Email Signature Troubleshooting: Fix Common Problems

Email signatures can break in frustrating ways. Here's how to diagnose and fix the most common issues.

Images Not Displaying

Symptoms: Broken image icons, empty boxes, or no images at all.

Causes & Fixes:

• URL is broken — Check image link is still valid
• Not publicly accessible — Ensure cloud storage is set to public
• Using local path — Images must be hosted online, not C:\
• Recipient blocks images — Nothing you can do; provide alt text

Formatting Looks Wrong

Symptoms: Misaligned text, wrong fonts, broken layout.

Causes & Fixes:

• CSS not inline — Move styles to inline style attributes
• Using modern CSS — Avoid flexbox/grid; use tables
• Custom fonts — Stick to web-safe fonts
• Outlook quirks — Test specifically in Outlook

Signature Not Appearing

Symptoms: Emails sent without signature.

Causes & Fixes:

• Not set as default — Check signature settings
• Reply/forward settings — Set signature for all email types
• Mobile vs desktop — Mobile apps have separate settings
• Composing in plain text — Switch to HTML format

Signature at Wrong Position

Symptoms: Signature appears below quoted text in replies.

Causes & Fixes:

• Server-side rules (Exchange/Gmail append footer) always place at bottom
• Solution: Use client-side signatures or third-party tools

Extra Spacing or Lines

Symptoms: Unwanted blank lines, large gaps.

Causes & Fixes:

• Extra line breaks in HTML — Clean up source code
• Image display:block — Add style="display:block" to images
• Paragraph tags — Use br instead of p tags

Different on Each Device

Symptoms: Signature looks different on phone vs desktop.

Causes & Fixes:

• Separate mobile signatures — Sync or centralize management
• Not responsive — Design for mobile-first
• Mobile app limitations — Some apps only support plain text