Signly

May 2026 · 3 min read

How to Add an Email Signature to Gmail (2026 Guide)

Your email signature is the last thing every recipient reads. Here's how to make it look professional in under 2 minutes.

Step 1 — Create your signature

Before touching Gmail, build your signature. Go to Signly's free signature builder, pick a template, fill in your name, title, and contact details. Your signature is generated as HTML instantly.

Click Copy Signature. This copies the formatted signature to your clipboard — ready to paste directly into Gmail.

Step 2 — Open Gmail Settings

  1. 1. Open Gmail in your browser.
  2. 2. Click the gear icon (⚙) in the top-right corner.
  3. 3. Click See all settings.

Step 3 — Create a new signature

  1. 4. Stay on the General tab and scroll down to the Signature section.
  2. 5. Click Create new. Give it a name (e.g. "Main").
  3. 6. Click inside the signature editor box.
  4. 7. Press Ctrl+V (or ⌘V on Mac) to paste your signature.

Step 4 — Set it as default

  1. 8. Under Signature defaults, set your new signature for both New emails and Replies/Forwards.
  2. 9. Scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes.

Done. Your signature will now appear automatically in every new email.

Why paste as rich text, not HTML code?

Signly copies your signature as formatted rich text — not raw HTML tags. Gmail's editor accepts this directly. You should see your styled signature (with your name, colours, and layout) appear when you paste, not a wall of code.

If you see raw HTML instead, click somewhere else first to deselect, then paste again inside the editor.

Troubleshooting

My signature looks different in Gmail than in the preview.

Gmail strips some CSS. Signly uses inline styles and table-based layout specifically to survive Gmail's rendering engine.

The signature disappeared after I saved.

Scroll down to 'Signature defaults' and assign your signature to new emails. It won't appear automatically until this is set.

Images aren't showing.

Gmail blocks images from external URLs in some cases. Use a publicly accessible image URL (e.g. from your website or LinkedIn).

What makes a good Gmail signature?

Keep it to 4 lines maximum:

  • ✓Your full name
  • ✓Job title and company
  • ✓Email and phone
  • ✓One link (website or LinkedIn)

Skip: motivational quotes, multiple logos, legal disclaimers on personal accounts, animated GIFs.

Don't have a signature yet?

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