional email signature of 4 lines at most, in American English, and tell me which line you'd cut if it had to fit in 3.
Create an HTML email signature to paste into Gmail: a 2-column table with the logo on the left from [logo URL] with width="150" and alt="[brand]", and the text on the right in Arial 14 px, color [color]. Tag the website link with utm_source=email and utm_medium=signature. Inline styles only, no external CSS.
Before you put your logo in thousands of emails, make sure it's yours: here's how to trademark a name and logo, step by step.
Frequently asked questions about email signatures
What is a good email signature?
A good email signature is short, readable without images and useful: your name, title and company, one phone number, your website and at most one extra link, like LinkedIn or a booking page. Four or five lines is plenty. It uses a standard font, one brand color and a small logo with alt text. If it's longer than most of your emails, or it needs a banner to make sense, it isn't a good signature yet.
What are good closing signatures for emails?
Good closings for emails are short and match the tone of the message: Best, Best regards, Thanks, Thank you and Cheers are the safe ones in American business email. Use Thanks when you've asked for something, Best regards for first contact or formal emails, and skip anything that sounds dramatic. The closing goes right before your name, and your signature block takes care of the rest, so you never need to retype your phone number.
Should I use an email signature generator?
Use an email signature generator only if it lets you copy the signature without creating an account and gives you real HTML text, not a single image. Several popular ones ask you to sign up to save or copy, and some add their own link at the bottom. Check the code too: if your logo loads from the generator's servers and the service shuts down, your logo vanishes from every email. Hosting the logo on your own site is safer.
What should a student email signature include?
A student email signature should include your full name, your program and school, your expected graduation year and one way to reach you or see your work, such as LinkedIn or a portfolio. Skip logos you don't have permission to use, quotes and photos. Three lines is enough, for example: Jordan Lee, B.S. Marketing, Class of 2028, State University, linkedin.com/in/jordanlee. Recruiters care that it's clean and easy to find.
How do I change my signature in Outlook?
To change your signature in new Outlook or Outlook on the web, go to Settings, then Accounts, then Signatures, edit the signature and save. In classic Outlook for Windows, open a new message and go to Message, Signature, Signatures. Keep in mind that Microsoft stores classic Outlook signatures on your computer, while the web version stores them in your account. If you use both, update the signature in both, or replies from one device will still show the old one.
Do I need a disclaimer in my email signature?
In the U.S., no general law requires a disclaimer in an ordinary email signature, but some regulated industries such as finance, healthcare and law set their own rules, and your employer may require one. Separately, commercial marketing emails covered by the CAN-SPAM Act must include a valid physical postal address. If you add a confidentiality notice, keep it to one or two lines of small text, never inside an image.