Guides
Gmail signature too long
Gmail allows up to 10,000 characters in a signature, and Google says your images count toward that limit. A signature usually hits it when it carries pictures pasted into the editor, extra formatting picked up on the way, or a long disclaimer.
The usual causes
1. Pictures pasted into the signature
Google says your image counts toward the character limit, and suggests resizing the image if you get the error.
Source: Google: Create a Gmail signature
2. Formatting picked up on the way
Copying a signature through a document, a web page or another app before Gmail can add formatting you can't see. Paste straight from the source instead.
3. Long text
A long disclaimer, a long address and several profile links all add length. In our measurements a 1,000-character disclaimer adds roughly the same to the signature.
To shorten a Gmail signature
- 1.Resize or remove large pictures, as Google suggests.
- 2.Copy the signature again straight from its source and paste it into Gmail's signature box, without going through another app.
- 3.Shorten the disclaimer and the address, and drop profile links you don't need.
- 4.Click “Save Changes”. If the error stays, remove one more item and try again.
Source: Google: Create a Gmail signature
How Email Signature Gen handles this
The Gmail version from Email Signature Gen links its pictures instead of embedding them, so the photo and logo add only their web addresses. The table below is the length of that HTML for each layout.
Google doesn't say how Gmail counts formatting, so these numbers are the closest measure we control, not Gmail's own count. With the sign-off, address, disclaimer and contact labels at their longest, every layout stays under 10,000 characters. A longer name, title or link adds more.
| Layout | Typical | Full | Longest |
|---|---|---|---|
| modern | 4,222 | 7,270 | 8,501 |
| corporate | 4,855 | 7,738 | 8,953 |
| executive | 3,781 | 6,661 | 8,015 |
| consultant | 4,148 | 7,028 | 8,196 |
| sales | 4,181 | 7,061 | 8,229 |
| creative | 4,153 | 7,201 | 8,369 |
| developer | 6,050 | 8,228 | 9,396 |
| tech | 5,206 | 8,086 | 9,301 |
| healthcare | 5,504 | 8,384 | 9,552 |
| education | 4,906 | 7,786 | 8,954 |
Questions
Do images really count toward Gmail's limit?
Yes. Google's help says your image also counts toward the character limit, and suggests resizing it if you get the error.
Which Email Signature Gen layout is shortest?
In our measurements, Executive is the shortest. Developer is the longest for a typical signature, and Healthcare once a signature carries everything. The table on this page has each layout's length.
Will a shorter disclaimer fix it?
Often. In our measurements the disclaimer is the biggest single field you control, and every character of it adds to the length.