How to Add an Image to Your Gmail Signature

Add an Image to Your Gmail Signature

A logo, image or photo in your email signature helps promote you or your business. Find out here how to add an image to your email signature with Gmail (even inline).

First, Why Fi?

Brand consultancy Interbrand invented “Wi-Fi.”

They did not invent the technology (that traces back to a Viennese heroine). The agency responsible for “Prozac” and “Bing” made up the word “Wi-Fi”. The term sounded just right at the time, sophisticated, and comes with resonances of “Hi-Fi.”

So, “Wi-Fi” does not mean anything.

Wi-Fi or cable, we want to send our meaningful emails on their way through the net, we want those emails to end well, and to have them end particularly well, we have our hearts set on a graceful and smart image in the Gmail signature.

Let’s get started!

How to Add an Image to Your Email Signature in Gmail

Time needed: 25 minutes

To insert an image, logo, or other pic in your Gmail email signature:

  1. Make sure the image has the perfect size for your Gmail signature.

    Size matter: The perfect Gmail signature image size is typically just a little bit smaller. Shoot for some 300 x 100 pixels and see below for quick ways to shrink images.
    PNG or GIF: Make sure the image is also small in size on disk: avoid gradients as well as complicated images, and use GIF or PNG if possible.

  2. Ideally, make sure the image is available publicly on the web.

    Gmail does make signature images available: Gmail can do this for you automatically, but you can also add the image to Google Photos, for example. See below.
    Image not attached: The image has to be downloaded when the recipient opens the message. Depending on the settings (and possibly connection issues), that may not happen. Your signature will then be displayed without the image.
    No image attachment: It is not possible to include the image as an attachment with each message you send from Gmail.

  3. Click the Settings gear icon (⚙️) in Gmail.

  4. Select See all settings from the menu that has appeared.

    Select "See all settings" from the Gmail settings menu

  5. Make sure you are on the General tab.

  6. Select the Gmail signature to which you want to add the picture or logo under Signature:.

  7. Put the text cursor where you want to insert the image.

  8. Click Insert Image in the signature’s formatting toolbar (it sports an image).

    Click “Insert Image” to start adding a picture or logo to your Gmail email signature

  9. To use an image right from your computer (and add an image to your Gmail signature without a URL):

    Go to the Upload tab.
    Drag and drop the file onto the Drag a file here area.

  10. To use an image already available on the web:

    Select Web Address (URL).
    Copy the address for the image you want to include. (This can be as easy as right-clicking the image and selecting Copy image address or a bit more involved.)
    Paste the address under Paste an image URL here:.
    Click Select with the image appearing.
    Choose an image from Google Drive for your Gmail signature, for instance

  11. To change the image’s size, click the image and select SmallMedium, or Large.

    Back to the root: You can always go back to the original size by clicking Original size in the same menu.
    Only for looks: This only changes how big the image displays. The size of the image itself as it is downloaded in the email program or browser does not change if you insert an image using its web address.
    Broken image icon: In the signature editor (and even when you compose an email), Gmail may display the signature image as broken; do not despair: the image will usually display fine for recipients.

  12. Click Save Changes to save the signature including its image.

    You have, I guess, noticed that the image stretches the line on which it appears to its height and all you can do is move it left, right or center. See below for addressing this issue and, for instance, have the image appear to the left of your signature’s text.

Here’s what to do if your Gmail signature image is not showing.

How to Add an Image to Your Email Signature in Gmail: FAQ

Can I make the picture appear next to the text in the signature?

Yes; all it takes is a little tweaking.

To edit the placement of your Gmail signature image:

  1. Add the desired image to your signature. (See above.)
  2. Highlight and copy the entire signature.
    Here’s how: Under Windows, press Ctrl A followed by Ctrl C in the signature editor; on a Mac, press Command A followed by Command C.
  3. Open the HTMLG editor in your browser. You can use a different HTML editor, of course. I’ll use HTMLG as an example here.
  4. Paste your signature into the WYSIWYG portion of the editor.
    (WYSIWYG stands for “what you see is what you get”, and it sports a formatting toolbar.)
    Lorem ipsum: If example text is present in the editor, make sure you highlight all of it before pasting.
  5. In the source code portion of the editor, look for the <img> tag that represents your signature image. You should recognize the URL in the src=”” attribute.
  6. To that <img> tag, add style="float: left;" to have your image aligned left with text floating around it, for example. For a right-aligned image, usestyle="float: right;". (See below for example code.)
  7. Make sure the image and signature display as desired in the WYSIWYG portion of the editor.
  8. Highlight and copy the full signature.
  9. Paste it back into the Gmail signature editor.

Signature Alignment Example

Let’s say the original signature looks like this in Gmail:

Heinz Tschabitscher Logo
Heinz Tschabitscher
https://ladedu.com

The code for this signature is:

<div dir="ltr"><img src="https://ladedu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Heinz-Tschabitscher-Logo-216x105.jpg" alt="Heinz Tschabitscher Logo" />Heinz Tschabitscher</div>
<div>https://ladedu.com</div>

Now, let’s add style=”float: left” to the image to get the code:

<div dir="ltr"><img src="https://ladedu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Heinz-Tschabitscher-Logo-216x105.jpg" alt="Heinz Tschabitscher Logo" style="float: left" />Heinz Tschabitscher</div>
<div>https://ladedu.com</div>

This makes the signature look like so:

Heinz Tschabitscher Logo
Heinz Tschabitscher
https://ladedu.com
 
 
 

. We paste this right back into Gmail.

Can I turn the Gmail signature image into a link?

Yes, you can add a link to an image in your Gmail email signature. This lets you link the logo to your website, for example, or your photo to a bio page.

To link your Gmail signature image:

  1. Highlight the image with the mouse or keyboard.
    More than a click: Make sure the image appears highlighted like text would; the image context controls will also show, but it is not enough to merely click the image so it is selected and the controls appear.
    Highlight the image with the mouse or keyboard
  2. Click the Link button.
    No dialog: You will not get a linking dialog, but the image will be linked, and you can edit that link.
  3. Click Change under Link in the image’s context menu.
    No menu: If you do not see the menu, click the image again.
    Click Change under Link in the image's context menu
  4. Delete the pre-entered “/” in the linking dialog under To what URL should this link go? on the Web address sheet.
  5. Enter the URL for the link under To what URL should this link go?.
    Mailto: If you want a click on the image to open the reader’s email program or service instead with a new message addressed to you, click Email address, and enter your email address (or, of course, Gmail alias address) under To what email address should this link?.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Now click Save Changes.

How do I create an image URL for my Gmail signature?

The easiest way to create an image URL for including a photo in your Gmail signature is to use Google Photos. See right below.

How to Add an Image to Google Photos for Use as a Gmail Signature Image

To upload a graphic, photo, or logo for use in a Gmail signature to Google Photos:

  1. Make sure the image is already resized. Google Photos will not let you shrink images.
  2. Open Google Photos.
  3. Click Upload.
  4. Select and double-click your signature image.
    Dragging and dropping: In most browsers, you can also drag and drop the image file onto the Google Photos page to upload.
  5. Open the picture you just added.
  6. Copy the image’s address for use in Gmail.
    Here’s how: In most browsers, click on the image with the right mouse button and select Copy image address from the context menu that has opened.

How to Resize an Image for Use in a Gmail Signature

To add a picture to your Gmail signature, it should not exceed a certain size. To shrink images easily, all you need is either a browser or software already installed on your computer.

Resize using Windows

To quickly resize an image using Windows 10, you can use both Paint and Paint 3D.

Resize using macOS

To swiftly resize an image using macOS, you need look no further than the included Preview.

Resize on the Web

To rapidly resize an image using the web:

  1. Open PicResize.com.
  2. Drag and drop the image to resize over the drop-off area under Select Picture.
    Here’s where: The area will say Drop your picture file here in green as you hover the image over it.
    As an alternative, use the Browse button.
  3. Click Continue.
  4. Select Custom Size: under Make My Picture: (in the Resize Your Picture section).
  5. Enter the maximum height or width in pixels under Make my picture: and Custom Size:.
    Which dimension: Pick the one that is more likely to be the constricting factor. For images used in signatures (and almost certainly if the image is in portrait format), this is often the height.
  6. Optional: Pick a format for saving the image under Image Format: (in the Save As: section). The default, JPG, is best for photos and paintings with many different colors and color gradients.
    Choose GIF or PNG if the image is simple, with large areas filled with a single color, for example, or a graphic with sharp, defined edges (such as writing).
  7. Click I’m Done, Resize My Picture!.
  8. Now click Save to Disk to download a copy of the resized image.

Alternative online image resizers include ImageResize.org and Simple Image Resizer.

(How to add an image to your Gmail signature tested with PicResize.com; updated February 2024)

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