Simple email signature: 10 minimal examples that still look professional

A simple email signature is one the reader finishes before they notice it. Below are ten, from two lines to six. Each is shown as plain lines that you can paste into any mail app, and three of them are also drawn in rich text so you can see how a little styling changes the same words.

None of this is regulated, so the advice is ours. The vendor facts come from three help pages read in October 2026: Google’s page on Gmail signatures, Google’s page on plain text mode and Microsoft’s page on message formats. Every person, business and phone number in the examples is invented.

Ten simple email signature examples

Replace each slash with a line break when you paste. The count is the number of lines of text.

#	The lines	Count	Best for
1	Fatima Bello / Bello Bakes, +234 803 555 0161	2	An owner-run shop
2	Alan Whitcombe, Owner / Whitcombe Plumbing and Heating	2	A trade where customers call the van
3	Maria Santos / Studio Manager, Ocean Pilates / oceanpilates.example	3	A small studio
4	Dr Lwazi Mthembu / Veterinary Surgeon / Mthembu Vets, +27 31 555 0112	3	A professional with a clinic line
5	Grace Njeri / Head of Sales / Tana Packaging / +254 722 555 0108	4	An employee at a mid-size firm
6	Oskar Lind / Founder, Lind Joinery / Book a site visit: cal.example/oskar / lindjoinery.example	4	A founder who books visits
7	Priya Nair / Finance Manager / Seabrook Foods Ltd / +44 20 7946 0911 / seabrookfoods.example	5	An office role with a website
8	Hamza Yusuf / Product Designer / Working in Lagos time / +234 802 555 0135 / Portfolio: hamzayusuf.example	5	A remote worker
9	Rosa Mendes / Owner, Casa Rosa Deli / 22 Market Lane, Cork / Open Tuesday to Saturday, 9 to 5 / +353 21 496 0144 / casarosa.example	6	A shop with a street address and hours
10	Ethan Park, CPA / Tax Manager / Pinewood Accounting / +1 312 555 0117 / pinewoodaccounting.example / Pinewood Accounting LLC is a made-up firm. Registered details go here.	6	A regulated firm that needs a legal line

Look at what the shortest ones leave out: no email address (the reader has your message), no social links, no logo. The longest earn their sixth line with something a reader acts on, such as opening hours or a registered name.

Three of them drawn in rich text

These are examples 3, 7 and 9 with styling added. The drawn versions always include the email address, so each runs one line longer than its plain version.

Example 3, centred layout:

Example 3: the three-line version, centred layout, grey accent. The studio and person are made up.

Example 7, classic layout:

Example 7: the five-line version, classic layout, one number. The company and person are made up.

Example 9, aligned layout:

Example 9: the six-line version, aligned layout with address and hours. The shop and person are made up.

A simple email signature as plain text or rich text

Plain text is letters and line breaks only. Microsoft’s page says the plain text format does not support bold, italics or coloured fonts, and that it does not support showing pictures inside the message, though pictures can go as attachments. Rich (HTML) text supports fonts, colours and pictures, and is the default in new Outlook.

You do not have to choose once. A sensible approach is to write the plain version first, then add styling to taste. If the styled version breaks in someone’s mail app, the plain version is still what they read.

How to switch format when you need to:

• Gmail: open Compose, then at the bottom of the message select More options and Plain text mode (Google’s plain text page).
• New Outlook: select Options, then Switch to plain text.
• Classic Outlook: in a message, choose Format Text, then Plain Text.

Google’s page does not say how a signature behaves when you switch a message to plain text, so send a test to yourself and look. To put your signature in Gmail, open Settings, See all settings, find Signature, and select Save Changes. The page says up to 10,000 characters are allowed and that images count toward the limit, which no simple email signature will come near.

What to remove first

When a signature is too long, cut in this order and stop when it reads well:

1. Social icons and badges.
2. A second phone number.
3. The photo.
4. The tagline or quote.
5. The street address, unless people visit.
6. The website, if the email address already carries your domain.

Do not cut below a name and one way to respond. A bare name looks careless in a business thread; a name and a number looks like a person.

A shorter simple email signature for replies

Google’s Gmail page says you can create more than one signature and choose defaults for new emails and for replies. So a full signature on a new message and a one-line version on replies is possible. The article on how long an email signature should be discusses where to draw the line, and the one on plain text email signatures goes deeper into the text-only route.

Turning one of the ten into your own simple email signature

Pick the example closest to your situation, not the one you like best. Then:

1. Replace every detail, then search for “.example” so no placeholder survives.
2. Write the phone number with the country code, for example +353 21 496 0144 for an Irish number, so it works from abroad.
3. Keep the company name as it appears on your invoices. A shortened trading name confuses people who check.
4. Read it aloud. If you stumble on a line, so will the reader. Cut or reword it.
5. Decide the reply version now. Take the first two lines of the full signature and save them as the reply default.

A few habits spoil an otherwise short signature: a long website address written out in full when a short one works, a role written as a sentence, and a closing word such as “Regards” stuck inside the signature when it belongs above your name. The article on email sign-off examples covers the closing word.

Testing before you send

Send it to yourself and open it three ways: on a phone, in a second mail app, and in plain text mode. Check that the phone number is dialable, that no line wraps awkwardly, and that no placeholder has survived. Compare the length of the signature with a typical reply. If it is taller, cut a line.

Teams that want everyone’s signature to match can set a compact layout once in emailfooter and let each person edit their own details; emailfooter does not install anything into their mail app, so each person pastes it. For role-specific variations, see professional email signature examples, and for layouts that go further, the email signature templates article.

Frequently asked questions

What is a simple email signature?

A simple email signature is a short block, usually two to six lines, with a name, a role or company, and one way to respond, and no logo, photo or banner.

How many lines should a simple email signature have?

Between two and six. Fewer than two leaves out the reader’s next step; more than six stops being simple.

Can I use a plain text signature in Gmail?

Yes. Type plain lines into the Signature box in settings, or switch a message to Plain text mode when composing. Test how the signature looks first.

Should a simple email signature have a logo?

Not necessarily. A logo adds weight and may be blocked by the reader’s mail app, so a text-only version must work on its own.

Is a minimalist email signature unprofessional?

No. A short, accurate signature reads as confident. The risk is leaving out the one thing the reader needed, such as a phone number.