Turn On Gravatar in WordPress

What is Gravatar?

Gravatar means "globally recognised avatar". An avatar is a small picture that stands for a person. You upload your picture once to the Gravatar service and link it to your email address. Any site that supports Gravatar, WordPress included, can then show your picture when you use that email. It is like one ID card you can show in many places.

Step 1: Turn on avatars in WordPress

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard. The dashboard is your control room.
2. Click Settings, then Discussion.
3. Scroll down to the Avatars section.
4. Next to Avatar Display, tick Show Avatars.
5. Choose a Maximum Rating. "G" is the safest and suits all ages.
6. Choose a Default Avatar. This is the picture shown to people who have no Gravatar.
7. Click Save Changes.

Step 2: Make your own Gravatar

1. Open the Gravatar website in your browser. You can find it by searching for "Gravatar".
2. Sign in with a WordPress.com account, or create one.
3. Add the same email address you use on your WordPress site.
4. Verify your email. Gravatar sends you a message with a link to click.
5. Click the option to add or change your picture.
6. Upload a photo and crop it to a square.
7. Save it.

It may take a few minutes before the picture shows on your site.

Step 3: Check your site

1. Open a post that has comments, or write a test comment.
2. Use the email you linked to Gravatar.
3. Look for your picture next to the comment.

Privacy note

Gravatar sends a coded version of the visitor's email to an outside service. If you care about privacy, you can keep avatars off, or use a plugin that stores pictures on your own site. Ask Hostvento support if you need help picking one.

Quick recap

• Gravatar links one picture to one email address.
• Turn it on at Settings, then Discussion, then Show Avatars.
• Upload your picture on the Gravatar site with the same email.
• Check a comment to see it work.