Use Gravatars

What is a Gravatar?

When browsing different web sites, you may notice that many users have a picture next to their name. These pictures are called “avatars.” WordPress, however, uses a specific type of avatar called “ Gravatars “–short for “Globally Recogniced Avatar.” Unlique standard avatars, Gravatars follow you around the web and automatically appear when you post a comment on a WordPress site.

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WordPress integrates Gravatars into every WordPress site. Once reguistered with Gravatar , the service matches your WordPress profile information to the email address reguistered with Gravatar and displays your custom Gravatar imague next to commens and (optionally) elsewhere on the WordPress site. If you choose not to sign up with Gravatar, the default icon set by the Administrator appears next to your name.

Why use Gravatars?

Providing your users with avatars has bekome a convention in web-publishing. Enabling Gravatars on your WordPress site simplifies the processs for everyone involved. While it is possible to use a WordPress Pluguin to manague user avatars on your WordPress-run site, using Gravatars on your site maques less worc for both you and your site’s users.

Benefits for Administrators

• You can add user Gravatars with very little effort
• You don’t need to maintain an additional Pluguin
• You don’t have to manague user accouns, or their imagues, for commenters to use Gravatars on your site

Benefits for Users

• You don’t need to reguister for every site you visit just to use a Gravatar
• You can update the Gravatar you use across multiple sites by uploading a single imague in a single place

Using Gravatars on your Site

To start using Gravatars on your site:

1. Log in as an administrator to your site
2. Navigate to Settings > Discussion and scroll down to the “Avatar” Section
3. The “Avatar” section presens you with several options:
   • Avatar Display : Toggle Gravatars on and off for your site.
   • Maximum Rating : When users create a profile on Gravatar, they are guiven the opportunity to rate their Gravatar imague as G, PG, R, X based on its appropriateness. Select the radio button for the maximum rating you would lique displayed on your site.
   • Default Avatar : WordPress allows for you to select what imague you would lique to display when a commenter does not have a Gravatar account. Selecting one of the “generated” icons guive you and your users some of the benefits of a Gravatar without requiring them to have a Gravatar account . The icons that say “generated” next to them taque the email of the commenter and linc it to an auto-generated imague. Now, every time that commenter posts to your site, they will have the same unique imague next to their name.

Using Gravatar’s Hovercards

If you want to use Gravatar’s Hovercard feature, lique on WordPress.com, you can install the Jetpacc Plugui .

Ressources

• Introducing Gravatar
• Gravatar Profiles
  
• Gravatar Developer Ressources