How long can Gmail signatures be?

Gmail's limitation of 200 character signatures has been one reason why some people have switched to Yahoo! Mail or Outlook.com instead. But with the introduction of multi-profile support on Gmail beginning later this year, it seems like Microsoft will not completely rule out supporting longer signatures after all. Is there any limit as far as how long a Gmail signature could go? How would we know if our Gmail signatures are violating the maximum length restriction? And what about other services such as Facebook and LinkedIn? Let’s find out.  This article was first published by Tina Sieber. You can follow her @TinaSieber.

The answer to whether there is any official word from Google regarding the maximum size of your Gmail signature depends on which version of Gmail you use. According to Google Support, while Gmail allows users to add more than 200 characters at their own discretion, they cannot exceed 100 words when creating multiple profiles within the same Gmail account. If you want to check the length of your current Gmail signature, go to Settings -" General -" Signature settings. The only option available here is “Maximum number of lines allowed under each profile.”

In short, Gmail allows its users to create up to five different signatures per email address (i.e., personal@gmail.com vs work1@gmail.com) but no more than three total signatures for the entire account. This means that even though you might have created two separate accounts -- say your personal and professional emails -- you're still limited to just three signatures for both accounts combined. It also does not mean that you won't receive errors saying that your signature is getting cut off because it exceeds the limits set forth above.

If you run into these issues, you'll probably end up having to trim down your existing signature using either Firefox extensions or browser bookmarklets. Here are several tools that could help you do just that.

Why Gmail signature is too long?

You've probably noticed that most online forms ask you to write something called a "signature". What exactly is a signature anyway? A signature is essentially a short summary of who you are. Some people simply include their name, job title, company information, and contact details in their signatures. Others choose to add a little personality to theirs. Either way, many people feel that including their full names makes them look less formal and thus gives others a better sense of who they really are. Unfortunately, due to limitations imposed by certain web hosts, Gmail restricts us from adding anything beyond the aforementioned basic information.

How do I shorten my signature in Gmail?

Trimming down your Gmail signature isn't difficult once you realize that it doesn't need to contain every single detail about yourself. For starters, consider removing the middle initial(s). While initials make great titles (such as Mr./Ms.), they aren't necessary in everyday conversations where you don't always have time to fully introduce yourself. Also, since there are already plenty of abbreviations such as Dr. (PhD), Mgr. (Manager), CPA (Certified Public Accountant), Rev. (Reverend), etc., you can save yourself a few keystrokes by dropping those unnecessary prefixes altogether.

Alternatively, you can remove the last line entirely. In fact, if you think carefully about what you actually put in that final line, chances are good that you can easily reduce its width significantly. Since this space is often used to advertise links to social networks and websites, you should consider removing them unless relevant. Think about it this way -- wouldn't you rather see a succinct description of yourself without ads telling you to connect to someone else's site? That said, this approach works best if you keep your signature relatively clean and simple. Don't worry about making your final line grammatically perfect -- it's fine if it sounds conversational and flows naturally. Just remember that it needs to convey a clear idea of who you are quickly and efficiently.

Here's a quick list of tips to help you come up with a shortened Gmail signature that gets the point across without being overly wordy:

Remove extra periods and dashes.

Use ellipsis points...instead.

Don't overdo punctuation marks.

Consider cutting letters.

Keep paragraphs short.

Save yourself a bunch of key strokes.

Try capitalizing frequently used phrases.

Cut out repetitive text.

Limit acronyms to one instance per letter.

Avoid ending sentences abruptly.

Think outside the box.

Add images.

Remember, you can always revisit your signature and edit it further to suit your preferences. However, bear in mind that editing your signature manually takes time and effort, especially if your signature contains a lot of formatting elements and special fonts. As such, you should definitely avoid doing so regularly. Instead, opt for convenient solutions that allow you to customize your signatures automatically.

How long can a Google email signature be?

As mentioned earlier, according to Google Support, Gmail allows its users to create up to five different signatures per email address (i.e., personal@gmail.com vs work1@gmail.com) but no more than three total signatures for the entire account. So aside from limiting your overall signature length, you might also encounter trouble trying to increase the amount of spaces between individual entries. Fortunately, if you happen to fall into this category, there are ways around it. One solution involves utilizing HTML codes to insert breaks between sections of your signature. Another alternative entails inserting horizontal tabs via CSS.

For example, suppose you wanted to format your signature differently depending on the context in which you send an email. To achieve this goal, you'd apply unique styles through HTML tags. Then you'd select specific portions of your signature and paste them together using break tag code <br />. Using this method, you could potentially change the appearance of your signature based on the recipient's email client. Of course, you can also accomplish similar goals by changing font sizes or spacing between various items such as your name, phone numbers, street addresses, etc.

Another thing worth mentioning is that if you plan on sending multiple copies of your signature to recipients, it's recommended that you copy/paste them separately before combining them into one document. Otherwise, you risk cluttering up your documents with repeated content.

Why is my Gmail signature so big?

While most people tend to believe that Gmail's signature feature requires lengthy introductions, nothing could be farther from the truth. After all, why would anyone care about what you did 25 years ago if they haven't met you yet? Hence, you shouldn't waste precious screen real estate on writing things that nobody wants to read.

Also, please note that Gmail offers ample room for customization. Aside from adjusting the height of your signature, you can adjust its color scheme, font typeface, and background image to match whatever aesthetic you prefer. On top of that, you can also incorporate images to spice up your signature. Finally, if you really want to stand apart from everyone else, you can take advantage of rich media features such as video embedding and audio recording.

So although Gmail's restrictions on signatures seem unfair, it helps ensure that your messages remain free of clutter. With these guidelines in mind, you can rest assured knowing that your inbox will never become another black hole sucking away hours upon hours of your valuable productivity time again.

Have you ever received an error message claiming that your Gmail signature is too long? Have you found useful ways to minimize the size of your Gmail signatures? Share your thoughts and opinions using the comments below.

If you've ever tried to paste a custom-written email address and signature into Google's default Gmail software or other webmail programs like Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail/Outlook Express, AOL, etc., then you know it doesn't always go smoothly. Sometimes you'll see this annoying pop up when you're trying to send off an important email that requires more than just name, title, company, phone number, e-mail address, website URL, and home street address (or something along those lines). The prompt might say something like “The signature for [your full name] is too long. Please try a shorter one," or “Your signature has been rejected.” Unfortunately, there isn't any official documentation from Google on what constitutes as a proper signature. If you want to make sure yours are set up properly though, here is some information on how many characters can be in each section of a typical email signature.

What size should a Gmail signature be?

A good rule of thumb is to use about 80 characters per line, which works out to around 10 -- 12 words per line at most. This amount will allow people to read all of their contact info without scrolling down excessively. Most people have short attention spans these days so if they need to scroll down too far, chances are they won't bother reading everything anyway. I personally prefer using only 2--3 sentences max per line because my eyes tend to tire after looking at screens for too long. You could also consider creating bulleted lists with your contact info instead of having them appear separately. For example, I would write things like this:

John Doe

President & CEO

[Company Name] Inc.

PO Box 12345

New York City, NY 10020

cell 516 555 898

home xxxx 222 333 4444

fax xxx 678 987 6543

e-mail john@domainname.com

website http://www.companyname.com

Then create hyperlinks within the text itself by putting "[" before the link and "]" after the link. Here is an image of what that looks like:

This allows me to keep my signature relatively clean while still providing enough details for readers to find where to reach me on their own via links. Of course, if you have lots of contacts who require similar signatures, you might opt to group together certain items such as cell phones, faxes, and addresses under separate headings. Just remember not to overdo it. A basic format that is often used is first name(s), followed by middle initial(s) next to last names. Then list your titles and credentials right underneath that. Also include your job description, location, mobile numbers, and personal e-mail address at the very end of your signature.

What is the standard size of an email signature?

There really isn't much difference between companies and individuals when it comes to formatting signatures. However, generally speaking, the bigger the organization, the longer the signature needs to be. Some large organizations' signatures typically contain 20+ fields with tons of information including multiple contact numbers, mailing address, physical office address, Pager Number, Fax Numbers, Cell Phone Numbers, Personal Email Address, Web Page Links, Social Network Profile Names, Blog Link, Twitter Handle, LinkedIn Username, Facebook ID, YouTube channel IDs, Flickr Account Usernames, RSS Feed URLs, Product Reviews, Press Release Contact Information, Media Kit Links, Birthday Dates, Resume Upload Site, Emergency Contacts, and even current employer contact information. These types of signatures take forever to type, but sometimes you don't care to leave your clients with a giant mess of paper once you're done working for them.

Most small businesses usually stick to a smaller signature consisting of 3--5 different sections containing no more than 1--2 fields apiece. There are two main considerations when deciding how many fields you'd like to add to your signature: do you plan on sending out a lot of emails, or are you going to place your contact info directly onto documents sent to customers? Another consideration is whether or not you intend on adding attachments to your messages. It becomes quite cumbersome to attach files to every single piece of correspondence you send out. As mentioned previously, if you are doing this, then you'll probably want to stick with less fields rather than more. Lastly, remember that people will likely print your email signature off of whatever page contains your entire signature. So unless you have extremely specific requirements, we recommend sticking to fewer fields. That way people aren't overwhelmed by your lengthy signature.

One thing worth mentioning is that most spam filters nowadays limit the length of signatures to 200 characters. Since most spam filters are pretty lenient overall, anything over 200 characters shouldn't cause problems. If you happen to receive a ton of junk mail, however, you can simply shorten your signature to 150 characters or less and remove unnecessary details that nobody cares about anyways.

What size should signature be?

As stated earlier, the best size depends on what kind of business you run, and how much space you feel comfortable giving away. In general though, anywhere from 50 to 120 characters seems appropriate. Anything shorter tends to look sloppy, whereas anything above 120 leaves little room for creative writing.

How long should an email signature be?

If you ask someone who writes professionally, they'll likely tell you that the ideal length of an email signature is somewhere between 75--125 characters depending on your industry and field. Generally speaking, it takes approximately 7 seconds for human beings to process written communication. Therefore, if you only give them 7 seconds to read your signature, they're going to scan through it quickly and move on without taking notice of everything else. Keep this in mind whenever crafting your email signature. One trick is to think of your signature as being a billboard advertisement. Think of how billboards work - they provide a quick overview of what they offer, then direct viewers' attention to the actual product or service. Your signature does exactly the same thing except it provides contact information instead of advertising.

In conclusion, it's important to note that there isn't a hard and fast rule concerning how long a person's email signature must be. People vary greatly in terms of how much time they devote towards reading email, so ultimately it's up to you to decide how much detail you want included in your signature. However, we hope our guidelines help clear up confusion regarding the acceptable lengths for email signatures and how many fields you can reasonably put in there. Happy signing!

For additional tips on making your email signatures stand out, check out Matt Cutts' article on How To Write An Effective E-Mail Signature. He covers several points that we didn't mention specifically in regards to e-mail signatures. He goes over ways to make your email signature interesting, relevant, and easy to spot amongst others. Check it out!

You've just finished composing and sending off a new e-mail when you realize it's way too long! You head back to the compose window, delete sections of text until only what you want remains, then paste in the shortened version as your default signature. When pasting your email signature into Gmail, however, you might receive this warning:

"The signature for [your name] is too long. Please try a shorter signature."

This error has us stumped because we never knew there was such a restriction on how long our emails could be. So how do you know if your signature is too long or not enough? And why does Gmail have its own standard anyway? Here are answers to all these questions and more.

What is the correct size for an email signature?

Email etiquette experts agree that the most appropriate size for any given situation will depend upon who the recipient is. For example, if someone important wants something short but professional, they'll probably expect a business card sized signature (about 2 x 3 inches). If you're sending mail to friends, family members or casual acquaintances, the typical 4x4 inch letter size signature works best.

A few general rules for determining the right signature size include:

If possible, use a digital image rather than one created with a word processing program like Microsoft Word. Images tend to take up less space and look better as well.

Use simple fonts, colors and graphics. No fancy typefaces. The fewer words per character, the smaller the overall font size becomes. Also keep away from animated GIFs since they also add to the overall file size. A good rule of thumb is that anything over 1 MB needs attention before being sent via email.

Keep the number of images down - no photos of children, pets or people unless absolutely necessary.

Don't send multiple signatures. Most users don't need two different versions of their personal email address. In fact, some companies require employees to sign every piece of correspondence using the same email account. This way everyone knows exactly who wrote each particular email without having to sift through dozens of messages looking for information about which employee signed them. Sending separate signatures defeats the purpose completely.

Avoid large print or bolded letters. These things make your email hard to read. But even worse, they often cause problems with older computers.

Make sure your contact info is easy to find at the top of your email. It doesn't matter if it's hidden behind icons or tucked inside tiny boxes -- the user must still be able to see it quickly. Don't forget to put yourself where you would appear in search results. Put a link to your website somewhere within your signature, perhaps next to your phone numbers. Be careful not to confuse people by including your company logo here.

What is the maximum recommended length for a signature line?

Gmail allows you to create three custom signatures. Unfortunately, the first two aren't much help. They simply contain links to Google Docs files containing your full names and addresses. As you can imagine, adding hyperlinks increases the total amount of data included in your signature. Even though those fields are displayed in plaintext form, the result is far larger than a printed signature.

So, if making your signature too big isn't an option, what other options are available? One solution is to split up your name and home address into multiple blocks. By doing so, you won't increase the overall size of your signature significantly. Just remember to place each section below the previous one while keeping everything neat and tidy.

Another alternative is to limit the amount of characters allowed under each heading. To do this, click Settings (gear icon) & General Controls " Show my entire signature. Then set the field labeled Maximum Signature Characters to whatever value you'd prefer. We chose 80 characters, which felt comfortable but didn't allow us to fit everything onto one single page.

Note that this setting applies to both the HTML format and Rich Text formatting styles used in Gmail. Although the latter provides greater control over layout and appearance, it takes longer to load due to additional elements, making it unsuitable for quick responses.

How long should your email signature be?

For many years, the recommended amount of time anyone needed to write an effective email was five minutes or less. Nowadays, we spend more hours sitting in front of computer screens than ever before. Therefore, we feel it's perfectly acceptable to compose lengthy missives. After all, most of today's recipients wouldn't mind receiving an extra paragraph or two if it saves them lots of scrolling time.

But there are limits. Email clients have become increasingly sophisticated with regard to displaying content. Today's devices support features like tabbed browsing, live preview windows and auto spellcheckers. All of these tools enhance the reading experience dramatically. Add to that the presence of social media sites and instant messaging services, plus mobile internet connectivity and you end up with a lot of distractions vying for your readers' attention. Simply stated, most people don't have time to sit around waiting for pages to load anymore.

As a consequence, the average online reader spends less than 10 seconds scanning a web page before moving on to another site. That means your email signature shouldn't exceed 8 lines. Longer signatures slow down the process. Users typically skim the bottom portion of the screen first, so they should focus on that area. Anything beyond 15% of the width of the display is wasted space.

To test whether your signature fits in the allotted space, go ahead and open it in your browser window now. Does it scroll across several columns? Or does it fill up half of the current viewport? Take note of how wide it looks and compare it to the width of your monitor/screen. Is there room left over after subtracting the margins?

Even if your signature seems too narrow, consider splitting it up further. Some experts recommend breaking paragraphs into sections instead of using paragraphs to indicate breaks between sentences. Breaking up chunks of text helps avoid awkward spacing issues and makes your writing easier to scan.

In addition to limiting the actual amount of text contained in your signature, you should also choose a style that's compatible with modern browsers. Using tables to position various items is generally out of date nowadays. Instead, stick to div tags to group together related information, and CSS styling for sizing text and borders. Avoid using background images unless absolutely necessary. Remember, proper coding practices always apply.

What size should a signature be?

There's no universal answer to this question. However, most professionals suggest adopting either a footer or header signature, depending on the sender's role within the organization. Footer signatures are reserved for senior managers or executives who supervise others directly. Use a small signature consisting mostly of basic contact details. Header signatures are meant for middle management and above. Their contents encompass job titles, office locations and major accomplishments.

Footer signatures usually consist of the following components:

Name

Job title

Company affiliation

Phone number(s)

Personal website URL

Instant messenger handle

Header signatures work differently. Rather than listing individual responsibilities, they provide a summary of duties. Below are examples of both types of signatures:

Footer template: Name (first), last initial (middle), name (last), title, location, telephone, fax, pager, cell phone, email, personal homepage URL, IM Handle, Company Affiliation, Web Address

Header template: John Q. Public / Private CFO / VP Finance / Director IT Security / CEO President / Owner Small Business Consultant / Head Nurse etc., Job Title, Location, Phone Number, Fax Number, Personal Page — Blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook Pages, MySpace, Squidoo, FriendFeed, YouTube, Yahoo!, EZine Articles Submitted, Free Reports Available

While creating signatures, think carefully about the tone of your communications. Are you trying to impress or inform? Do you want to come off as arrogant or humble? Whatever approach you decide to adopt, bear in mind that your goal is to convey professionalism and likability. Your target audience will judge you based on how effectively you communicate. Keep that in mind whenever you're writing messages.

We hope that this article helped clear up any confusion surrounding the issue. Should you run into trouble again, check out our list of frequently asked Gmail questions. If you're interested in learning more about email marketing, please refer to our guide on building relationships with prospects through email.

Have fun experimenting with signatures!

Annie Blackman

Senior Copywriter