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Short answer

A good email signature is short: your name, role and company, one phone number, your email, a website and one link that does something, such as a booking page or a profile with a Save contact button. Keep it to four to six lines, use plain text with one accent color, and skip quotes, long legal blocks and big images. Below are four examples to copy, and a free builder that makes the formatted version.

Updated

Written and reviewed by NearvoQ

Four examples

WhoSignature
FreelancerJordan Ellis | Brand designer | 555-0100 | jordan@example.com | example.com | Book a call: example.com/call
Shop ownerSam Rivera | Owner, Rivera Bakery | 555-0142 | hello@example.com | Order ahead: example.com/order
StudentAva Chen | Marketing major, State University | ava@example.com | LinkedIn: example.com/ava | Resume: example.com/resume
ConsultantPriya Shah | Operations consultant | 555-0177 | priya@example.com | example.com | Save my contact: example.com/priya

All names, numbers and addresses are made up to show a layout.

What to include

  • Your name and role, with the company if you represent one.
  • One phone number you want people to use.
  • Your email address, because replies may be forwarded.
  • A website or booking link.
  • A profile link with a Save contact option, if you have one.

What to leave out

  • Inspirational quotes and long taglines.
  • Large images that arrive as attachments or get blocked.
  • More than one or two links.
  • Every social network you own.
  • Long confidentiality notices unless your employer requires them.

Add a link people can save

A signature is read by people who already know you, so the most useful link is one that saves your details or books time. A free NearvoQ profile gives you a single address with a Save contact button and its own QR code, and old emails keep linking to the updated page; the signature text and contacts previously saved from it do not change.

Use the free email signature generator to turn your details into a formatted signature you can paste into Gmail, Outlook or Apple Mail. Settings for pasting differ by mail program, so check your provider's help.

Format rules that keep a signature readable

  1. Use one font and one accent color

    A plain sans-serif in dark grey or black, with one link color. Mail programs substitute fonts they do not have.

  2. Keep line breaks, not columns

    Stacked lines survive every mail program. Multi-column tables often break on phones.

  3. Make links tappable and short

    Use a short profile address instead of a long tracking URL.

  4. Check it on a phone

    Most email is opened on phones. A signature that wraps badly there is worth fixing.

Why short signatures win

A signature appears under every message, including quick replies. Six lines on a long thread becomes noise, so some people use a full signature on first emails and a one-line version on replies.

Whatever length you pick, put the phone number and the one link that does something at the top of the block, where an eye lands first.

A two-minute signature audit

  • Does it fit in six lines or fewer on a phone screen?
  • Is the phone number the one you want customers to use?
  • Does every link open, from a phone, without a login?
  • Is the profile link the page you want people to land on?
  • Would you still understand it if the logo failed to load?

Questions people ask

  • Name, role, company, one phone number, email, a website and one useful link such as a booking page or contact profile.

  • Four to six lines. Longer signatures bury the information people want.

  • A small logo is fine, but many mail programs block images by default, so the signature should work without it.

  • Open your mail settings, find the signature section and paste your signature. Steps vary by program, so use your provider's help.

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