How to add or change a Gmail email signature

Email signatures are a useful feature of any email service and one that can save you from having to re-type information or sign off emails manually every time. This is especially the case if you use Gmail for work. It’s pertinent to have an email signature as it looks more professional but also can provide useful information such as your role or other methods of contacting you. Adding an email signature to Gmail is incredibly easy and we show you how.

First, open up Gmail and click the Gear icon at the top right of the screen and then click Settings to bring up all of Gmail’s options. The General tab is selected by default, which is the option that you want. 

Scroll down to the Signature section. Gmail’s signature editor has basic formatting options, so you can change the font, size and style, such as using bold, italics or underlining. You can also add hyperlinks by highlighting a word and clicking the Link icon. The icon next to the link insertion will also let you insert an image. You can either select an image from your Google Drive account (you need to have the right permissions set, see below), upload an image from your computer or insert the web address to an image already online. If using the latter, make sure you have permission to use it.

If you have multiple email aliases you’ll need to apply the signature to each email address separately by selecting it from the dropdown menu. Fortunately, you can just copy and paste and Gmail will recognise and replicate the formatting. Once you’ve got your signature looking how you like, make sure you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the Settings page and click Save.

How to set Google Drive permissions

Using an image from your Google Drive in your signature sounds like a brilliant idea, but the people you’re emailing need permission to view the file or it won’t work. The easiest thing to do is to turn on public viewing for the file that you want to share. To do this go to your Google Drive and find the file that you want to share. Right-click it and select Share. In the next dialog box click the down arrow under Link sharing, next to the ‘Anyone with the link’ text and select More, then select ‘On – Public on the web’. Click Save and everyone you email will be able to see your signature image.