- The Email Signature Handbook
- Hints & Tips
- Email Signature Examples and How to Write Them
- How to Create an HTML Email Signature
- The 17 DOs and DON’Ts of Email Signatures
- 10 Reasons Why Email Signature Branding Is Important
- The Top 10 Email Signature Branding DOs & DON’Ts
- The Top 15 Things to Not Include in Email Signatures
- The Top 15 Email Signature Design Tips
- The Best Ways to Format an Email Signature
- Using HTML Images in Email Signature Templates
- Choosing The Best Email Signature Fonts
- Using Company Logos in Email Signatures
- Using the Right Email Signature Size
- Creating the Perfect Mobile Email Signature
- How to Avoid Using Poor Mobile Email Signatures
- Setup an Android Email Signature
- Create an HTML iPhone Email Signature
- Embedded vs Hosted Images in Email Signatures
- How to Use Social Media in Email Signatures
- Social Media in Email Signatures: The Top 10 DOs & DON’Ts
- Add Social Media Icons in Email Signatures
- The Top 10 Email Signature Contact Details DOs & DON’Ts
- How to Use Active Directory for Email Signatures
- The Top 10 Email Signature Marketing DOs & DON’Ts
- How to Track Link Clicks in Email Signatures
- Creating Professional Email Signatures for Students
- The Benefits of Using a Personal Email Signature
- How to Add a Handwritten Signature to Your Email
- Should You Use Animated GIFs in Email Signatures?
- The Top 5 Common Email Signature Mistakes
- The Importance of Using Internal Email Signatures
- Using Reply Email Signatures Effectively
- The 3 Benefits of Including an Email Address in Email Signatures
- Using Email Signature Photos Effectively
- How to Create Email Signatures for Macs
- Email Signature Surveys & Customer Satisfaction
- The Market Need for 1-Click Email Signature Surveys
- Using Email Signatures for Different Departments
- Using Email Signature Banners for Marketing Purposes
- The Best Elements of Email Signature Marketing
- The Use of Email Signature Quotes
- 10 Tips for Using Email Signature Images for Certifications
- Using a Green Email Signature Footer
- The Top 10 Christmas Email Signature Tips
- Dynamic Ways to Use Meeting Links in Email Signatures
- Using Gender Pronouns in Email Signatures Inclusively
- Management
- Email Disclaimers
- What is an Email Disclaimer?
- How to Add an Email Disclaimer
- Email Disclaimer Examples & Templates
- Top 10 Email Disclaimer DOs & DON’Ts
- Email Disclaimer Laws: United States
- Email Disclaimer Laws & Regulations: Canada
- Email Disclaimer Laws: The European Union
- Email Disclaimer Laws: United Kingdom
- HIPAA Email Disclaimers: Understanding the Law
- The Top 4 HIPAA Email Disclaimer Examples
- GDPR Email Disclaimers: Understanding the Law
- The Top 5 GDPR Email Disclaimer Examples
- Template Gallery
- 101 Email Signature Templates & Designs
- The Best Email Signature Designs in 2022
- Professional Teacher Email Signatures (With Examples)
- Doctor Email Signatures (With Examples)
- CEO Email Signatures (With Examples)
- Professional Realtor Email Signatures (With Examples)
- Attorney and Lawyer Email Signatures (With Examples)
- The Top 10 Christmas Email Signature Templates
- 17 Email Signature Templates with Social Media Icons
- 17 Email Signature Templates with HTML Images
- The Top 17 Email Signature Banner Examples
- The Top 17 Mobile Email Signature Templates
- The Top 15 Text Based Email Signature Templates
- Plain Text Email Signature Examples
- The 7 Worst Email Signature Templates
- Advanced Guides
- 13 Out of Office Examples & Templates
- The Ultimate Email Sign Offs Guide
- The Top 15 Email Etiquette Rules
- How to Write the Perfect Job Inquiry Email
- Learn How to Write a Formal Email (With 3 Examples)
- Writing the Perfect Business Email (With Examples)
- How to Introduce Yourself in an Email [7 Easy Steps]
- 14 Follow-Up Email Template Samples & Mistakes to Avoid
- How to Send an Email the Right Way [9 Avoidable Mistakes]
- 19 Common Grammatical Errors to Avoid in Emails
- The 7 Business Email Mistakes to Avoid at Work
- 11 Reasons Why Emails End Up in Junk Folders
- 15 Ways to Maximize Your Organization’s Email Security
- How to Build an Effective Email Marketing List
- 16 Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in the 2020s
- Remote Working
- Office 365 (now Microsoft 365)
- How to Create an Office 365 Email Signature
- What You Can & Can’t Do in Office 365 Email Signatures
- Outlook Signature Not Working in Office 365?
- Using Office 365 Transport Rules
- Create a Distribution List in Outlook for Office 365
- The Office 365 Disclaimer Function
- Using Exclaimer vs Office 365 [Comparison]
- Using Exclaimer vs Outlook Roaming Signatures [Comparison]
- G Suite (now Google Workspace)
- Microsoft Exchange
- Outlook
- Gmail
The 7 Worst Email Signature Templates
Brought to you by Exclaimer
Getting the design of an email signature template right can be tricky. It’s also very easy to get wrong. Sending an email with a badly designed email signature can reflect badly on you and your company.
Below are 7 examples of the worst email signatures that will show you what you shouldn't do when you create a signature template:
1. Multiple fonts, sizes, and colors

Avoid using lots of different fonts, colors, and sizes such as in this terrible email signature example below. It makes the contact information too difficult to read. Your email disclaimer will also look more prominent that you want it to. This makes it one of the worst email signatures possible.
2. Badly ordered content

When creating an email signature, the content must be ordered in a logical way. Placing the logo and your name in the middle of the signature does not make sense. It makes important elements like your phone number and email address harder to find. It should be easy for a recipient to find relevant contact information quickly.
When building the email signature template, create a hierarchy for contact details. Think about what information your contacts would want to see first. Usually, your full name and job title will appear first. Then you include ways for people to contact you along with the URL of your company.
3. Giant social media icons

This example below is a poor email signature design because the social media icons take up most of the room in the signature. The social media icons should not be the focal point of an email signature, it should be the company logo. This will ensure your brand is instantly recognized by your contacts.
You also shouldn't include links to social media unless they are relevant. If you're on ten different platforms, only link to four at most. The worst email signatures include to many links that simply overwhelm the rest of the signature content.
4. Lots of hyperlinks

The worst email signature examples use lots of hyperlinks. These end up looking messy and isn’t necessary when you can use HTML images instead.
5. Too many images

The terrible email signature example below features too many HTML images which distracts from the contact details. There is simply too much going on and will detract from the content of the email itself. The signature probably won't render correctly in many email clients and almost certainly won't be mobile-friendly.
If you're running an email signature marketing campaign, choose images that are relevant. For example, include one display banner with a clear call to action. This will improve the efficacy of your campaign.
6. Large email disclaimer

When people complain about email signatures, it's often to do with the email disclaimer. This is particularly true if the text is long and takes up a lot of room in the email body.
If you must use a long disclaimer in your email signature, make sure the text is a small size, so it doesn’t take up lots of room.
Also, make sure that the disclaimer appears somewhat apart from the main signature block.
7. No spacing between images and text

The worst email signature templates use no spacing (also known as padding) such as in the example below. This makes a terrible signature design because the content looks squashed. It makes everything too difficult to read and will render poorly.
Need help designing a professional email signature?
Whether you’re designing for mobile devices, plain text or want to see how to incorporate a promotional banner into your signature, check out our email signature template gallery for examples of how to get signature design right.
And if you want to ensure you never create a terrible email signature template again, choose Exclaimer to centrally design and manage signatures for everyone in your organization. Exclaimer has a range of products for Office 365 (now Microsoft 365), G Suite (now Google Workspace), and Microsoft Exchange that make controlling email signatures simple.