How to Set up Your Hotmail Signature in Outlook.com

In early 2016, Microsoft phased out Windows Live Hotmail and the customer base moved to Outlook.com, the free web interface, where people were allowed to keep their Hotmail email addresses if they so desired. Outlook.com email users with Hotmail addresses can set up and format an email signature the same way as everyone else. 

No email is complete without a signature — a few lines of contact information, maybe a witty quote or some self-marketing at the end. You can set up a signature easily in Outlook.com, and it is appended to all the emails you write automatically.

To create a signature for use with your Hotmail email address, sign in at Outlook.com. Click Settings > Mail > Compose and reply. In the right pane, you'll see a box for Email signature. 

Use the box to input your signature, using the formatting tools as needed. Place check marks in the two boxes below the signature area to indicate that you want your email signature automatically applied to the new messages you compose and to messages you forward or reply to.

Save your work when you're finished. After you've added a signature, Outlook.com includes your signature automatically when you compose a message. If you don't want it in a particular message, delete it as you would delete regular text.

You probably send several emails a day, and each one is an opportunity to market yourself or your business. Don't squander these opportunities with a nonexistent or limited email signature:

• Limit your email signature to five lines of text.
• Include all your contact information.
• Use dividers to minimize lines. For example Address | City | Phone.
• Keep the use of color simple.
• Insert live links to your website or business.
• Include social icons linking to your social profiles.
• Format the signature so it is mobile friendly. Space out icons that recipients may want to tap and use a font size that is readable on small screens. More than half of all emails are opened on mobile devices.

Don't treat email signatures as an afterthought. They make it easy for people to reach you and give people a place to go find out more about you or your business.