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Adding an HTML signature is a great way to spruce up your emails. You can easily implement an HTML signature in Apple Mail with a few steps outlined in this article. 

Before starting, make sure you have an email signature that uses HTML code prepared already. If you don't have one, you can easily create one using an online email signature generator or by writing the HTML code yourself.

How to add an HTML signature to Apple Mail: step-by-step (with screenshots)

  1. Open Apple Mail on your Mac and click on the Mail menu. From the dropdown, select “Settings.”
    Navigate to Settings in Apple Mail

  2. Within “Settings,” click on the “Signatures” tab to see a list of all your signatures. To add a new signature, click the “+” button.
    Review Signatures section of Settings and click the "+" button

  3. Add placeholder text to your signature. This text will be replaced by your HTML signature, so don’t worry about the content.
    Add placeholder text to your signature
  4. Drag the signature to your email account in the left column, and select your signature under “Choose Signature.”


  5. Next, close the Settings window, and quit Apple Mail. It's important to completely close Apple Mail. When you quit, your signature will be saved in your system. This is a placeholder until you implement the HTML signature by following the steps below.

  6. To install your HTML email signature, select “Go > Go to Folder” in the Finder menu bar. 


  7. In the window, type “~/Library/Mail” and click the “Go” button.
    Navigate to the "~/Library/Mail" folder

  8. In the new window that appears, click on the folder with the highest number following the letter “V.” This folder holds the latest version.
    Select the folder with the highest number

  9. Choose “MailData.”
    Select the MailData folder

  10. Choose “Signatures.”
    Select the Signatures folder
  11. In the Signatures folder, you’ll see a list of signature files. Look for the file you just edited by examining the “Modified” date and open the newest file that ends with “.mailsignature.”
    Select the .mailsignatures file

  12. Right-click on the signature file and choose “Open With > TextEdit."

  13. While one TextEdit window is open with the .mailsignature file, open your pre-made HTML signature file in another TextEdit window.
    Open both HTML files
  14. Select the entire content of your pre-made HTML signature (CMD + A) and copy the data (CMD + C). Select the content starting with “<body …” in your .mailsignature file and replace it with your pre-made HTML data (CMD+V). Do not delete the data above “<body …”
    Copy and paste the premade signature into the .mailsignature file
  15. Your .mailsignature file, should look something like this after you’ve replaced the text.Mailsignature file with updated HTML code
  16. Save the file and close TextEdit.
    Save this in the TextEdit application
  17. Right-click on the mail signature you just edited and choose “Get Info.” 
    Right click to select the Get Info

  18. Check the checkbox labeled “Locked” to prevent Apple Mail from overriding your new HTML signature. Important: Do not omit this step, otherwise Apple Mail will override your signature.
    Lock the .mailsignature file

  19. Verify the signature looks the way you’d expect. Open Apple Mail and navigate back to Signatures to do this.
    Double check that the signature appears as you'd like

 

Congratulations! You’ve successfully added an HTML signature to Apple Mail. 

Woman creating an HTML signature using HubSpot's Email Signature Generator on a laptop

If you need to create an HTML signature for Apple Mail, you can utilize HubSpot's Email Signature Generator. Style an email signature to your preferences and easily copy the source code.