How to add a professional email signature in Gmail and Outlook

To add an email signature in Gmail, go to Settings > See all settings, type it in the Signature section, and select Save Changes. In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, go to Settings > Account(s) > Signatures. In classic Outlook for Windows, open a new message and select Message > Signature > Signatures. The step people miss is choosing when the signature appears: set it as the default for new emails and for replies, because most client conversations happen in replies. And if you use more than one Outlook app, Microsoft says you have to create the signature in each one.

What to put in a business signature

Keep it short enough that a client can find your phone number at a glance. For most solo businesses, this is enough:

• Your name and what you do, for example “Sam Lee, bookkeeping for small studios”.
• Your business name, if it differs from your name.
• One phone number and your website.
• Optionally, a small logo.

Leave out what people don’t need on every message: long legal text, a list of every social account, or a quote. If your signature is your main contact card, check that the email address people reply to matches your business. Our guide to getting a professional email address on your own domain covers that.

Add a signature in Gmail

1. Open Gmail on a computer. At the top right, select Settings, then See all settings.
2. Scroll to the Signature section and create a signature. Type your text; you can change the style and add an image.
3. Set this signature as the default for new emails and for replies.
4. At the bottom of the page, select Save Changes.

Google allows up to 10,000 characters, and says an image counts toward that limit. If you get an error after adding your logo, use a smaller image.

If you send from more than one address, such as a business address added under Send mail as, Google lets you set a different signature for each. Pick the address from the drop-down menu above the signature box.

You can also create several signatures and switch between them while writing, using the pen-style Insert signature icon at the bottom of the compose window.

Add a signature in new Outlook and Outlook on the web

1. In new Outlook for Windows, go to Settings > Accounts > Signatures. In Outlook on the web or Outlook.com, go to Settings > Account > Signatures.
2. If you have more than one account, choose the right one.
3. Select New signature, give it a name, then type and format it.
4. Select Save.
5. Under Select default signatures, choose it for new messages and for replies and forwards, then select Save again.

Add a signature in classic Outlook for Windows

1. Open a new email, then select Message > Signature > Signatures.
2. Select New, name the signature, and type it under Edit signature. You can also paste in a signature you’ve laid out in Word.
3. To add a logo, use the Image button. To resize it, right-click the image, choose Picture, then Size, and keep Lock aspect ratio on.
4. Under Choose default signature, pick the E-mail account, then set New messages and Replies/forwards.
5. Select OK.

Microsoft notes the new signature isn’t added to the email you already had open, so insert it by hand on that one, or start a fresh message.

Use it everywhere you send from

Signatures don’t follow you between apps. Microsoft says that if you use both Outlook and Outlook on the web, you need to create the signature in both. Set it up in each app you send client email from, and send yourself a test from each.

If it doesn’t work

• The signature isn’t on your replies: you set it for new messages only. Go back to the default signature settings and choose it for replies and forwards too.
• Your logo arrives as an attachment: Microsoft warns that some formatting code in a signature can make images appear as attachments instead of inline. If that happens, try rebuilding the signature in the app’s own editor instead of pasting it in from elsewhere.
• Gmail shows an error when you save: your signature, including the image, is over the 10,000-character limit. Use a smaller image.
• The signature is missing in another app: it doesn’t sync between apps. Add it there too.
• Your auto-reply needs contact details too: our guide to setting up an out-of-office reply in Gmail and Outlook covers what to include.

For more practical setups like this one, browse our how-to guides.

Related guides

• Why your emails land in clients’ spam folders (and how to fix SPF, DKIM and DMARC)
• How to create a booking page in Google Calendar
• How to take card payments without a website

Sources

• Google: Create a Gmail signature
• Microsoft: Create and add an email signature in Outlook

Last checked: October 18, 2026. Google and Microsoft change their apps regularly. If something here no longer matches what you see, let us know.