How to choose the best email signature format

When it comes to branding your business emails, the email signature format is an essential design point to consider. Having an email signature that has had no thought put into the layout can look messy and make you look unprofessional. 

If you’re struggling with getting your email signature format correct, check out our guide and a few email signature examples below. 

Why format matters in email signatures

A well-formatted email signature helps you:

• Build brand consistency across employee communications

• Make your emails easier to scan and engage with

• Ensure critical details (like email disclaimers) are always present and readable

• Avoid formatting issues across different email clients and devices

A poor layout, on the other hand, leads to confusion, frustration, and unnecessary IT tickets. Let's avoid that.

Choosing the correct email signature format hierarchy 

The first step to a strong email signature format is deciding what to include and in what order. Your layout should follow a clear hierarchy, based on how people read emails and what information matters most.

Here’s a recommended structure:

Start with your full name and role. These should always be the most prominent elements. Disclaimers, legal notices, and less critical content should appear at the bottom.

Perfecting your email signature layout 

After you’ve decided on the order of the signature elements, you need to format the layout of the signature.

Use HTML tables to structure layout

HTML tables are the most reliable way to build a professional, responsive signature that works across email clients like Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail.

• Use rows and columns to organize elements

• Apply padding between sections for clarity

• Set fixed widths to ensure mobile-friendliness

• For complex layouts, nest tables as needed

Logo placement matters

Your company logo should appear near the top, either aligned left or centered. The shape of your logo will play an important part in your email signature formatting, whether it’s a square, rectangle or circle.

Choose a size that’s easy to view without overwhelming the text. Your logo should be the focal point of the signature, as including your brand is essential. 

Stick to standard image formats

We recommend JPG, JPEG, PNG, or GIF files for logos and icons. Use consistent sizing, and always include descriptive alt text in case images don’t load.

Hosting images online (instead of embedding) helps avoid attachment issues in some email clients. You should also include Alt Text for each image. This is in case they don't show up correctly when a recipient receives your email. 

Avoid clutter in your email signature format

Simple layouts render better across platforms and reduce formatting errors. To maintain a sharp appearance:

• Use web-safe fonts like Arial or Helvetica

• Stick to one or two font sizes and colors

• Don’t overload with graphics or banners

• Avoid animations or large file sizes

Example layouts: What works and what doesn’t

🆚 What a good email signature format looks like (and what to avoid)

Compare examples of effective vs ineffective email signature layouts.

✅ What works

• Clear text hierarchy
• Balanced spacing and alignment
• Accessible contact information
• Mobile-ready structure
• Disclaimers that are easy to read

🚫 What to avoid

• Random or inconsistent font sizes
• Too many links
• Poor alignment across devices
• Overwhelming use of colors
• Unreadable email disclaimers

The problem with managing email signatures manually

Email signature formatting tips are useful. However, they only go so far if you're relying on manual updates, local settings, or hoping employees follow a guide.

• No control: Employees often edit (or ignore) email signature templates, leading to brand inconsistency.

• Compliance gaps: Legal disclaimers, security messaging, or regional requirements get missed or removed.

• IT overhead: Teams waste time managing scripts, mail flow rules, or helping HR update job titles manually.

• Missed marketing: Campaign banners or CTAs don’t get updated across the business, or show up in the wrong place.

• Device inconsistency: Signatures look different (or broken) between desktop, mobile, and webmail clients.

It doesn’t take long for a few formatting issues to become hundreds of email signature-related support tickets.

Why use Exclaimer

Exclaimer removes the guesswork and the grunt work. It gives IT full control over email signature formats across every user, device, and department, with zero reliance on scripts or end users.

• Centrally manage email signatures from one dashboard. No local setups, no manual edits.

• Apply legally required disclaimers to every message automatically, with no risk of removal.

• Design once, apply everywhere: Use templates that update company-wide in minutes.

• Control who can edit what: Let marketing own banner content while IT locks the legal layout.

• Track performance: Measure click-throughs and engagement with built-in analytics.

With Exclaimer, every email looks exactly how it should without piling work on IT. Book yourself a demo today.