[Update]: This article was last updated on February 9, 2024 with some new inspirations.
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. It’s the perfect time to show your beloved ones, from friends to parents, children and even pets, that they’re close to your heart. The upward trend in Valentine’s Day spending confirms that most people agree with this attitude. According to the U.S. National Retail Federation, Americans plan to spend nearly $26 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2023 – it’s an increase of $2 billion over 2022. What’s more, Valentine’s Day spending is second only to the Christmas holiday season. All in all, this is a perfect opportunity to show your recipients some love (and boost your sales at the same time).
We have been working hard to bring you some email signature templates which will help you do just that and much more. Check out our collection of ideas & inspirations for the upcoming Valentine’s Day. All the provided templates are free, so don’t hesitate to use them for both personal and professional purposes.
Inspiration 1 – Love is in the air
You can find hearts in many shapes and sizes in this gorgeous email signature template. The red and pink promotional banner can be used as a link to your store or just to make this special occasion even sweeter for your recipients. We also added heart-shaped social media icons to focus your customers’ attention on today’s most powerful sales channel.
With this email signature template, it’s even easier to add some love to your business correspondence. And if heart-shaped social media icons are not enough, we also added a Valentine’s-themed promotional banner with a beautiful calligraphy at the top. This template also comes with a place for your company logo and a legal disclaimer to stay compliant with applicable laws.
Valentine’s Day can be painful when forgotten. This email signature template will remind your customers to prepare for the occasion in advance. Just link the rosy banner to your store and make your recipients grateful for this small reminder. The template also comes fully equipped with a space for your company logo, a legal disclaimer, social media icons, and even a user photo.
In this email signature template designed specifically for Valentine’s Day, you can find a simple yet very elegant vertical banner with a golden ring and a metallic-gradient frame. For a perfect match, we added golden ring-shaped social media icons right at the bottom of the template. Feel free to upload a user photo at the top or exchange it for a company logo for stronger branding.
Bonus: free banners to sweeten up your email signature
If Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and your corporate email signature is not ready for all this love, don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with a package of four free banners to include in your business correspondence straight away. They come in a variety of sizes, so you can choose the one that suits you best without being concerned about ruining the signature template you already use.
We prepared our free advertising banners for those who need a Valentine’s sale booster. But those who just want to decorate their emails with a bit of pink and red for this time of the season will also find an option. Download the banners for free in a .zip file linked here and use them as you like.
If you like our banners, but you still haven’t set yourself up with an email signature, you can do it easily with our free email signature generator. Simply pick a template, adjust it to your needs and add one of the downloaded banners to fit the size. In case of any struggles, let our manual guide you through each step.
Email signatures are often overlooked or misused by many professionals, who either skip them altogether or clutter them with too much information. However, email signatures are a powerful way to communicate your personal brand, promote your business and, first and foremost, to provide your recipients with relevant contact details. You can do all that with minimalist email signatures.
In fact, some of the most effective email signature designs are the simplest ones. They are a perfect example of why less is more and a great way to leave a lasting impression. They can also help streamline your communication without overcomplicating your emails. But before we jump straight into examples, let’s first cover what makes an email signature “minimalist” and how to create a good one.
What is a minimalist email signature?
As the name suggests, such a signature includes only the essential details – carefully picked to keep the overall design as compact as possible while providing all crucial information. A minimalist signature says nay to elaborate and overdone signature designs and strips them down to the essentials.
Building blocks of a minimalist email signature
A minimalist email signature is a simple and elegant way to convey the necessary details without cluttering your emails or distracting your readers. It contains only the most essential information about you and your business:
Full name,
Job title and company name,
Professional photo or/and company logo,
Preferred contact information (phone, email, website, social media, etc.).
Design principles
When creating a minimalist email signature, there are some basic design principles to be followed:
Keeping the signature short and concise – this is pretty much the first commandment,
Using clear, readable and web-safe fonts – larger ones for crucial information and smaller ones for secondary details,
Choosing a neutral or contrasting color scheme – 3 colors at the very most,
Limiting social media icons to your most prominent channels only. Most people won’t click all those links anyway.
Advantages of minimalist email signatures
There are many benefits that come with minimalist email signatures. There are some cons, too. Let’s start with their good sides:
Fast to read and find the required information,
Great for replies and forwards: they declutter long email threads,
If done right, they enhance professional image,
Few elements make it easy to keep a more polished and consistent look,
You can keep them laser-focused on the most important elements and drive all clicks to the most important destination,
Great for mobiles, which are slowly becoming the go-to devices for checking email,
In some cases, they do grab more attention, as a nice break from overloaded email signatures.
Does it mean you should always use the minimalist email signatures? Not necessarily, they do have some weak sides. For example, without marketing banners, it’s harder to promote your best offers. In some cases, you also need a disclaimer or your company’s physical address for compliance reasons. So, to have your cake and eat it too, you can use two different designs – one for the first and another for subsequent emails. Learn more about advanced email signature tactics
Remember, a minimalist email signature is not about being boring or plain, but about being smart and effective. Going with a basic email signature doesn’t mean that you are sacrificing anything. It just means that your goal is to simplify your communications – and your recipients will surely appreciate it. By using a minimalist email signature, you can make a lasting impression on your email recipients and boost your personal and business success.
How to create a minimalist email signature?
The creation of an attractive minimalist email signature is a delicate balancing act. While it’s important to keep your signature simple and uncluttered, you also need to ensure that it contains all the essential details. By striking the right balance between simplicity and functionality, you can create a professional and effective email signature that helps you build trust with your clients and colleagues.
Now the best part: you don’t need to spend hours of your time to create your own minimalist email signature from scratch. We’ve done the legwork for you and prepared a slew of ready-to-use minimalist email signature templates.
Minimalist email signature inspirations
Check out the examples below to get inspired. Feel free to download them straight away or adjust them to your needs in our free email signature generator. For even more email signature inspirations, visit our signature template gallery containing a variety of designs which you can adapt to your specific needs. All the inspirations below have some elements you can still remove. Remember, it’s easier to remove an element from a design, than add it.
Two-column minimalist
This is a minimalist email signature which still offers enough space for all the important details: essential contact information, social media icons, and even a logo. The overall design is divided into two columns to keep the layout clean and easy to navigate.
Despite its lightweight nature, this email signature still conveys all the necessary information. A clean line clearly separates the contact details from the rest of the design. The overall toned-down aesthetic makes this signature ideal for both personal and professional use.
An excellent example of a space-saving yet complete email signature. All essential details are there, accompanied by social media icons, all presented in a compact and well-organized form. What’s more, the selection of colors makes this email signature very appealing in both light and dark mode.
This inspiration is an excellent example of how the right color combination can positively influence the overall look and feel of an email signature. All the elements are well-organized and easy to navigate thanks to the two-column layout. If you are looking for a signature that is both elegant and professional, this golden-themed design has you covered.
A clean vertical line slices this email signature template into two even columns. This helps to keep the signature organized and easy to navigate. With its toned-down aesthetics, this is a highly versatile email signature.
This minimalist email signature is divided into three blocks. The first one presents the sender’s name and job title, the second shows the means by which to contact them; and the third contains the company’s address details and a link to its home page. Such a composition ensures readability and easy navigation.
While compact in its design, this minimalist email signature offers enough space for a large logo. The clear division between the logo and the rest of the signature makes the image stand out and attract recipients’ attention.
A compact yet detail-packed signature example which can accommodate a larger logo. Combine the best of both worlds – use a space-saving email signature without giving up on eye-catching graphical elements. This design is perfect if you want to keep your emails short and simple.
A blue-themed compact email signature template with all the essentials: contact details, social media icons and logo. Individual information blocks are slightly separated to improve readability and navigation. The subtle use of blue and gray makes this signature easy on the eyes.
The year 2023 is already in full swing and you want to use the momentum to keep things fresh. A small step towards that goal might be updating your email signature. If that’s the case, you might be wondering what email signature designs are trending and where to find inspiration.
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ve put together some examples of best email signatures for 2023 to spark your imagination.
Trends in email signature design in 2023
Email signature design is constantly evolving. The last time we took a close look at modern trends was in 2020. Three years don’t seem like much and it’s true that the same core principles of esthetics still apply. However, there are some interesting new trends (the 2023 buzzwords are #inclusion, #tweetlike, #charity #csr #csat) in the current email signature designs which you might want to incorporate into your signature. To get a better understanding of how an email signature template should appear nowadays, have a look at the collection of contemporary email signature inspirations below.
Streaming & vlogging
If you are a streamer or a vlogger who wants to promote their channel, check out email signatures below. Such signatures don’t only sign off your emails, they showcase your content & grow your followers. Whether you are a streamer, a vlogger, or both, you can use an email signature to highlight your streaming accounts.
Inspiration 1
This eye-catching email signature example really draws attention with its neon colors and is perfect for a streamer. In addition to standard social media icons for Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, it also includes TikTok and Discord buttons, as well as a Twitch mini-banner. Even though the signature is packed with graphical elements, its two-column layout keeps all details organized.
Inspiration 2
This email signature template is a perfect match for a vlogger. It’s a toned-down design which will appeal to a different audience than the one above. Readability is crucial, therefore all elements are grouped for easy identification. The large banner at the top can link to your newest videos and the small banner at the bottom can take the recipients to your TikTok bio.
An email signature typically contains your name, contact information, and other relevant details about you or your company. But it can also be a powerful tool to communicate the organization’s identity, values, and commitment to diversity and inclusion. By adding such information, you can make a positive impression on your recipients and build trust and rapport with them. This can also inspire others to be more inclusive and respectful in their communication and interactions. Many of 2023 email signature designs show that inclusion becomes more and more important.
Inspiration 3
One way to make email signatures more inclusive is to add gender pronouns. We’ve seen a major increase in such email signatures in 2023. This shows respect for people’s gender identities and helps avoid misgendering. It also encourages others to share their pronouns and creates a more welcoming and safe environment for everyone. From a design perspective, it’s best to add pronouns next to or under your name (as shown in the example below). That’s where most people expect to find them. This signature inspiration also includes a direct Zoom link in form of a call-to-action (CTA) button to allow for quick video calls with you.
Inspiration 4
You can also make email signatures more inclusive by adding name pronunciation details. This helps avoid confusion or embarrassment in communication, shows the company’s respect for people’s names and cultural backgrounds, and fosters more positive and personal connections. The following email signature design includes a CTA button which you can link to an audio recording. Thanks to the toned-down design, this signature template is suitable for both personal and professional use.
Not all email signatures are created equal. Some can be too long, too cluttered, or too boring. Here’s where tweet-like email signatures come into the picture. Those 2023 email signature designs are crisp, concise and catchy. Such signatures use minimal elements such as small logos, sometimes also small banners, and a few words to convey the essential information. They are inspired by the brevity and clarity of tweets, and they can make your emails stand out from the crowd.
Inspiration 5
Take a look at the email signature below. It’s simple, compact and short. A perfect choice for business communication. It’s certainly not lacking in any department, it includes: contact details, company logo, social media buttons, and even a small marketing banner. Everything is there, presented in a minimalistic form which can easily match your corporate style.
Inspiration 6
This tweet-like email signature is a great example of how less is more. Despite its small size, the signature still conveys all the essential details – contact information, linked social media icons and logo (or photo). It’s a straight-to-the-point template which is ideal for replies, forwards, and internal correspondence.
If you are running a charity or a non-profit organization, you know how important it is to communicate your mission and vision to your audience. One of the ways to do that is by using a tailored email signature that reflects your values and goals. Such a signature can also help you increase your visibility, credibility, and fundraising potential.
Inspiration 7
This original design includes a banner encouraging your recipients to make donations. You can also find a sample disclaimer at the bottom of the template. Although the signature’s been primarily designed with charitable organizations in mind, you can replace the graphics to fit your needs.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability are two important aspects of any organization that wants to make a positive impact on the world. In 2023, many people look for companies that aren’t all about making profit. An effective channel for showcasing the commitment to these values is email, and email signatures are the perfect place to promote your mission. They can be used to display information about the company’s social and environmental initiatives, such as carbon footprint reduction, charity donations, ethical sourcing, etc. Such an email signature can help you build trust among recipients, motivate employees to share your vision, lead and innovate in your industry and society, and support causes that matter to you and your community.
Inspiration 8
A cleaner future requires both big and small actions. Email signatures can also contribute to the environmental efforts of any individual or organization. Vibrant shades of green used for the banner and the social media buttons make this design perfect for any company wanting to make a statement. Show you care about the environment and ask others to refrain from printing your message.
Your image in today’s world is shaped by what others think of you. People’s opinions can lift or sink entire businesses. That’s why seeking feedback on your products, services or marketing campaigns is essential. A simple way to learn what your customers think about your company is to use one-click customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys in your email signatures. Those surveys are quick, accessible, and painless for the customers. That’s why there is a major increase in CSAT surveys in 2023 email signatures.
Inspiration 9
The inspiration below is a great example of how to collect CSAT ratings. The template is designed to catch the recipient’s eye with its contrasty, vivid colors (mainly Pantone’s Color of the Year 2023 – Viva Magenta) and fancy icons. Additionally, the included banner boasts a catchy tagline. This appealing email signature can also be used from time to time to spice up the regular email correspondence and draw the recipients’ attention.
If you need a solution for designing and managing corporate email signatures, have a look at our email signature management tools for both Microsoft 365 and on-premises Exchange. Our software will help you discover the true potential of your email communication:
Manage email signatures for the entire organization from one place.
Set up rules to add professional email signatures to emails sent from any email client or device.
Create sender- and recipient-specific email signatures.
Schedule email marketing campaigns.
Add one-click CSAT surveys to email correspondence.
Automatically add user photos to email signatures.
Manage automatic replies and out of office messages.
[Update]: This article was updated on March 29, 2023 to reflect current trends.
Time moves on and seasons change. The sun gets higher in the sky and the days get longer and warmer. Overall, spring makes us feel better, revitalized and recharged. It’s time to share this mood in your email signatures. We’ve prepared a set of beautiful Easter and spring-themed email signatures to do just that. And, as always, you can use them for personal and business use for free.
Spring-themed free email signature templates
Spring is here
Nothing says spring is here quite like the view of blooming flowers. Put some of that spring vibe into your email messages and see your correspondence stand out with colors. The overall design of the signature is toned down, though, so that the recipients don’t get overwhelmed.
Spring is seen by many as a time of growth, new life and new beginnings. With the coming of this season, wildlife starts to wake up from its slumber and so do we. We need to recharge our batteries after the gloomy winter and a colorful email signature accompanied by a cheerful bunny will surely brighten up any dreary inbox.
If you are searching for an Easter-themed email signature, but a bit more on the elegant side, look no further. The minimalistic design, paired with the warm color of the matching banner and social media icons, make for a very professional appearance. Express your festive joy in a sophisticated and modern manner with this free signature template.
Easter is a time of reflection and renewal, a time of celebration with our closest family members. Use this festive email signature, decorated with egg-shaped social media icons to remind your recipients that Easter is nigh and let them enjoy this egg-hunting time of the year. Remember to link the banner to your Easter sales offers, so that everyone who clicks the fluffy bunny can enjoy your best seasonal offers.
If you are looking for an elegant theme for your emails, this signature template perfectly captures the essence of Easter. It’s traditional, natural, and symbolic. It brings to mind Easter customs and the time we share with our families.
It’s becoming more and more common to find name pronunciation details when going through business emails. People want their names to be spoken correctly. In this article, I will highlight the importance of name pronunciation and show you how to use it in email signatures in your company.
The importance of name pronunciation
Names matter – they help shape a person’s identity and represent who they are as an individual. It’s safe to say that their correct pronunciation is just as important. Being called by our name is powerful and allows us to feel respected. Mispronunciation of someone’s name, on the other hand, can be even seen as microaggression and cause lasting damage. This becomes especially important in the workplace, where the right pronunciation of someone else’s name can make or break a deal or compromise a working relationship.
Proper name pronunciation – similarly to the correct use of gender pronouns – can sometimes turn out to be easier said than done. No pun intended. Some people spend a lot of time wondering how to pronounce the name of the person they are supposed to have a meeting with. To save their time and avoid the embarrassment and unpleasantness of mispronouncing one’s name, it is best to inform your co-workers and clients about the correct pronunciation upfront. As email reigns as the most popular business communication channel, one of the best ways to do this is to add name pronunciation into email signatures.
Examples of name pronunciation in signatures
How you add name pronunciation to your email signature template is determined by the design of your signature. If you decide to include name pronunciation details, you should ensure that they form an integral part of the signature. The best practice is to add them next to or below your name. That’s where most people will expect such information to appear.
See the examples below to learn how to best include name pronunciation details in email signatures:
Sample signature 1
Sample signature 2
Sample signature 3
How to set up
Follow the steps below to set up an email signature with name pronunciation details. This example shows how to set it up in Outlook, but the process is similar in most email clients:
Open the Outlook for PC app from the Start menu or from the taskbar.
Open a New Email message, click Signature in the Include group and again Signatures.
In the Signatures and Stationery window, click New and provide a name for your signature.
The Edit signature section is where your email signature should be placed. Instead of creating your signature from scratch, you can use the free email signature generator to quickly create an advanced signature template. Simply choose Outlook as the target email platform, select one of the many available templates, adjust it to your needs and there you go. Your signature is ready to be copied and pasted into the signature editor. For detailed instructions and FAQ visit the generator’s manual.
Once your email signature template is pasted into the editor in the Outlook’s Signatures and Stationery window, add your phonetic name pronunciation. It’s best to provide this information right below or next to your name. The signature editor allows for some basic editing – you can simply type in the details (and optionally create a new line by hitting Enter) and apply formatting, just like you would in Microsoft Word.
Note: If you are having trouble with figuring out how to write your name phonetically, don’t worry – there are a few ways to do that. It’s a matter of finding one that works for you. First of all, mind to separate individual syllables with hyphens. Stronger syllables can be shown with CAPITALS or bold. Write what you think and get someone (a native English speaker would be best) to say it back to you. This way, you will nail the pronunciation easily. Alternatively, you can use online resources such as Pronounce Names, NameShouts or HowToPronounce to find the pronunciation that suits you best.
Besides a phonetically-written form, you can also provide your email signature with a link to a recording of your name. For this, you can, e.g., use the Windows-native Sound Recorder app to save a basic audio file and upload it to Google Drive to create a link you can put in your signature (just remember to allow access to anyone with the link). Another way to get a shareable link to an audio file is to use services such as NameCoach or NameDrop. With the link created, in Outlook’s signature editor type in and highlight the phrase (e.g. Hear my name) to be linked and click the button for adding a hyperlink (#2 in the screenshot below). In the dialog that opens, paste the audio file link and click OK. Apply the finishing touch by personalizing your link’s appearance – make sure it is highlighted and use the available formatting tools. See this article for further tips on how to add links to an email signature.
In the Choose default signature section, you can configure which email account should get the signature (in case there is more than one email account set up in Outlook), and whether it should be added to new messages and/or replies/forwards. Once you are done, save changes by clicking OK.
That’s all there is to it. If you wish to create more Outlook signatures, simply follow the steps from point 3 onwards. You can create as many of them as you need – they will appear on a list visible after clicking the aforementioned Signature button in the Include group.
Limitations of signatures set up by users
As you can see, adding name pronunciation to email signatures requires some manual work. From an organization’s point of view, such an approach has its limitations and poses risks:
If a company wants to have a unified look of their emails, every user would have to add pronunciation individually/separately. Such an approach is effort- and time-consuming, especially in case of less savvy users who will require support to properly set up their signatures each time an update is needed.
The more users, the higher the risk of incomplete or outdated data, inconsistent design or missing legally required information (disclaimers or company details).
Creating an original and visually appealing signature (which will be displayed properly regardless of email clients and devices used) requires proficiency in HTML and CSS.
Nothing stops users from using incorrect personal details or applying a custom design and more.
Overcoming limitations with CodeTwo Email Signatures 365
Being aware of the above issues, you may want to consider another way of managing email signatures within your organization. Instead of leaving this task to end users, many companies decide to centralize the management of their email signatures. A dedicated third-party solution, such as CodeTwo Email Signatures 365, can do just that and much more.
With this software, you have complete control over email signatures so that you can ensure they are always up-to-date, consistent in design and personalized across the entire organization.
What’s more, the tool comes with the User attributes manager – a free feature for all licensed users of CodeTwo Email Signatures 365. With this tool, you can create a custom attribute for name pronunciation, include a corresponding placeholder in your organization’s signature and allow end users to provide the details via a web-based interface. This way, the entire setup and control over name pronunciation details can be handled conveniently within the cloud-based email signature management service. What’s more, as the details are stored in a custom attribute, there is no risk of modifying your organization’s AAD data. This means that email signatures can be carefully crafted (and implemented company-wide) and at the same time allow individual users to add their name pronunciation details – without compromising the signature’s design and consequently the company’s image.
See the product’s page to learn more and test the tool for free or watch the following short video to learn why companies all over the world choose our software:
Microsoft Outlook is the go-to email client for most businesses and enterprises. This is no surprise, as it has been around for decades and managed to become the ‘gold standard’ of this software category in the meantime. Outlook has evolved a lot since its first appearance, leading to its supposedly final form, “Outlook 365”. In this article, I’m going to quickly explain what Outlook 365 stands for and how to set up email signatures in this Microsoft-365-powered email client.
Outlook 365: Outlook for Microsoft 365 vs Outlook on the web (OWA)
It might come as a bit of a surprise, but officially, there’s no such thing as “Outlook 365”. There are two Outlook versions which this name may relate to: Outlook for Microsoft 365 and Outlook on the web. Both come as a part of the Microsoft 365 subscription, which is probably the reason why so many users came to name them “Outlook 365”. This can be very confusing, especially since the name doesn’t explain whether the user means the app installed locally or the webmail version. The name stuck nonetheless and nowadays can be found all over the Internet, including tech community forums and specialist websites.
To be precise, Outlook for Microsoft 365 is the version of the app installed on desktop or laptop computers. It’s the most recent iteration, originating from a long line of apps included in Microsoft Office suites and standalone programs, so you might say it’s the longest known, as it brings to the table all the features and improvements implemented over the years.
Outlook on the web, on the other hand, is the webmail version of Outlook, allowing you to access your email account through your web browser. Besides being part of a Microsoft 365 subscription, it’s also available for organizations using on-premises Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 & 2019. By the way, the name “Outlook on the web” is being used interchangeably with “OWA”. The abbreviation actually stands for “Outlook Web App”, which was the official name of the app used with Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 & 2010, formerly called “Outlook Web Access” in case of Microsoft Exchange Server versions older than 2010. The biggest difference in comparison to Outlook for Microsoft 365 is that you don’t have to install anything on your computer or mobile device to use Outlook on the web.
Now, let’s dive in and have a look at individual processes of setting up email signatures in Outlook for Microsoft 365 and Outlook on the web.
Outlook for Microsoft 365
Follow the steps below to set up an email signature in the desktop Outlook 365:
Open the Outlook for PC app from the Start menu or from the taskbar.
In Outlook, click New Email (or use the Ctrl + N key combination) to open a new message window.
Next, click Signature in the Include group and choose Signatures.
Note: Another way to start configuring your email signatures is to go to File (on the ribbon) > Options. Next, in the Outlook Options window, select the Mail tab and click Signatures in the Compose messages section.
In the Signatures and Stationery window, click New and provide a name for your signature.
Create your signature in the Edit signature section. Use available formatting tools to modify its appearance.
Note: The formatting tools offered in the Outlook signature editor are quite basic. If you wish to achieve a more sophisticated and polished design, you can use a free email signature generator to create an advanced signature template. Simply choose Outlook as the target email platform, select one of the many available templates, adjust it to your needs and there you go. Your signature is ready to be copied and pasted into the Outlook editor.
The Choose default signature section can be used to define which email account should get the signature (in case there is more than one email account set up in Outlook), and whether it should be added to new messages and/or replies/forwards. Once you are done, save changes by clicking OK.
In case you selected your signature to be treated as default for new messages, you will see it every time you compose a new email.
Note: If you didn’t select your signature as the default one, you will still be able to add it manually every time you write a new email. It will be available after clicking the Signature button in the Include group.
That’s all there is to it. If you wish to create more Outlook signatures, simply follow the steps from point 3 onwards. You can create as many of them as you need – they will appear on a list visible after clicking the aforementioned Signature button.
Outlook on the web
The steps required to configure email signatures in the ”Outlook 365” webmail client are a bit different than in case of the desktop app:
Open your Outlook on the web either by selecting the Outlook App in your Office home page, or by using this direct link.
Click the Gear icon in the top-right corner and select View all Outlook settings.
In the navigation pane on the left, go to Mail > Compose and reply. You can also use this direct link to reach the signature editor panel. Use the provided editor box to enter your signature text, apply formatting as well as to add images or links.
Note: If you wish to achieve a more refined appearance, you can use a free email signature generator with lots of advanced signature templates that you can fill in with all the necessary details and copy into the editor box in Outlook on the web.
The two drop-down menus under the signature editor let you decide whether the created signature should be added automatically to your new messages and replies/forwards respectively.
Note: It is possible to create and use multiple signatures for a single mailbox – similarly to the Outlook desktop client. Just click the New signature button after you have saved your first signature to create another one.
Once you are done, save changes and close the settings window.
If you select your signature(s) in one of or in both drop-down menus, it will appear in the compose message window as you type your email in the appropriate scenario. In case you left the menus’ default settings (No signature), you will still be able to add your signature manually while composing email.
Limitations of signatures set up by users
As you can see in the above guides, setting up a professional email signature is a fully manual process. From the company’s viewpoint, it comes with some limitations and risks:
If a company cares about their brand and wants to have unified look of their emails, the process needs to be repeated individually for or by everyone within the organization. It’s highly time-consuming, especially when you consider some less proficient users who will require support to properly apply their signatures. Not to mention the recurring efforts in case of any signature updates in the future.
The more users requiring signatures, the higher the risk of incomplete or outdated data, inconsistent design, missing legally required information (no disclaimers or company data).
Creating original, visually appealing (and working properly across different email clients and devices) signatures requires advanced HTML and CSS skills.
Nothing stops users from using wrong personal information or applying custom layout.
Being aware of those limitations, you may want to change the way email signatures are managed in your organization. Instead of leaving this task to users, many companies decide to manage email signatures centrally.
Central management of email signatures
Building and promoting a company’s brand is a continuous process and every employee interacting with customers or business partners needs to be seen as a brand ambassador. Email correspondence takes up a considerable part of that professional interaction, therefore email signatures should not be underestimated. They are a powerful way to convey the sender’s professionalism and tell the recipients whether the organization cares about its image.
Managing email signatures centrally ensures that they are kept under control and stay up-to-date, consistent in design and aesthetic and are personalized across the whole company. This way, email signatures can be carefully crafted (and implemented organization-wide) to send a strong message that helps the brand, promotes offers and supports the business.
It also allows for automation of a rather unexciting task, letting employees focus on their own work instead. Not to mention getting rid of issues connected to user carelessness or lack of technical skills.
Central management via Exchange Online
Exchange Online allows for central management of email signatures and disclaimers for the entire Microsoft 365 organization. It is possible to set up email signatures and legal disclaimers, which are added to email messages that enter or leave your organization. To achieve this, it is necessary to create a mail flow rule (with the Append the disclaimer action specified) that adds the required information to email messages. And since mail flow rules may include many different conditions and exceptions, it is also possible to create separate signature templates for different departments or even specific users.
However, the process might turn out to be troublesome for someone doing this for the first time. That is why we’ve prepared a short video guide explaining:
How to set up an email signature rule in the Exchange admin center.
Where to get the HTML code with Active Directory placeholders for the signature template.
How the global email signatures work from the user’s perspective.
What the limitations of signature rules are.
What tricks are possible to make the signature-adding-rule more useful.
Besides the Exchange admin center, it is also possible to achieve similar results using PowerShell and VBScript. The immediate drawback of these two methods is that the former only works for Outlook on the web (OWA) and the latter only for the desktop client.
Limitations
Although those management methods are better than setting up all email clients separately, they are still not perfect. They come with a lot of limitations:
Lack of a dedicated, user-friendly HTML editor.
No automatic users’ photos in email signatures.
Delegation of signature management is impossible.
Signatures don’t show up directly under replies/forwards.
It’s not possible to use embedded images.
Signatures not visible while typing or in Sent Items.
Blank spaces in signatures in case of missing Active Directory values.
Central management via CodeTwo Email Signatures 365
While the above list seems a long one, overcoming all those limitations is easier than you might think. Although they cannot be fixed natively, a dedicated tool, such as CodeTwo Email Signatures 365, can solve all related issues and do much more for your Microsoft 365 email signatures.
The service reinvents handling email signatures in Microsoft 365 organizations:
Manage all signatures centrally You can use a single rule to apply personalized email signatures to everyone in a Microsoft 365 organization. Signatures are added to emails sent from every device and email client. You can adjust signature templates to look differently for chosen departments or users.
WYSIWYG HTML template editor Easily create advanced email signatures that work on all email clients and mobile devices, automatically convert your signatures into HTML, Plain Text and RTF formats, insert Active Directory placeholders, edit signature layout, change colors and fonts, insert images, logos or Microsoft 365 users’ photos, etc.
Signatures visible while composing emails and in user’s Sent Items folders CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 is the first email signature management software for Microsoft 365 that allows you to preview signatures that will be added in the cloud and to display signatures in users’ Sent Items folders across various devices and email clients.
Support for Entra ID fields and custom attributes Besides the fields available in Microsoft Entra ID (Azure Active Directory), you can add custom attributes that are not available in Entra ID, or you can let your end users update their signature information themselves (without impact on the original values stored in Entra ID).
Embedded logos and images Add company logo and marketing banners as inline attachments. This way, images are not blocked by recipients’ email clients on receiving an email.
User photos in email signatures Add Microsoft 365 users’ photos to email signatures.
