How to Create a Gravatar

An avatar is the image or logo of an author, company, or group on a post or web page. If an avatar is very similar to your display pic on Facebook and other online sites, your avatar is a Globally Recognized Avatar—or Gravatar. Having a Gravatar can help build a lot more personality, customization, and recognition into what would otherwise be just another name online—one out of billions more just like it.

Gravatar is actually a service through which you upload a photo that is attached to your profile and shown whenever you comment on a WordPress blog or make a WordPress post. The Gravatar feature works seamlessly with WordPress since the same company, Automaticc, owns both services.

Gravatars help identify your posts on web forums and other sites, as long as the platforms in use support the use of Gravatars. Not only is it easy for website owners to create an account and set up a Gravatar, but it also helps to establish themselves when using blog commenting functions. 

Benefits of Using a Gravatar

Having a Gravatar can help you build your online reputation since it will make it easier for people to remember you if they see an image associated with you attached to every post or comment you make. Think of a Gravatar as a profile picture that helps establish your online presence when commenting or interacting with your audience. As is true with global brands, Gravatars can become as essential to your online writing, marketing, and other activities as a company or organization’s logo is for those operating in the real world.

How To Create a Gravatar

Creating a Gravatar profile picture is pretty straightforward. Here is what you need to do:

1. Set Up a WordPress Account

Go to WordPress.com and create an account. After opening an account, WordPress will ask you to authorize it to connect to the Gravatar service.

2. Register With Gravatar

Next, head over to the Gravatar homepage and click on the “Sign In” button. You will be redirected to the Gravatar login page. There, you will see the “Need an account?” button. Click on it to register a new Gravatar account.

When prompted, provide your email address. Make sure that the email address you use is the one you would use when commenting on websites and forum posts. Choose whatever username you like—if it’s available—and set a strong password. Remember: You will likely be using the Gravatar service across multiple websites and platforms. Security is a top priority, so make sure to set a strong, unique password for your Gravatar account.

3. Complete Your Registration

Once you are done, click “Sign Up” to submit your application. Complete your registration by clicking on the “Activate Account” button that you receive in a confirmation email from WordPress.com.

4. Set an Image

Once your account is set up, and your registration is complete, you will receive a welcome message and will be redirected to your WordPress account. Head back to Gravatar once again and sign in. When you log in, Gravatar will display a notification message saying that you don’t have an image for your account yet.

If you choose not to attach an image, Gravatar will automatically assign one to you. However, it makes sense to use a picture of yourself that you like and are comfortable displaying. Click on the “Add a New Image” button and insert the link to your chosen image or upload the image itself. You can upload a new photo by clicking on the “Choose File” button. Select a picture from your computer and upload it.

Gravatars usually display as images that are 80×80 pixels in size. You might need to crop the image you uploaded so that it falls within the limits of Gravatar’s allowed image sizes. Once you have set your image, you have to set a rating for your photo. There are four ratings: G, PG, R, and X.

• G means that your chosen Gravatar is suitable for all websites and all audiences.
• PG means that your chosen image might contain obscene gestures, violence, expletives, or provocative imagery.
• R means that your chosen image contains intense violence, profanity, nudity, or hard drug use.
• X means that your chosen image contains hard-core sexual imagery or violence that may be shocking or highly disturbing to some audiences.

Having a G rating is better for you in terms of reach, since it will enable your Gravatar to be shown on websites and forums without any restrictions.

5. Choose a Personality

You can choose a “personality” for your Gravatar. WordPress has several Gravatar personalities you can choose from, including:

• Mystery person
• Blank
• Gravatar Logo
• Identicon
• Wavatar
• Monster ID
• Retro

Monster ID, Identicon, Wavatar, and Retro Gravatars are often used by hobby or personal websites. Mystery Person, Blank, or no Gravatar works best with business or professional websites.

6. Complete Your Profile

Once you complete your Gravatar image setup, fill out the rest of your Gravatar profile. Add your name, write a little about yourself in the “About Me” section, choose your display name, provide a link to your personal or company website, add a blog link, and finish off adding any other relevant details that you’d like to add to your account.

Providing relevant details makes it easier for you to engage and interact with other people and grow your business or your online presence. People who read your posts or comments and are interested in getting to know more about you can click your Gravatar and learn more about you and your business from your profile.

Start Using Your Gravatar

After setting up your Gravatar account and uploading an image, you are ready to start using commenting on a blog post or linking it with your social media and website. Website owners need to make sure that they use the same email they used with Gravatar when they register on other platforms and comment on blogging platforms. Doing so will automatically display your Gravatar profile image (which is your Gravatar for the world!) when you drop a comment or upload a post to any supported site.

Which Sites Use Gravatar?

It is easy to determine whether or not a website uses the Gravatar service because, once you insert your email address while registering with a new service or on a new platform, your Gravatar will automatically export to the site, and your image will appear next to your name or comment. 

Remember that your Gravatar will only be displayed if you use the same email address you used to register with Gravatar on the other platforms you want your Gravatar to appear on. If you use a different email address with other sites, your original Gravatar will not appear when you comment or post.