Outlook email signature banners

Create an animated banner for your Outlook email signature

Add your logo, message and call to action, choose your animation, and preview the layout before exporting your banner for use in Outlook.

Already have a banner? Add it to Outlook

Free to create · No account required · Live preview

Email signature banner offering 20% off a first order with the code WELCOME20 — A banner designed in Bannerly at 600 × 150, one of our practical starting sizes for email signature banners.

Examples

Email signature banner ideas for Outlook

Promote an offer, announce something new or point people towards your next event - all beneath your everyday email signature.

Animated Bannerly previews - looping examples of real designs

Email signature banner announcing the launch of a new product called Studio — Product launch
A launch announcement for a new product or service.

Email signature banner promoting a two-day event in Manchester with a get tickets button — Event
An event or conference with a ticket link.

Email signature banner advertising six open design and support roles with a view vacancies button — Recruitment
An open-roles campaign for hiring teams.

Each example opens in the editor as the design you can see here, ready for your own logo, wording and colours. They are Bannerly designs, not customer campaigns.

How Bannerly helps

Create your Outlook banner in three steps

Design your banner

Add your logo, headline, supporting message, colours and call to action on a signature-sized canvas.

Add your animation

Choose motion effects for the logo, headline, supporting line and button using Bannerly's animation controls.

Preview and export

Check the layout in Bannerly's email preview, then export your finished banner as a static image or an animated GIF.

Bannerly's email preview is an illustrative layout preview. Send a test email to check how your banner appears in the Outlook versions and email apps your recipients use.

Size and format

Choose a size that fits your Outlook signature

Microsoft does not publish a required banner size for signatures. These are Bannerly design presets - practical starting points rather than official Outlook requirements.

600 × 100 px

A compact strip with a short message.

600 × 150 px

A starting layout for a logo, message and CTA.

600 × 200 px

A taller design that needs additional mobile checking.

Canvas dimensions: The pixel size you design and export at - for example a 600 × 150 canvas.
Displayed dimensions: How large the image appears inside the signature. A 600 × 150 banner displayed 400 pixels wide is 100 pixels high when the proportions are preserved.
File size: The weight of the exported file. Animation adds frames, so an animated GIF is heavier than the same design exported as a still.

Keep the proportions - resizing by one side inside Outlook stretches the artwork.
Check the message is still readable once the banner is scaled down on a phone.
Check the exported file's size before you roll a banner out to a team.
Send a test email and look at the result in a received message, not in the editor.

Full detail on canvas versus displayed size, aspect ratio and file weight is in the Outlook section of our email signature banner size guide.

Animation and links

Animated banners, with a clear message even when motion stops

Whether a GIF plays depends on the Outlook version, its settings and the app your recipient is reading in.

What Microsoft documents

Microsoft documents that Outlook can play animated graphics, and that when the setting for playing animations is turned off only the first frame appears. Because you cannot control that setting from the sending side, design the first frame so it states the offer and the action on its own.

Source: Microsoft Support - the animated graphic in my email message doesn't work.

Making the banner clickable

The button drawn inside your banner is part of the exported image. To make the banner clickable in an email signature, apply a destination link to the inserted image in Outlook.

Use one destination that matches what the banner promises - the offer page, the event registration, the booking form. Step-by-step instructions are in the clickable banner section of the Outlook guide.

Deciding between motion and a still? Compare the trade-offs in animated vs static email banners, or follow the cross-platform steps in how to add a GIF to your email signature.

Installation

Add your banner to Outlook - or replace an old one

Export the banner from Bannerly, then insert the image into your signature in Outlook and apply the link. Bannerly creates the banner file; Outlook holds the signature.

Microsoft documents the signature workflows separately for new Outlook for Windows, classic Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web, so there is no single menu path that fits every version. Our Outlook guide follows Microsoft's steps for each one.

Add a banner to your Outlook signature

Where the banner should sit, how to insert it with the picture control and how to keep the proportions.

Change or replace an existing banner

Swapping last campaign's banner for the new one, checking the destination link and testing a fresh message.

If the banner does not appear, arrives as an attachment or ignores the link, the Outlook guide's troubleshooting section works through the usual causes. Microsoft's own signature reference is how to add and change an email signature in Outlook.

FAQ

Outlook signature banner questions

Can I create an Outlook signature banner for free?

Yes. The full editor is free to use, with no account needed, and the final export is preceded by a short advert. Free designs are not saved for later, so export the file before you close the editor. A Pro subscription removes the export advert and saves your projects so you can re-edit them - see the pricing details.

What size should an Outlook signature banner be?

600 × 150 pixels is a sensible Bannerly starting point. That is the canvas size you design and export at - how large it appears in the signature is the displayed size, which can be smaller. Keep the proportions, and see the full sizing guide for the detail.

Can I use an animated GIF in an Outlook signature?

You can insert one the same way as any image. Whether it plays depends on the version and settings in the reader's email app - Microsoft documents that with animation turned off only the first frame is shown. Design a first frame that carries the message, and send a test email.

How do I make my banner clickable?

The button in the banner is drawn into the image, so the hyperlink is applied to the inserted image in Outlook: select the banner in the signature editor, use the link control and paste an absolute https:// URL. The Outlook guide has the steps.

Can I use my own logo and colours?

Yes. Upload your logo and an additional image, set your own colours or pull them from your logo, choose fonts, gradients or a video background, and position each element on the canvas.

How do I replace a banner already in my Outlook signature?

Open the same signature, delete the old image, insert the new file on the same line and reapply the link before saving. The replacement walkthrough covers each version of Outlook.

Does Bannerly automatically install the signature in Outlook?

No. Bannerly creates the banner image. You export the file, then insert and link it yourself in Outlook's signature editor. Bannerly is not an Outlook add-in and is not a Microsoft product.

Are the examples editable templates?

Yes - each example on this page opens in the editor as the design shown, so you can change the text, colours, logo and animation. They are Bannerly designs used for illustration, not customer campaigns.

Give your Outlook signature a useful next step

Create a banner for your latest offer, launch or event, then add it beneath your signature.