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How to Add an Image to Your Email Signature

To add an image to your email signature: Gmail: Settings → Signature → Click image icon → Upload or paste URL. Outlook: File → Options → Mail → Signatures → Click image icon → Insert picture. Recommended image size: 80-150px for photos, max 300px width for logos.

Last Updated: December 2025 6 min read

Image Sizing Guidelines

Before adding images to your email signature, it's important to size them correctly for best display across all devices and email clients.

Recommended Dimensions

  • Profile photos: 80-150px (width and height)
  • Company logos: Max 200-300px width
  • Social media icons: 20-30px
  • Banner images: Max 600px width

File Size and Format

  • Maximum file size: 50-100KB per image
  • Best formats: PNG (for logos with transparency), JPG (for photos)
  • Avoid: BMP, TIFF, or other large formats
Pro Tip: Use tools like TinyPNG or Squoosh to compress images without losing quality.

Adding Images in Gmail

Option 1: Insert / Upload an Image in Gmail

Gmail lets you insert images directly in the signature editor.

  1. Go to Gmail Settings → See all settings
  2. Scroll to the Signature section
  3. Click the image icon in the signature editor toolbar
  4. Pick an image from the chooser (options vary, but commonly include Upload and/or Drive)
  5. Resize the image if needed by clicking and dragging the corners
  6. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the settings page
Note: Images count toward Gmail’s signature limit. If you get an error, resize or compress the image.

Option 2: Insert by URL

If your image is hosted online:

  1. Upload your image to a web hosting service (e.g., Imgur, your company website)
  2. Copy the direct image URL (should end in .png, .jpg, etc.)
  3. In Gmail signature settings, click the image icon
  4. Select the Web Address (URL) tab
  5. Paste your image URL
  6. Click Select
  7. Save your changes
Important: The image URL must be publicly accessible. If the image is behind a login or firewall, it won’t display for recipients. Also note that many email clients block external images by default — make sure your signature still works without images.

Adding Images in Outlook

Outlook Desktop (Windows)

  1. Open Outlook and go to File → Options → Mail
  2. Click Signatures...
  3. Select or create a signature
  4. Place your cursor where you want the image
  5. Click the image icon (picture frame) in the toolbar
  6. Browse to your image file and select it
  7. Click Insert
  8. Resize by clicking and dragging the corner handles
  9. Click OK to save
Note: Outlook embeds images directly into emails, which increases email size but ensures reliability.

Outlook Web (outlook.com / Office 365)

  1. Click Settings (gear icon) → View all Outlook settings
  2. Go to Mail → Compose and reply
  3. In the signature editor, click where you want the image
  4. Click the Insert pictures inline icon
  5. For online images: Click "Insert pictures from online location" and paste the URL
  6. For uploaded images: Click "Browse this computer" to upload
  7. Click Save

Image Hosting Options

Your signature images need to be hosted somewhere accessible. Here are your options:

Free Hosting Services

  • Google Drive - Best for Gmail users (set sharing to public)
  • Imgur - Free, easy, direct image links
  • Dropbox - Use public links (change "dl=0" to "raw=1")

Business Solutions

  • Your company website - Most professional option
  • CDN services - Cloudinary, Imgix for optimized delivery
  • Signature management tools - Many include hosting
Easiest Solution: Our signature generator handles image hosting automatically - just create your signature and we take care of the rest.

Troubleshooting Image Issues

"Image shows as a red X or broken icon"

  • Check that the image URL is publicly accessible
  • Verify the URL ends in an image extension (.png, .jpg, .gif)
  • Test the URL by pasting it directly in a browser
  • Ensure the hosting service hasn't expired or been deactivated

"Image doesn't appear for recipients"

  • Recipients' email clients may block external images by default
  • Use widely trusted hosting (Google Drive, your company domain)
  • Keep images small to improve deliverability
  • Consider embedding images (Outlook) instead of linking

"Image is too large or too small"

  • Set explicit width/height dimensions in the editor
  • Pre-resize images to exact dimensions before uploading
  • Use HTML width attribute if your editor supports it

"Image looks blurry"

  • Use images at 2x the display size for Retina/high-DPI screens
  • Save images at appropriate quality (80-90% for JPG)
  • Use PNG for logos and graphics with text

"Email is being marked as spam"

  • Too many images can trigger spam filters
  • Keep signature images to a minimum (1-2 max)
  • Maintain a good text-to-image ratio
  • Avoid using images with excessive promotional content

Image Signature Best Practices

Design Tips

  • Keep it simple - One profile photo OR one logo, not both
  • Maintain aspect ratio - Don't stretch or distort images
  • Use consistent sizing - All social icons should be the same size
  • Add alt text - Describe images for accessibility

Technical Tips

  • Compress all images - Smaller files load faster
  • Use absolute URLs - Full URLs starting with https://
  • Test across clients - Check Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, mobile
  • Have a fallback - Ensure signature makes sense even without images

Professional Tips

  • Use a professional headshot - Good lighting, neutral background
  • Match brand guidelines - Use official logo versions
  • Update regularly - Keep photos current
  • Consider mobile - Images should look good on small screens

What to Avoid

  • Animated GIFs (often blocked or distracting)
  • Large banner images (look like marketing emails)
  • Low-resolution or pixelated images
  • Images with embedded text (hard to read on mobile)
  • Too many images (more than 2-3)

Add Images to Your Signature Automatically

Skip the manual setup. Our free generator creates optimized signatures with images, icons, and perfect formatting.

Create Signature with Images

Related Tutorials

How to Add a Signature in Gmail How to Add a Signature in Outlook Gmail Signature Generator