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Enable Gravatars from your WordPress dashboard by opening Settings > Discussion, finding Avatars, selecting Show Avatars, choosing a maximum rating and a default avatar, then clicking Save Changes. WordPress will show a commenter’s Gravatar when the email address used for the comment matches an email registered with Gravatar; otherwise, it uses the default you select.
What a Gravatar is and how WordPress finds the right image
Gravatar means “Globally Recognized Avatar.” It is an avatar service that associates one or more images with an email address. When someone comments on a WordPress site, WordPress uses the email address supplied with that comment to request the corresponding image. A profile or author area can use the same matching process.
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WordPress.org describes the integration plainly: WordPress integrates Gravatars into every WordPress site.
The feature is part of WordPress core, so a normal comments area does not require an additional avatar plugin. If the email does not have a Gravatar, WordPress displays the fallback selected in the site’s Discussion settings. The official explanation is available in WordPress’s Gravatars documentation.
The matching is exact from the commenter’s point of view. If a person has several email addresses, the address entered in the comment must be the one connected to the desired Gravatar. A different address, a typo or an address that has no Gravatar produces the selected fallback instead of the person’s custom image.
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Before you change the setting
- You must be signed in with an account that can manage WordPress settings, normally an administrator account.
- Use a site with the standard WordPress comments system if you want to verify the result in comments. A separate membership, author or custom profile component may render avatars differently.
- Have an email address with a Gravatar available if you want to test a personalized image. The test address must be entered exactly as it is registered with Gravatar.
- Decide what content rating your site permits and what fallback style fits your audience. The rating is a filter, not a visual-quality setting.
The labels described below correspond to the WordPress Settings Discussion screen documentation, which was updated July 3, 2026. Plugin-based comment systems can replace or hide some of these controls.
Enable Gravatars in WordPress
- Sign in to the WordPress dashboard. Open the administrative area for the site where comments are displayed.
- Open Settings > Discussion. This is the core screen that controls comments, avatars and related discussion behavior.
- Scroll to the Avatars section. On the current Discussion screen, avatar controls are grouped under this heading.
- Choose Show Avatars. This permits WordPress to display the avatar beside a comment author when the theme’s comments template supports standard WordPress avatars. Choosing Don’t show Avatars suppresses them.
- Set Maximum Rating. Select G, PG, R or X. WordPress will not display a Gravatar whose rating is above the level you allow.
- Select a Default Avatar. This is the image WordPress uses when an email address has no matching Gravatar, or when the selected rating prevents the matching image from appearing.
- Click Save Changes. The new choices are not applied until the Discussion page is saved.
Visit a page containing a normal WordPress comment after saving. An existing comment with a matching Gravatar should show that image; a comment without a match should show the fallback you selected.
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Avatar Display
Show Avatars turns comment-author avatars on. Don’t show Avatars turns them off across the standard comments display. This control does not guarantee that a custom author box, membership page or a plugin-created comment list will render an image; those areas depend on their own templates and code.
Maximum Rating
Every Gravatar can carry a maturity rating. The WordPress setting acts as a site-wide ceiling: an image rated above your selection is filtered out. The four documented choices are:
| Rating | WordPress description | Practical choice |
|---|---|---|
| G | Suitable for all audiences. | Use when the site should permit only universally appropriate images. |
| PG | May be offensive and is generally for audiences 13 and older. | Use when mildly mature imagery is acceptable for a teen-and-older audience. |
| R | Intended for adults over 17. | Use only when the site’s audience and moderation policy allow adult-rated avatars. |
| X | The most mature category. | Allows the broadest range of rated Gravatars, including the most mature category. |
The setting does not change the rating assigned to a user’s image. It only determines which ratings your site will display. If a commenter’s expected image disappears after enabling avatars, check this ceiling before assuming the Gravatar account is broken.
Default Avatar
A default avatar fills the space when WordPress cannot use a matching Gravatar. Core WordPress documents these choices:
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| Mystery Man | A generic mystery-person avatar. |
| Blank | No illustrated identity image; the blank fallback is used. |
| Gravatar Logo | The Gravatar service logo. |
| Identicon (Generated) | A repeatable geometric pattern generated from the commenter’s email. |
| Wavatar (Generated) | A repeatable illustrated face generated from the commenter’s email. |
| MonsterID (Generated) | A repeatable monster-style illustration generated from the commenter’s email. |
| Retro (Generated) | A repeatable retro-style image generated from the commenter’s email. |
The generated choices do not randomly change on every page view. Because the email is used as the input, the same commenter receives the same generated image on later comments. That gives unregistered commenters a consistent visual identity without requiring them to upload a photo.
How WordPress chooses between a Gravatar and the fallback
For each avatar request, WordPress first uses the supplied email address to look for a matching Gravatar. If a matching image exists and its rating is within your Maximum Rating, WordPress displays it. If there is no match, or the image is excluded by the rating limit, WordPress displays the selected Default Avatar.
This explains why two comments on the same site can show different results. One commenter may have registered the exact address used in the comment, while another may use an unregistered address. The fallback can therefore be working correctly even when a particular person’s photo is not shown.
Do not ask commenters to change their WordPress username to fix a missing Gravatar. The relevant value is the email address attached to the comment or profile, not the public display name.
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- Open a page that accepts the site’s normal WordPress comments.
- Submit a test comment with an email address that is known to have a Gravatar.
- Confirm that the image appears beside the comment and that it is the expected image.
- Submit a second test with an address that has no Gravatar, or use an unregistered test address.
- Confirm that WordPress shows the Default Avatar selected in Discussion settings.
- If the first image is absent but the fallback appears, compare the test email with the address registered at Gravatar and review Maximum Rating.
Testing both paths distinguishes a configuration problem from a missing account match. It also shows editors and moderators exactly what visitors see for registered and unregistered commenters.
Why a WordPress avatar may not be showing
The email address does not match
Ask the commenter to verify the exact email address used in the comment. The address must be the same one registered with the intended Gravatar. A second address on the same person’s Gravatar account will work only if that address is also entered in the comment. Correcting the comment’s email, or adding that address to the person’s Gravatar account, resolves a genuine mismatch.
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The Maximum Rating filters the image
An image rated PG, R or X will not display on a site configured with a lower ceiling. Temporarily compare the image’s rating with the site’s selected Maximum Rating. Keep the lower setting if it is required by your audience; raising it is a content-policy decision, not merely a technical fix.
Show Avatars is not selected or changes were not saved
Return to Settings > Discussion > Avatars and check that Show Avatars is selected. Make sure the page was saved after the change. Unsaved controls revert when you leave the screen, so a browser refresh can make it appear as though WordPress ignored the setting.
The problem occurs only in a custom author area
Standard comments and custom author cards do not necessarily use the same rendering code. If avatars work beside comments but not in an author box, profile page or custom comment list, inspect the active theme and the plugin that creates that area. The WordPress Codex identifies get_avatar as the function that returns a complete avatar image HTML tag and notes that theme code determines where it is rendered. See Using Gravatars in the WordPress Codex.
A developer maintaining a custom template should verify that the template calls get_avatar (or a supported wrapper around it) and that the returned HTML is placed in the intended author element. A setting change alone cannot add an avatar to markup that never requests one.
A plugin replaces the comments or avatar output
Some comment, membership and profile plugins render their own author markup. Check that component’s avatar option and compare its output with a standard WordPress comment. If disabling a plugin in a staging copy restores the avatar, the plugin’s template or filtering behavior is the relevant place to investigate. Avoid changing production code before you know which component owns the missing output.
The fallback appears when you expected a photo
A fallback is evidence that WordPress is rendering an avatar request but did not accept a matching image. Check the email match first, then the rating. If both are correct, test the same address in a standard comment and inspect the custom template if only one area fails.
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Change the default avatar later
You can change the fallback without changing any commenter account. Open Settings > Discussion, scroll to Avatars, select a different option under Default Avatar, and click Save Changes. The new fallback applies wherever WordPress needs a default instead of a matching Gravatar. Generated options continue to produce a repeatable image for a given email, although changing from one generated style to another changes its appearance.
Core settings versus the optional Gravatar Enhanced plugin
Core WordPress is enough when your goal is simply to display Gravatars in standard comments. Gravatar’s own support materials describe an optional Gravatar Enhanced plugin with additional modules, including hovercards and a privacy-proxy option. It is configured from Settings > Discussion. Review the plugin’s current compatibility, maintenance status and commercial terms before installing it; the core feature does not depend on it.
| Consideration | WordPress core | Gravatar Enhanced plugin |
|---|---|---|
| Basic avatar display | Built into WordPress and controlled from Settings > Discussion. | Not required for ordinary comment avatars; adds optional modules. |
| Hovercards | Not part of the basic core avatar controls. | Gravatar materials describe hovercards as an available feature. |
| Privacy-proxy option | Not part of the basic avatar controls. | Gravatar materials describe a privacy-proxy option. |
| Rating and fallback choices | Show Avatars, Maximum Rating and Default Avatar are managed in Discussion settings. | Uses the same Discussion area for its configuration, while adding its own modules. |
| External service considerations | WordPress requests the matching image from Gravatar when it resolves an email address. | Additional modules may change how profile information or requests are presented; review the plugin documentation before enabling them. |
The official plugin references are Gravatar Support’s Gravatar WordPress Plugin page and Gravatar’s WordPress plugin information. They are the appropriate places to check current module availability and compatibility because plugin behavior can change independently of WordPress core.
Privacy and moderation decisions
Displaying a Gravatar involves an external image service: WordPress uses the commenter’s supplied email to request a matching image. Explain that behavior in your site’s privacy notice if your jurisdiction or policy requires disclosure, and decide whether showing recognizable profile images fits your community’s expectations.
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Maximum Rating is also a moderation control. Select the least permissive rating that meets the audience you serve rather than raising it merely to make one missing image appear. If you need additional privacy handling, investigate the privacy-proxy option described in the Gravatar Enhanced documentation and evaluate it against your site’s legal and technical requirements.
Remember that a Gravatar is user-controlled profile content. Your comment policy should still cover abusive, misleading or inappropriate identities; enabling avatars does not replace moderation tools.
Administrator checklist
- Open Settings > Discussion > Avatars.
- Select Show Avatars.
- Choose a Maximum Rating appropriate for the site’s audience.
- Choose a Default Avatar, including a generated option if repeatable fallback identities are useful.
- Click Save Changes.
- Test one email with a registered Gravatar and one without a match.
- If a custom area still lacks an image, inspect the theme or plugin template and its use of
get_avatar.
Once those checks pass, WordPress core will handle matching images and fallbacks automatically wherever the site uses standard avatar rendering.
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