G Suite Email Signatures: 8 Things You Can & Can’t Do

Using the Append footer setting to deploy a companywide email signature in the G Suite (now Google Workspace) Admin console is relatively simple. However it does come with limitations.

Check out the top 8 things you can and can’t do when manually applying companywide G Suite email signatures.

1. You CAN give every user the same signature

When you create and deploy global G Suite email signatures using the Append footer setting, it ensures all users have the same signature across all devices.

However, you can only have one Gmail signature template for each G Suite organizational unit. You won’t be able to create different signature for different departments. You also won’t be able to personalize the signature with users’ contact information.

2. You CAN’T pull contact information from Google Directory

Unfortunately, there is no way to auto-populate users’ contact details in a G Suite email signature using the Append footer setting in the Google Admin console.

This means you must create a generic Gmail email signature for each G Suite organizational unit.

3. You CAN include images

You can add images to G Suite email signatures, such as a company branding or social media icons. You can also add hyperlinks to these images.

However, any images you use must be web hosted and cannot be linked from a Google Drive image.

4. You CAN’T place a signature under every reply

When an end user replies to an email, their G Suite email signature will not appear under their most recent reply. The signature will always appear at the bottom of the email chain. If the user replies multiple times, the signature will continue to stack up at the bottom of the email chain.

To create a separate reply signature, you need to setup canned responses. However, these need to be setup on an individual basis within each users’ Gmail account settings.

5. You CAN get a signature on all devices and mail clients

G Suite email signatures deployed using the Append footer setting are applied to emails at a server level. This means that the signature is added after an email is sent.

This ensures everyone gets a Gmail email signature no matter what device they send from.

6. You CAN’T edit the HTML or style the signature

You can use a HTML email signature in the Append footer setting. However you cannot paste the HTML code directly into the editor; you must paste the signature design itself. You’ll also need to make sure the HTML code is under 10,000 characters, as there is a limit!

Although the G Suite Append footer setting does allow for HTML Gmail signatures, when you respond to a plain text email, the signature will remove any images, hyperlinks, and text formatting.

7. You CAN avoid users editing the signature

As signatures are added after an email is sent, the signature will not appear while users are composing an email. This means they won’t be able to edit the signature design.

However, users are still able to add their own signature in their Gmail settings. This means two signatures will be added on the first email they send.

8. You CAN’T test the signature before setting it live

There isn’t a way to test or preview G Suite email signatures before applying it to all users of an OU. If you do want to test the template, you must set it live first. This likely means testing it during hours of low mail flow.

What other choices are available other than the Append footer setting?

Google’s Gmail API does let you manage signatures, but it requires programming knowledge and can be quite lengthy.

Alternatively, email signature software from Exclaimer will let you centrally manage Gmail signatures easily. All contact information is taken from your Google Directory and end users are not able to change the template they are given.