How to Add a Signature in Gmail, Including a Logo

Every e-mail you send is a small business card for your brand. Creating a signature in Gmail takes a few minutes, but small problems are common: the logo does not show, the signature is missing from replies or it looks different on a phone. This guide shows how to add a signature in Gmail and how to fix those problems.

How to Add a Signature in Gmail

On a computer, in Gmail on the web:

1. Open Gmail and click the Settings (gear) icon at the top right.
2. Click See all settings.
3. On the General tab, scroll down to Signature and create a new signature.
4. Give it a name (for example "Business") and type your signature: name, job title, company, phone and website.
5. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

A Gmail signature can be up to 10,000 characters long, and formatting and images count towards that limit.

Choose a Default Signature

Creating a signature is not enough; you also need to tell Gmail when to add it. Under the signature box, in the signature defaults, choose which signature to use for new e-mails and which for replies and forwards. When a signature is missing from replies, this is usually why.

To switch signatures while writing, use the pen-shaped Insert signature button at the bottom of the compose window.

Add a Logo or Image to Your Signature

• Click the insert image icon in the signature editor.
• You can add the image from Google Drive, from your computer or from a web address (URL).
• For an image from Drive to show for recipients, the file must be shared publicly.
• Prepare the logo at about twice the size you will display it and scale it down in the signature, so it looks sharp on high-resolution screens.
• Keep the logo file small; large images eat into the character limit and make the e-mail heavier.

Multiple Signatures and Send-As Addresses

You can create more than one signature in Gmail, for example a short reply signature and a full business signature. If you also send mail from another address through Gmail (the "Send mail as" option in Settings), choose the address from the drop-down above the signature editor to set a separate default for each one.

Gmail Signatures on Your Phone

The Gmail apps for Android and iOS have a separate mobile signature setting, independent of the signature you created on a computer. The mobile signature is plain text, with no logo or formatting. Keep it short and simple in the app's settings for that account: your name, job title and phone number are enough.

Paste a Ready-Made HTML Signature into Gmail

Gmail's signature box is not an HTML code editor; if you paste the code directly, recipients will see the code. Do this instead:

1. Open the HTML signature file you received in your browser.
2. Select the whole signature with your mouse (only the signature, not the rest of the page) and copy it.
3. Paste it into the Signature box in Gmail and save.
4. Send yourself a test e-mail and check how the signature looks on a computer and on a phone.

Signatures coded with tables and inline styles survive this method intact. If you want your business signature to look consistent in every e-mail client, see our HTML email signature coding service.

Common Problems and Fixes

• The logo does not show for recipients: the Drive file is not public, or the image sits at an address recipients cannot reach. Add the image from a public address that starts with https.
• The logo looks too big: set a small size in the signature editor or resize the file beforehand.
• The signature is missing from replies: no signature may be selected for replies and forwards in the signature defaults.
• The logo disappears in dark mode: dark logos on a transparent background are unreadable in dark themes. Give the logo a light background or some padding.
• The font looks different: e-mail clients do not always support custom fonts. Prefer common fonts such as Arial, Helvetica or Verdana.

Shared Signatures in Google Workspace

If your company uses Google Workspace, admins can add a shared footer (for example a legal notice) to all outgoing mail through the compliance settings in the Admin console. Personal signatures stay in each user's settings; to roll out the same template to the whole team, the Gmail API or signature management tools are used. As the team grows, a central template keeps everyone's signature consistent instead of setting each one by hand. A business e-mail address and a consistent signature are among the trust signals in our corporate website checklist.

Conclusion

To add a signature in Gmail, go to Settings > See all settings > General > Signature, then choose your default signature. For a signature with a logo that looks right on every device, the image must be public and the signature should be coded with tables. We explain what a good signature contains in what a professional email signature should include; if you would rather leave the design to us, see our email signature design service. And if the website link in your signature has nowhere to go yet, the Quick Website package gets you online quickly.