Using the right email signature size
9 December 2024
0 min read
Email signature size is more important than you might think. Most experts recommend that a signature can be any size you wish it to be. However, what works on a desktop PC/Mac may not work on a smartphone. To ensure that your email signature looks professional and consistent across all devices, it's important to use the right dimensions.
With this in mind, we’ve created a set of email signature size guidelines you should use so that any template will render correctly on any device.
Why email signature size matters
Getting your email signature size right is essential for keeping a professional image and making a strong impression. While the content of your signature is important, its size and layout also play a big role in how others perceive it. A signature that's too small can look incomplete or get ignored, while one that's too large or cluttered can seem unprofessional or overwhelming.
The perfect email signature strikes a balance—grabbing attention without being distracting. A well-sized signature ensures your contact details are clear and easy to read, while leaving enough white space for a neat, polished design. This balance not only improves readability but also reflects professionalism and organization, which are vital for building trust with clients, colleagues, and partners.
How size impacts functionality
Both the memory size and visual dimensions of an HTML email signature can affect its functionality. While the signature might look fine, if it's too large in file size, many email clients won’t load it. A massive signature slows down loading time, which can cause frustration for recipients.
For example, using a high-resolution image might seem like a good idea, but if the file is 6MB or more, it will inflate the signature size and make it impractical. It’s better to use appropriately sized images that still look sharp, without bogging down the email’s performance.
Getting image sizes right
Oversized images in an email signature can distract recipients and overpower the email's content. On the flip side, images that are too small can make key details hard to see. For instance, a promotional banner that’s too small won’t catch attention or encourage engagement.
To create the best email signature, make sure images are wide enough to fit a full-screen window. This way, they shrink seamlessly to fit smaller screens while maintaining their clarity, rather than stretching to fill larger windows and losing quality.
What is the ideal mobile email signature size?
It's important to get the size right for mobile email signatures so they look professional and display correctly on smaller screens.
The ideal email signature size for mobile is 320 pixels wide. Mobile device screens typically range between 320 and 500 pixels wide, so targeting the lowest screen dimensions ensures your signature looks sharp and clear.
Why choose 320 pixels for mobile email signatures?
A width of 320 pixels is optimized for smaller mobile screens, preventing distortion or blurriness. High-quality, properly sized images are also crucial, as many mobile devices compress or resize images automatically. Keeping the dimensions at 320 pixels helps maintain a polished appearance while ensuring compatibility across devices.
How to optimize your mobile email signature size
To ensure quick loading times and avoid clutter, limit the number of elements in your mobile email signature. Focus on simplicity and readability, ensuring any text is large enough to be easily read on a smartphone screen.
It’s also important to consider the difference in layout between mobile and desktop screens. While desktops often display emails in a landscape format, smartphones use a portrait orientation. Designing your signature with this in mind ensures it looks great on both platforms.
What is the best email signature size for desktop?
Getting the size right is key when designing an email signature for desktop. It ensures a professional look and displays properly on popular email clients like Outlook and Gmail.
The ideal email signature size for desktop is 600 pixels wide and between 150 to 200 pixels high. This recommended size ensures your email signature won’t get cropped and appears clean and professional across different devices and platforms.
Why choose 600 pixels for email signatures?
A 600-pixel width keeps your email signature looking clean and professional across most email clients.
However, one possible drawback is that when viewed in wider email windows, the signature may appear aligned to the bottom-left corner instead of stretching across the screen.
How to prevent cropping or scaling issues
To avoid this issue, consider placing your email signature within an HTML table. Using complementary colors in the table allows your branding to extend to the edges of the email while keeping the signature itself intact.
For even better compatibility, you can also reduce the maximum width to 450 pixels. This smaller size minimizes scaling issues and ensures your email signature looks great on both desktop and mobile devices, while still leaving room for all essential contact details.
Designing for the best email signature dimensions
Creating the perfect email signature size is a balancing act, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. It's essential to consider your target audience and their preferred devices when determining the ideal dimensions for your email signature.
The ideal size for an email signature image
Images are very difficult to get right, as this depends on the size of the signature template itself and the nature of how the image was constructed in terms of resolution.
For optimal mail client support and to stop signature images from appearing larger than expected, an image should be the actual size you want it to be displayed in signatures.
For example, if your company logo should be displayed at 200 x 100 pixels in the signature, ensure the image file you choose is already at 200 x 100 pixels.
Try to keep images to a file size below 50kb. The bigger the email signature image size is, the longer it’ll take for your message to be sent and received by recipients.
Email signature banner size
When it comes to email signature banner size, research shows that banners with a maximum width of 650 pixels and a maximum height of 100 pixels perform well for both desktop and mobile devices.
For Gmail signatures, a smaller size is ideal—about 80 pixels in height and up to 200 pixels wide. It’s also crucial to optimize the file size, aiming for under 15kb to ensure quick loading.
For optimal results, we recommend using a banner size between 300–400 pixels wide and 70–100 pixels high, with a resolution of approximately 72 dpi.
Best font size for an email signature
The best font size for an email signature is usually between 11-13 points. This makes the text easy to read without making it too large or distracting.
To maintain a professional appearance, use a consistent font size throughout your signature. Avoid mixing multiple fonts or using excessive formatting, as this can make your email signature appear cluttered and less professional.
Best size for social media icons in email signatures
When it comes to social media icons in email signatures, the ideal size is around 22px x 22px. This ensures they are easily recognizable without taking up too much space in your signature design.
It's also important to make sure that the icons are uniform in size and style to maintain a clean and professional appearance. Avoid using excessive amounts of social media icons, as this can make your signature appear cluttered and take away from the overall message of your email.
How to reduce your email signature size
Looking to shrink your email signature? A large email signature can slow down load times and clutter your messages, but reducing its size is easier than you think.
Here's how to create a smaller, more efficient email signature without losing its professional look:
Optimize email signature images: Images are often the biggest culprit when it comes to large email signatures. Compress your signature images using online tools or photo editing software. This reduces their file size while maintaining high visual quality.
Simplify your email signature design: Review the content of your email signature. Do you really need every detail, like multiple phone numbers or extra social media icons? A simple, streamlined signature not only reduces size but also looks more professional.
Use links instead of attachments: Instead of embedded images or logos, save space by hosting them. Upload images to an online image hosting service and insert the link into your signature instead. This reduces email size and also ensures the logo or image appears correctly for all recipients.
Optimize images for retina displays: If your signature is designed for retina displays, make sure to optimize images accordingly. This reduces file size while maintaining high visual quality on high-resolution screens.
Use JPEG or PNG images: These image formats are the most efficient for email signatures. They compress well while maintaining high visual quality. Avoid using BMP, TIFF or other large image file types.
How to resize a logo for Gmail signatures
To resize a logo for Gmail signatures, follow these steps:
Open the Gmail app and go to Settings > See all settings.
Scroll down to the Signature section to customize your email signature size.
Click the image icon in the toolbar to insert your logo.
After uploading the image, resize it by selecting small, medium, or large.
Click Save changes.
How to resize a logo for email signatures in Outlook
To resize a logo for email signatures in Outlook, follow these steps:
Open Outlook and create a new email.
Go to the Insert tab and select Signature.
Choose the signature you want to resize.
Click the image in the signature, then drag the blue corner dot to resize it.
Once resized, press Ctrl + A (or Command + A on Mac) to select all, then Ctrl + C (or Command + C) to copy.
Go to File > Options > Mail > Signatures to open the "Signatures and Stationery" box.
Select the signature, remove the old version in the edit section, and paste the updated one.
Click Save to apply your changes.
Using email signature software to automate the process
Creating and managing email signatures can take up a lot of time, especially when you have multiple employees with different contact details. This is where Exclaimer's email signature software comes in to make the process easier.
The software allows you to create and manage professional email signatures for your entire team from one central platform. You can also resize and customize signatures to suit your needs, all without requiring any design or coding skills.
It also includes features like dynamic fields, which automatically update employee contact details in their signatures when needed. This saves time and ensures all signatures stay consistent.
Summary
Choosing the right email signature size is crucial to ensure your message is delivered effectively and professionally.
With a well-designed, properly sized email signature, you can make a lasting impression and build brand recognition with every email you send. So, take time to consider your target audience and their devices when designing your email signature.
