When you see a forum post or website comment, your photo next to it is most likely known as a “gravatar”. But how do you set it up?
In my test forum on my website, this is a gravatar (denoted by red arrows).
Gravatars are most commonly used on WordPress websites (WordPress-owned Automattic also owns Gravatar). But in other forums and site communities, they sometimes use Gravatar too.
Therefore, if you frequently leave comments on websites or forums, it makes sense to create a Gravatar image. Otherwise, you will be presented with one of the default images, which is honestly not very flattering –
How to set up Gravatar
First of all, sign in to the Gravatar site using your WordPress.com account. If you don’t have a WordPress.com account, you will be prompted to sign up for one for free. Please note that this account is completely different from WordPress.org.
After logging into your account, click on “Add Email”.
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Add the email address you usually use to comment on websites and forums.
You can repeat this process and add as many email addresses as possible. Gravatar does not impose any restrictions that I am aware of. After confirming the second address, you can choose which email address will be used as the default for the account.
Gravatar will send a confirmation link to this email address. Click on it to confirm that the email address belongs to you.
Back on the home screen, click Add New Image. I already have two images there, as I have been using Gravatars for many years. But if you’ve just started, yours will be empty.
Select the source of the image. Personally, I always download directly from the computer that displays “Upload newâ€.
Then you can upload an image, which should not be larger than 1MB. You will be prompted to crop it and you can see in real time how the finished image on the right will look.
When everything is correct, click Crop Image.
The next page will ask you to set your image’s maturity rating. He will tell you the ratings and what each one means. The normal image is G, which is safe. But then it increases depending on things like nudity, violent gestures, profanity, etc.
You have to be completely honest about this, because if you set the explicit image to G, the site owner can block you from appearing on their site ever again.
Back on the home page, you will see an email filled with a new image.
To change the image, repeat the process as before. Or, if you already have another image loaded (like mine above), just click on it and it will switch.
Gravatar Profiles
Gravatar also creates a profile in which users can post information about themselves, as well as links to profiles on social networks. You can even leave the wallet address for the cryptocurrency. Such a profile is great for search engine visibility.
If you click on a person’s Gravatar, you can usually go directly to their profile to see if they have left anything about themselves. Here is my profile
Now, when you leave comments on blogs and forums, your new (Gr) avatar should appear. This is a convenient way to personalize your comments and publications on the Internet.
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