To add an image to your Gmail signature, open Settings, choose See all settings, go to the Signature box on the General tab and click Insert image. You then pick one of three sources: a web address (URL), My Drive or Upload. The choice matters more than it looks, because two of the three depend on the picture being publicly reachable. These steps follow Google’s Gmail signature page and its Workspace admin page on user signatures, both read in October 2026.
Add image to Gmail signature: what to know first
- Three sources: Web Address (URL), My Drive, Upload.
- Aim for 70 to 100 pixels high by 300 to 400 pixels wide. The maximum is 100 high by 1000 wide.
- A Drive image must be shared so that anyone with the link can view it.
- The image counts toward the 10,000 character limit of the signature.
- Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
Add image to Gmail signature, step by step
- In Gmail, click Settings, then See all settings.
- On the General tab, scroll to your signature in the Signature section.
- Click Insert image.
- Choose the source (see below) and select the image. It appears in the box.
- Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
When you add image to Gmail signature boxes, remember that Google’s page says the image also counts toward the character limit, and that if you get an error you should try resizing the image. Everything in the signature shares one 10,000 character allowance.
The three ways to add image to Gmail signature
Google’s admin help spells out each route. They look similar on screen but behave differently afterwards.
From a web address (URL)
Select Web Address (URL), paste the address of the image in the space provided and the image appears below it. Click Select to add it. Google’s troubleshooting page describes this option as the address of an image that is publicly available on the web. So use the address of the image file itself, not of a page that merely displays it.
From Google Drive
Select My Drive, choose the image and click Select. Google adds an important condition: a photo or image from Drive has to be shared publicly for it to appear in the signature. The troubleshooting page says to open the file in Drive, click Share or Get link, choose Change to anyone with the link, select Viewer and click Done. It also says that if the image file is deleted, the image stops showing in the signature.
From your computer
Select Upload, then drag the file into the window or click Select a file from your device and choose it with Open. This is the simplest route when you only have a file on your computer.
| Source | Needs | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Web Address (URL) | An image already public on the web | A broken or moved link |
| My Drive | Sharing set to anyone with the link, as a Viewer | Deleting the Drive file removes it from the signature |
| Upload | A file on your device | Large files, since the image counts toward 10,000 characters |
What size should you use when you add image to Gmail signature?
Google recommends a signature image 70 to 100 pixels high by 300 to 400 pixels wide, and gives 100 pixels high by 1000 pixels wide as the maximum. That is a wide, shallow shape, which is the right one for a logo that sits above or beside your contact lines. A tall square logo works if you shrink it to fit within the height. If you are working out the dimensions for a different mail app, the signature size guide has the wider picture.
If the picture lands in the wrong size, Google gives three fixes:
- Resize it on a computer or phone before you upload it.
- Select the image in the signature editor and pick Small, Medium, Large or Original size.
- Paste it into a Google Doc, resize it there, then copy and paste it into the signature.
When you add image to Gmail signature settings, here is the shape to aim for: a modest logo, with the text doing the work.
|
A logo kept small beside the contact lines. The firm and person are made up.
Add image to Gmail signature on a work account
On a work or school account, the Drive route can be blocked by the organisation. Google’s troubleshooting page says that if you can only add images from a URL, you cannot change your own Drive sharing settings and need your administrator’s permission to share images publicly.
For administrators, Google’s admin page gives the setting. In the Admin console go to Menu, Apps, Google Workspace, Drive and Docs. This needs the Drive and Docs administrator privilege. Click Sharing settings, set Sharing outside of your organization to On, check the box that lets users make files and published web content visible to anyone with the link, and click Save.
Fixes when you add image to Gmail signature and it will not show
Google’s troubleshooting page splits this into upload problems and display problems.
The image will not upload. Try these in turn, in Chrome as Google describes: clear the cache (Cached images and files), clear the cookies for mail.google.com, allow all cookies for Gmail, or try a Chrome incognito window. If none of that helps, use a different browser.
The image shows as a question mark or a broken icon. Delete the image and add it again. If that fails, use a different source from the three above. A Drive image is the usual suspect, so check the sharing setting and that the file still exists.
The image is the wrong size or will not format. Use the size options above. If a very large image makes the signature display badly, Google says it can also cause that problem, and removing formatting may help.
Pictures that recipients see as attachments, or that look soft, have their own causes. See images showing as attachments and a blurry email signature.
Where your logo file should live before you add image to Gmail signature
Before you add image to Gmail signature fields for a whole company, decide where the file will sit. If you use the web address route, the image has to live at a stable public address. For a company, that usually means your own website or a file host you control, not a personal Drive folder that one person owns and may later delete. With emailfooter, the free WordPress plugin we make, logos you upload sit on your own site, and an optional (Beta) public files address gives them a plain web address. That address is exactly what Gmail’s URL option asks for.
Each employee still pastes the finished signature into Gmail themselves. A guide to adding a logo to an email signature covers the design side.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add image to Gmail signature settings?
Go to Settings, See all settings, scroll to Signature, click Insert image, choose a web address, Drive or upload, and save.
Why is my Gmail signature image not showing?
Check that the source is public. A Drive image needs sharing set to anyone with the link, and it vanishes if the Drive file is deleted.
What size should an image be in a Gmail signature?
Google recommends 70 to 100 pixels high by 300 to 400 pixels wide, with a maximum of 100 by 1000.
Can I insert a logo in a Gmail signature from my phone?
Google’s phone steps describe entering signature text. Add the logo in the computer settings.
Keep reading
- How to add a logo to your email signature in any email app: How to add logo to email signature in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail from one prepared file, with the format, pixel size, hosting choice and fixes.
- Email signature size: width, image size and character limits: What is the best email signature size? Recommended width, logo dimensions, image file weight and the character limits in Gmail, so your signature looks right.
- Email signature blurry? The 2x export method and the pixel pairs to use: Email signature blurry or a pixelated logo? See the causes in one table, exact display versus file pixel pairs, and which image formats stay sharp.
- Email signature image showing as attachment? How pictures travel and how to stop it: Email signature image showing as attachment or with a paperclip? Learn embedded versus linked pictures, the Outlook VML and format causes, and the fix per app.
Make every signature in your company match
emailfooter is a free WordPress plugin. You design the signature once, and each person adds their own details and installs it in their mail app. Prefer not to run a website? emailfooter Managed is the same software, hosted for you.