Online Signatures: What Are They and How Do I Create Them?

2021-05-11 15:46:34 • by Jason Will

Share:

Online signatures in the form of electronic or digital signatures are rapidly growing in stature as the preferred method for document signing. Since drawing a signature online is far simpler than signing a physical document and then sending it to another person, it is quite easy to find an online signature service that can get the job done. Generating an e signature online also allows you to save it for future use. The best online signature solution today is Wondershare Document Cloud, which this article talks about.

How is an Electronic Signature Different from a Digital Signature?

Both these online signatures are considered legally binding in a majority of countries around the world. They are primarily used for business communication where electronic documents are exchanged between two or more users. This can be in the form of PDF contracts, forms that need to be filled and signed before submission, agreements where multiple parties need to sign, or even internal notifications that need to be acknowledged by employees or contract workers.

Many users tend to get confused between the two terms and think they are the same. However, there are some subtle differences even though they may look exactly the same. For instance, a digital signature needs to have a digital certificate issued for it by a certified authority. An electronic signature may use other forms of authentication, such as a unique identifier or even your IP address.

How to Create e Signatures using Wondershare Document Cloud

Wondershare Technology Co. is a well-known and highly respected organization in the software development space. It is famous for blockbuster applications like PDFelement and Filmora, among others. One of the latest additions to its portfolio is Wondershare Document Cloud, a freemium cloud storage service with an integrated electronic signature platform that lets you create a free e signature online. Here’s how to create e signatures and use them in PDF documents:

Wondershare Document Cloud

All System-supported Platform

Premium 100GB Cloud Storage

High-quality Electronic Signature

Continuously Updated Service

Try Free Buy Now

1. Sign in to Wondershare Document Cloud here with your Wondershare ID. You can create a fresh one or use your login from another Wondershare product.

2. Click on your avatar on the top right and select Signing Setting from the menu below it.

3. Click the Create button for three options: type, draw, or upload. Choose one of the methods and follow the instructions provided in the pop-up window. Click Save when you’re done. Your signature will now be available for use.

4. To sign a document or send it to others for signing, click Upload Files in the Home tab and import it from your local drive. You will be able to see it under Recent Document Activity.

5. Next, go to the Sign tab and click Initiate under one of the first two options you see on your screen, which are Request Signatures and Bulk Send. The third one will let you use modifiable templates or create your own templates for later use.

6. On the next page, specify the parameters for the signature process. This includes adding signers, specifying a security code, writing a custom message and subject line, adding company branding, setting a signing order, including yourself in the signing queue (first or last), and so on. Follow the flow of the page and click Next.

7. On the final page, choose a signer and then drag the relevant fields from the menu panel on the left into the appropriate spot on the document. Click Send for Signature when you’re finished.

8. To sign a document that’s awaiting your signature, click the Sign button next to the document in Recent Document Activity. This will allow you to get the online signature you already created in Step 3 above.

This is an easy way to do online signatures using Wondershare Document Cloud. Another way to create a digital signature is to use PDFelement. The next section tells you how to do this.

How to Create a Digital Signature via PDFelement Desktop Application

In older versions of PDFelement (PDFelement 7 and earlier), there is an integrated feature to help you create digital signatures and store them on your local drive for future use. The steps shown below explain how to do it:

Wondershare PDFelement

Edit and annotate PDFs

Create and convert PDFs

Fill forms and sign contracts

OCR PDFs into editable text

Integrated with Document Cloud

Free Download Free Download Free Download Buy Now Buy Now Buy Now

1. Launch PDFelement and open the document using the Open Files icon on the welcome page.

2. Go to the Protect tab inside, and then look for and click on Sign Document in the toolbar below that.

3. Click New ID in the pop-up window that appears and then enter the required details like your name, physical address, and other fields. This will become part of your digital signature. You can choose to lock the file after signing. When you’re done, click the Sign button.

This method is available in previous versions of PDFelement. In the new PDFelement 8 for Windows, Wondershare has integrated Document Cloud functionality, which means you can access your cloud-stored files from within the PDFelement desktop application for Windows.

PDFelement 8 for Windows with Document Cloud Integration

The integration allows you to do three actions, as shown below with corresponding screenshots. The advantage of using this method is that you have PDFelement as a PDF editor at your disposal, which is useful when you’re preparing a PDF from other sources or editing it prior to sending it out for signatures.

1. Upload a File to Cloud

In this process, you can use the Export option and choose Wondershare Cloud as your cloud storage service. If you already set up your account, you can access it directly from here and store your file on the cloud.

2. Download a PDF from the Cloud

To fetch a document that’s already stored in Document Cloud, just use the File → Open menu and select From Wondershare Cloud. This will give you access to all your Wondershare Document Cloud files.

3. Request Signature(s)

You can also access the electronic signature feature of Document Cloud using the Electronic Signature button in the new toolbar of PDFelement 8 for Windows, which you’ll find in the Protect tab. This will allow you to upload your current document and send it to others for their signatures, as explained in the previous sections.

Summary

So, you now have multiple solutions for online signatures. You can either use Wondershare Document Cloud as a standalone cloud storage and online signature to PDF solution, you can use the desktop version, or even the latest Windows version that is integrated with Document Cloud. This allows you to access your files from anywhere and send them securely for signing. If you manage the signature workflows for your company, this gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility, and it will eventually make you far more efficient and productive than ever before.