How to add an email signature in Gmail web
Gmail in the browser is where you set the signature for your Google account, including Google Workspace accounts. Whatever you save here is what Gmail adds to every new email you write on a computer, and it is the same signature the mobile app falls back to when you don't give it one of its own.
Gmail's signature editor accepts pasted HTML, but it cleans it up when you save. That is why a signature that looks perfect on a web page can arrive taken apart: Gmail keeps tables, inline styles and images with an https address, and throws away almost everything else.
Steps to install it by hand
- 01
Copy your finished signature from SignatureForever with the Copy my signature button.
- 02
In Gmail, click the ⚙ gear at the top right and then “See all settings”.
- 03
Stay on the General tab and scroll down to the Signature section.
- 04
Click “Create new”, give it a name (your own name works) and paste into the box with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V.
- 05
Under “Signature defaults”, pick that signature for new emails and for replies and forwards.
- 06
Tick “Insert signature before quoted text in replies” if you want your signature to sit above the thread instead of at the very end.
- 07
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Save Changes”. If you leave without saving, Gmail discards the signature.
To check it, write a new email to another account of yours. If the photo or logo doesn't show up, it is almost always because the image was embedded inside the HTML instead of living on a server with an https address.
If you run Google Workspace for a company, each person can follow these steps with their own account, but it's easy for everyone to end up with a different version: an old phone number here, a pixelated logo there. That is what the Teams plan is for, with a shared template, locked branding and a panel that rolls the signature out to the whole domain.
Or let us install it for you
If you sign in to SignatureForever with your Google account, the editor's last step shows the “Install in Gmail automatically” button. With your permission, it writes the signature into your main Gmail address settings, no copy and paste. It is available on the Free plan too.
What breaks in Gmail web and how to avoid it
Gmail web is strict about CSS. It does not run modern layout, it deletes the <style> block when you save the signature and it does not show base64 images, which is exactly the format many generators use so the signature “works” without a server. The good news: it honours border-radius, letter-spacing and percentage widths, so a signature built with tables and inline styles looks the way you designed it.
To avoid it, build the signature with nested tables and write every style inside its tag's style attribute. Upload the photo and logo to a server with https and link them by their full address. And pick a font that is already on every computer, like Arial or Georgia: Gmail is not going to download yours.
| Feature | Gmail web |
|---|---|
| <table> layout | Yes |
| display:flex and CSS grid | × No |
| <style> block in the head | × No |
| background-image in CSS | × No |
| Images as data URI (base64) | × No |
| border-radius | Yes |
| letter-spacing | Yes |
| text-transform:uppercase | Yes |
| Web fonts (Google Fonts) | × No |
| max-width and percentage widths | Yes |
| margin on <td> | – Partial |
| <img> without explicit width and height | – Partial |
In total: 5 unsupported, 2 partial and 5 fully supported, out of the 12 features in the matrix. Why each one fails, in the full matrix.
Common mistakes
Forgetting “Save Changes”
The button sits at the bottom of a very long page. If you switch tabs or close settings first, the signature is not saved and Gmail gives no warning.
Pasting the code instead of the signature
Gmail's box doesn't read code: if you paste the HTML as text, you'll see <table> and <td> tags at the bottom of your emails. Copy the rendered signature, not its code.
Setting it only for new emails
If “On reply/forward” is left on “No signature”, your replies go out without it, and most of your emails are replies.
Signing the wrong account
If you have several “Send mail as” addresses, each has its own signature. Check the selector above the box before you paste.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn't my logo show up in Gmail?
Because Gmail does not show base64 images. The logo has to live on a server with a fixed https address; SignatureForever hosts it on its CDN when you upload it.
Can SignatureForever install the signature in Gmail for me?
Yes. If you sign in with your Google account, the last step shows “Install in Gmail automatically”. It asks permission to change Gmail's basic settings and writes the signature into your main address. It also works on the Free plan.
Does the Gmail web signature also go out from my phone?
Yes, as long as the app's mobile signature is turned off. We explain it in the Gmail for Android guide.
Are you an AI agent? This is also available as an MCP server at signatureforever.com/mcp