How to Create an HTML Email Signature for Thunderbird
Before you can learn how to add a signature in Thunderbird, you need to create one. The following options are available to you:
- Online HTML sig generators
- Word templates
- Manual creation
Online HTML sig generators like WiseStamp or the Free Email Signature Template Generator by HubSpot are, by far, the most convenient option, but they’re somewhat limited in terms of what you can create with them.
Typically, paid and free email signature generators give users multiple templates to customize, allowing them to change their content, colors, and sometimes even layout. If you have in mind something that doesn’t resemble any available template, you probably won’t be able to achieve the desired results.
Word templates for HyperText Markup Language mail sigs can be found on many websites, including the official website of Microsoft Office. Such templates give you a solid foundation to work with, and the only factor limiting what you can achieve is your Word or Google Docs proficiency. For a Word sig to display properly, you need to convert it first, and you can use a tool like WordHTML to do just that.
Last but not least, there’s manual creation—the process of coding a Thunderbird HTML signature from scratch using available HTML elements. This option is great for those who are proficient in HTML because it comes with virtually limitless creative freedom—perfect when creating professional email signatures. While it’s not that difficult to learn the basics of HTML, we don’t think it’s worth the trouble just to create a single Thunderbird signature when other options are available.
How to Add an HTML Signature in Thunderbird
Is your Thunderbird email signature ready? We hope so because we will explain how to add it.
The steps you need to follow are almost identical regardless if you use the macOS, Windows, or Linux version of Thunderbird. Here they are:
- Launch Mozilla Thunderbird.
- Click the hamburger menu (Windows & Linux) or select the Thunderbird option in the menu bar (macOS).
- Open Account Settings.
- Select the account you want to associate with your HTML sig. If you want to use the same sig for multiple accounts, you need to repeat the steps below.
- Click the Use HTML checkbox.
- Paste your signature into the signature text field. You can also attach the signature from a file by clicking the corresponding checkbox and choosing the file.
- Close the Account Settings tab.
We now recommend you go back to your inbox and compose a new message. You should see the signature in Thunderbird’s message compose window. The signature will be prefaced by two dashes.
You can change the position of your sig by going to Account Settings > <account name> > Composition & Addressing. There, change the "Start my reply above the quote" and "and place my signature" settings according to your preferences.
How to Disable/Delete a Signature in Thunderbird
To permanently disable/delete a sig in Mozilla’s email client:
- Launch Mozilla Thunderbird.
- Click the hamburger menu (Windows & Linux) or select the Thunderbird option in the menu bar (macOS).
- Open Account Settings.
- Select the existing sig text and delete it.
- Close the Account Settings tab.
Next time you compose a new message, your sig won’t be included. Alternatively, you can ignore the instructions above and simply delete your sig manually whenever you send a message to someone who doesn’t need to see your signature.
Automate Inbox Management Using Clean Email
Thunderbird has many other useful features besides mail sigs. For example, it can organize your messages using filters. The only problem with the mail client’s filters is that they work only when the application is running. To overcome this limitation, you can use a third-party inbox organizer like Clean Email.
With Clean Email, you can effortlessly create filters that will run even when your computer isn’t running. It takes just one click to create a new filter thanks to the Auto Clean feature. Here’s how it works in practice:
- Open Clean Email in your web browser and sign with your email address.
- Go to your Inbox and choose any email based on which you would like to create a new filter. We want to automatically label all emails from Medium.com, so we’ve selected an email from the online publishing platform, and Clean Email automatically selected other similar emails.
- Apply the action that you want Clean Email to automatically perform whenever a new matching mail arrives in your inbox.
- Choose to apply the same action to Selected and future similar emails.
- Confirm.
Other inbox management features offered by Clean Email that Thunderbird users may find useful include Unsubscriber (lets you get rid of unwanted subscriptions even if they don’t include an unsubscribe link) or Cleaning Suggestions (combines emails into groups to quickly review hundreds of emails at once).
These and other features work with any email service, and they’re designed with your security and privacy in mind. Clean Email is a freemium inbox organizer, and you can try it for free today.
How to Add an HTML Signature in Thunderbird - FAQs
How do I get my Thunderbird signature to display in replies and forwards?
To display your sig in replies and forwards:
1. Click the hamburger menu (Windows & Linux) or select the Thunderbird option in the menu bar (macOS).
2. Open Account Settings.
3. Select your email account.
4. Go to Composition & Addressing.
5. Check the "include signature for replies" and "include signature for forwards" options.
Does Thunderbird support HTML sigs?
Yes, Mozilla’s mail client does support HyperText Markup Language sigs, but you need to enable them manually by clicking the Use HTML checkbox in the Account Settings window.
What is the best HTML generator to create an HTML sig for Thunderbird?
We recommend WiseStamp and the Free Email Signature Template Generator by HubSpot because they produce great-looking sigs that display correctly everywhere.
