Guides
How to host an image for an email signature
An email signature image needs a public HTTPS address that doesn't expire, so every reader's mail app can load it, today and when an old email is opened again. You can host it on your own website, on a cloud storage link that's public, or with a service that hosts signature images.
The usual causes
1. Your own website
Upload the image to your site and use its full https:// address. It works as long as the file stays at that address and the site serves it to anyone. Moving or renaming the file later breaks every signature that points to it.
2. A public cloud storage link
Google says a Drive image in a Gmail signature needs its sharing set to public, and stops showing if the file is deleted. Other services work the same way: the link has to be public, and stay that way.
3. A signature image host
A service that hosts the image for you and gives each person HTML that points to it, so you don't manage the files or their sharing yourself.
What breaks a hosted image
- 1.Permissions: a file shared with “people in my company” or “anyone signed in” isn't public, so readers outside can't load it.
- 2.Expiring links: some services make links that stop working after a set time. Old emails then show an empty box.
- 3.Hotlink protection: some websites and CDNs refuse to serve images to other sites or apps. Check that the address loads in a private browser window.
- 4.Plain http: use an address that starts with https://, not http://.
How Email Signature Gen handles this
Email Signature Gen hosts each person's photo, logo and banner on a name you pick, such as acme.emailsignaturegen.com, or on a subdomain you own, such as sig.acme.com, for $10 a month. The image addresses don't expire while hosting is paid.
If a payment fails, hosting stays up 7 more days. After that, the images stop loading, including in emails already sent, so a hosted image depends on the account staying paid. We email before that happens.
Questions
Can I use an image from my website in my signature?
Yes, if its address starts with https:// and loads for anyone in a private browser window. Keep the file at that address, because old emails keep pointing to it.
Why did my signature image stop working?
Usually the address changed or closed: the file was moved or deleted, its sharing changed, or the link expired. Old emails keep the old address.
What does Email Signature Gen cost?
$1 a person a month, for each person with a signature. Images are hosted on a name like acme.emailsignaturegen.com, or on your own subdomain for $10 a month.