How to add a signature in Outlook on the web and Outlook.com

How to add signature in Outlook web comes down to one path: Settings (the cog at the top of the page), then Accounts, then Signatures. Choose Add signature, name it, write it, decide when it is used and select Save. The same steps work in Outlook.com. They follow Microsoft’s help page for Outlook on the web, read in October 2026.

How to add signature in Outlook web: the steps

1. In Outlook on the web or Outlook.com, select Settings at the top of the page.
2. Select Accounts, then Signatures.
3. Select Add signature and give the signature a distinct name.
4. In the editing box below the name, type the signature. Format it with the font, colour and style controls.
5. Use the checkboxes at the bottom to say where it should be added automatically.
6. Select Save when you are done.

That is the whole of how to add signature in Outlook web. The part worth a closer look is step 5.

What the two checkboxes do when you add a signature in Outlook web

The checkboxes are the part of how to add signature in Outlook web that changes behaviour day to day. Microsoft’s page describes two options at the bottom of the editor: one for new messages, and one for replies and forwards. Together they give four setups.

New messages	Replies and forwards	What happens
Ticked	Ticked	Signature appears on everything you write
Ticked	Empty	Signature on fresh emails only; replies stay clean
Empty	Ticked	Replies and forwards get it; new emails do not
Empty	Empty	You add it yourself each time

The first row is the usual choice for a business. If you write long threads, you may prefer the second row, because a full address block under every reply makes a thread hard to read. Pick one on purpose rather than by default.

Microsoft’s page also says you can leave both boxes blank and choose the signature when you write a message. That suits someone with several signatures, such as an internal one and a customer one.

How to add signature in Outlook web to one message by hand

If you did not tick the boxes, or you want a different signature for a particular email, this is how to add signature in Outlook web for a single message:

1. In a new message or a reply, type your message.
2. On the Message tab, select the Signature icon.
3. If you have created several signatures, choose the one you want.
4. Select Send when the message is ready.

Add it before you press Send so you can read it over.

Change or replace a signature after you add it in Outlook web

Go back to Settings, Accounts, Signatures. Select the Edit signature button next to the signature you want to change, edit it and select Save. If you are replacing a design, treat it as a second round of how to add signature in Outlook web: build the new version under a new name first, tick the boxes for it, and only then delete the old one. That avoids a gap in which emails go out bare.

How to add signature in Outlook web when a Microsoft account needs two

This point explains a common bit of confusion about Outlook.com. Microsoft’s page says that if you have a Microsoft account and you use Outlook and also Outlook on the web (or Outlook on the web for business), you need to create a signature in both products.

In practice that means a signature you set up in the Outlook app on your desktop will not be there when you open the browser, and the reverse. Set up each place you actually send from. If a message sent from the browser has no signature, work through the causes in order before you suspect anything else.

For the installed apps, our guides cover the new Outlook for Windows and classic Outlook separately, since their menus differ.

What the page does not say about the web editor

Microsoft’s page for the web editor describes typing and formatting a signature. It does not publish a size limit for images, or a count of how many signatures you can keep, so we do not quote any. If your signature has a logo, test it: save, write a message to yourself, and look at it in the browser and on your phone.

Once you know how to add signature in Outlook web, the design is the next question. A finished layout that is easy to rebuild in the web editor uses a few short lines and a modest logo. Here is one drawn by emailfooter:

Profile layout with a round portrait. The clinic and person are made up.

If you are paste-testing a layout like this, remember that the page describes the editing box, and not pasting finished HTML. Watch for spacing that moves and for images that turn into attachments.

Plain text can strip a signature’s formatting

A formatted signature depends on the message being sent as HTML. Microsoft’s message format help explains that plain text does not support bold or italic, coloured fonts or pictures shown inside the message. If you reply to a plain-text email and your reply comes out plain, the formatting you built will not show. The message format page describes how to switch a message and how to change the default in new Outlook. We have not confirmed that the browser settings use exactly the same labels, so look for Compose and reply and Message format in your own Settings.

Four checks when the web signature does not show

If you followed how to add signature in Outlook web and the signature still does not show, work through these in order. Each comes from a setting on Microsoft’s page.

1. Is a checkbox ticked? With both boxes empty, nothing is added by itself.
2. Is the right signature chosen? If you created several, the Signature icon on the Message tab lists them, and the wrong one may be selected.
3. Did you save? The signature only exists once you select Save in Settings.
4. Are you in the product you set up? A signature made in the Outlook app is not the same object as one made in the browser.

If all four are fine and the signature still fails, check the message format, then read the longer list in our signature not showing guide.

Teams that need the same signature everywhere

Everything about how to add signature in Outlook web is a per-person job, and a team that needs the same signature everywhere feels that quickly. Ten people each following the steps will produce ten slightly different signatures.

There are two honest options. If you run Microsoft 365, an administrator can add a company-wide footer with a mail flow rule, covered in our Microsoft 365 guide. Or the company can fix the design once and let each person install their own copy. That second approach is what emailfooter is for: you design the layout, invite your people, and each person gets numbered steps for Outlook on the web. It is English-only for now, and it does not push anything into mailboxes. Every person pastes their own.

Frequently asked questions

Is how to add signature in Outlook web the same on a phone?

No. The steps above are for a browser. Outlook on a phone has its own app settings, covered in our guides for iPhone and Android.

Where do I start with how to add signature in Outlook web or Outlook.com?

Select Settings at the top of the page, then Accounts, then Signatures.

Why does my Outlook.com signature not appear on replies?

The checkbox for replies and forwards is probably empty. Open Settings, Accounts, Signatures, tick it and save.

After how to add signature in Outlook web, can I have more than one signature?

Yes. Microsoft’s page describes creating signatures with distinct names and choosing which one to use on each message.

Do I need to add the signature again in the Outlook app?

If you have a Microsoft account and use both, Microsoft says to create a signature in both products.