Have you ever noticed how some people’s photos appear next to their comments and others do not?
In this post you will learn how to get your avatar to show up automatically when you leave a blog comment or forum post.
What is an Avatar?
Avatars are the small photos that represent you online. Most authors use their author photo as their avatar.
Why Bother?
Having an avatar next to your name helps you look more professional and can boost traffic to your website.
How to Setup Your Universal Avatar
These steps take about 5 minutes and will save you tons of time in the long tun.
- Step #1 Go to Gravitar.com
- Step #2 Click sign up now!
- Step #3 Type in your email address and click sign up. Gravatar uses your email address to link your avatar with your comment.
- Step #4 Check your email and click the activation link.
- Step #5 Pick a nickname and password. Only lowercase letters and numbers allowed for the username.
- Step #6 Add an image by clicking “Add one by clicking here.” Gravitar can grab images from your computer, your webcam, and the internet.
- Step #7 Click “My Computer’s hard drive” to select a photo from your computer.
- Step #8 Choose file and find the photo you want to use on your computer.
- Step #9 Crop the photo. This is fun and fairly self explanatory. Then click “G” for your rating.
- You’re done! Now your comments on blogs and forums around the world will have your avatar.
Did it work?
Feel free to test your avatar by leaving a comment below.
Tweetables
- I just got my avatar to show up EVERYWHERE. Thanks, @AuthorMedia! – Click to tweet.
- Get your avatar to show up everywhere on the internet. – Click to tweet.
- Ever wondered how to get your picture next to your comments? – Click to tweet.
- So simple! Get your avatar to show up everywhere. – Click to tweet.
- Wish I had done this years ago! Get your avatar to show up everywhere. – Click to tweet.
Thanks for posting this~ I gave this a try months ago without success and have suffered the heartbreak of Gravatar Envy ever since 🙂
Was easy to add my avatar via the Gravatar site. Thnx 4 the help!
This does not work for Youtube.
Test of universal gravatar
Hope this works
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OK, lets see if this works
Well, it seems that Dr. Dave (thats me) is an idiot… Maybe this time
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I haven’t been able to get my avatar to work
Hmm
Gravatar has been really useful so far.
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Me also!
hallo!
testing again
Unable to work for gaming that supports it. Doesnt update.
Testing my avatar – thanks for the how-to
Well, here goes the test. We’ll see…
Sorry — Trying again to say thanks! Apparently my Gravatar is smarter than I am.
I have never heard of Gravatar and I already love it!
Nice post. Thanks for the info.
Thanks. This was interesting and helpful. You’ve got a lot of good info here. I look forward to returning.
na
Easy! Thanks…
Hey Thomas –
You taught me how to do Skype and Gravatar all in one day. Now on to Tweetie!
Did it work? What is this that a comment can be too short?
Testing
Testing
Avatar. 1-2 1-2 screeeech!
Working?
Let’s see if this works…
Testing … 1-2-3 … Testing
The process was easy… testing….
testing
Hopefully it works this time around.
thank you thank you, this is very helpful.
thanks for the great tips
Thanks for letting me try. Does it work???
nice article…lets test it out!
This is a great timesaver..thanks!
That was helpful. Thanks.
My recent post I AM with You
Totally not sure how this works. Crossing my fingers here!
Thanks, Thomas! Was just wondering about this and hadn’t yet had a chance to start poking around to see how to get the avatar on blog comments. So glad to see your post on this very topic today!
Excellent, simple and clear instruction – thanks!
My recent post Setting Up Your Blog Part 2 – Installing WordPress Initial Setup
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Alright lets see if this works.
My recent post What Made Ronald Reagan The Great Communicator
testing avatar
Thank you – just the information I needed!
testing…
testing….
Thanks for the tips!
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I hope that this worked
Very helpful….thank you!
Let's try this again…
Let's see if this works.
My recent post Adventures in Thumper-Think: The End Times for Christian Politics
Excellent, thank you for the helpful tips.
Hmmmmm, I wonder if this works.
hmmmm
Thanks for such helpful information.
Just want to see if it works
This is very nice. I wonder if this works as well…
Wow!
Thanks – i’m seeing it won’t work on other’s blogs – when i look at my gravitar account i see i’ve rated it G
but, when i go to the gravitar page where it shows how your image looks on variously rated pages including R and X – “see how your avatar looks on variously rated pages’ it shows my actual avatar (face) as the same on all of them. I don’t go on R or X rated sites nor leave comments on them but since I rated it as G why is it showing at all on any of the examples other than G. Hope that makes sense!
eg it’s not showing up on another photographers blog where i made a comment (think it’s the first time i’ve made a comment on someone’s blog – no actually i did make one other through my Google+ account and it did show up when I commented on another G+).
Shane
Shane,
I think the issue is whether that blog has Gravitar enabled. Most WordPress blogs have gravatar but not all other blog platforms fully support the service. The best way to test it is to go to WordPress.com and leave some comments and see if you can see your photo.
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Still can’t get mine to work on Facebook. Works on my page but not when I comment on other people’s pages? Any idea what I need to do?
Oh, forgot to put my website page! See above.
Ureka!
Just read how to have a universal avatar. Hope it works!
It worked! Thanks a million, Thomas!
Taking my avatar out for a test drive.
Comment / Avatar test. Hello and thanks for the how-to!
Avatar test. Thanks.
Testing…1 -2 -3 testing! 🙂
Thanks! Now… about OpenID. That drives me nuts because it never seems to work for me.
Trying this again…
Did it work?
Yes!
Just checking to see if it works
Testing, 1-2-3 …
Testing
Trying again? 🙁
Jest a test
Test #7
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OCB test
Test from Authot Media
Testing my new Gravatar
Gravatar check..thanks.
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test Fail
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testing gravatar here…
testing… thank you.
Darn.
Trying again.
Hi Thomas,
Looks like it’s working for me. Thanks for all the practical help you are giving.
Best,
Jean
Testing to see if it works! Thanks!
Maybe this will work.
Thanks Thomas
Fantastic. Thank you!
Sometimes my Avatar shows up and sometimes it doesn’t. What makes the difference?
What have we got?
Thanks for the tip. Here’s my test!
Using this as a test to see if the avatar was created;. Thanks!
Let’s see if this works
This is not working for me yet. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. I don’t want my email available for the public to see, only my nickname. How do I associate my avatar, nickname and allow my email to remain private. Can that be done?
It worked!!! Yea!
So far I’m lovin it. 😀
Testing my new avatar
I think it worked!
I tried and I had one from another site showing. I don’t know.
I don’t know what I did wrong.
did it work?
again!
Gravatar uses your email address to match your Gravatar so the key is to make sure Gravatar has all your email addresses setup.
So how’d that turn out?
better now?
And now?
sb ok now??
please?
now?
Verifying that I can follow interactions…
Testing…..testing…
this is only a test…
testing
testing. Thanks.
shoot. I selected PG, since I use the occasional cuss word. hope that doesn’t stop it from working on many sites.
Just checking
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testing
Well,
Is this going to work this time? I hope so.
Nope, did not work. Try another website.
We will try once more, but my photo is scary
Never mind-it didn’t work
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trying PG
don’t know why it failed on other sites.
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Thanks, Thomas for the tips.
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Thanks for the terrific information. I read all your blogs.
Thanks for the simple tutorial.
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Testing testing!
testing!
Thanks so much. I needed this information.
hi there -this works great for me everywhere except when i try to comment on blogger based blogs. i have a gravatar, and my blog is on wordpress… so when i select “wordpress ID” from the list of “identity” choices on a blogger blog, i get this weird generic wordpress icon which i hate. any thoughts?
Hmmm…did it work? 🙂
Looks like it did! Thanks very much for this post!
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Does it work?
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I realize this post was generated several years ago – unfortunately when I went to Gravitar.com the site came up as the domain being available for purchase. What is the alternative to create an avatar?
Here goes!
This is a test, hope this works! If so, then THANK YOU! (if not I will just try again)
Hello,
And thanks for the excellent advice!!
testing out… I believe I signed up for one long ago, and honestly can’t remember.
🙂
I am loving this feature ~ Author of “Who FARTED in the Boardroom?!”
Let’s see if it’ll work.
Thanks for the tutorial, quick and simple – hurrah!
Thanks for sharing this. I have always wondered how this worked!
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Thanks for the simple step-by-step instructions. They were very helpful!
Testing 1 2 3:)
I hope this works
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yes it did work after all .sorry,I though it did not work the first time
Thanks for the help man!
What a fantastic idea — let’s hope I’ve done everything right!
Thanks for the help!
thank you
does it take time to see my avatar on youtube comments?cause i dont see it there when i comment..thank you
Easy as pie…thank you!
Mine just keeps default to the standard image 🙁 http://en.gravatar.com/mackmeijers I did add my own, but somehow it just doesn’t stick.
Loved the article and the other articles seem intriguing. I am also testing my Gravitar.
Let’s see if it works! Thanks for the simple steps.
Hi, Thanks a lot. I hope it works for us!
Thanks again!
Tissy
Thank you for the help!
Thank you!
testing avatar
okay, trying it out!
I added another email address to my gravatar and am testing.
Thanks very much for these instructions, I was wondering how everyone manages to do this but my comments always appeared without an avatar.
Just checking!
Followed the instructions, let’s see if it Works…
Excellent! Thanks!
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I appreciate the help!
I hope so
not it didn´t it 🙁
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Test 🙂
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Testing Testing…Will I see an annoying space invader style image or my own beautiful face?? This is exciting. 1…..2…..3…….
better work!
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MY AVATAR DOESN’T WORK
Cool!
Testing 1,2,3! Thanks for this
Trying again!
test?
thank you
testing 123
thanks for this useful post/
I guess if this works that we need to tell more of our followers to register on gravitar.com
I don’t think my gravatar is showing up!! I’ve read and re-read your blog post… let’s see if it works!
Terrific work! That is the type of information that are meant to be shared around the web.
Disgrace on the seek engines for no longer positioning
this publish upper! Come on over and talk over with
my website . Thank you =)
This was very helpful! Thank you!
Thanks for the step by step instruction!
Thanks for the helpful information. Testing now!
Testing with different email…..
Thanks and great help 🙂
I followed the steps yesterday and BAM! avatar! Today, not so much. I went back to check, cleared cache, and still it’s not sticking. Back to the drawing board.
This is a test. Thanks!
My avatar has been wily, not showing up everywhere. What’s up with that?
thanks for explaining how to get the avatar visible.
Thanks for the article – very useful! I guess Gravatar does not link to Gmail addresses?
Hi Cofa, I use a gmail address with my Gravatar and it works for me.
Thanks Rosemary for your reply. I submitted my favicon separately within the Gmail “settings” area – so I have my favicon stored with my Gmail addresses. I used to have some other email addresses (i.e., cofatsui@not-gmail.com) forwarded to my Gmail accounts. When viewing messages initiated from those not-gmail addresses, my favicon stored at Gmail will not show. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! (131224)
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testing 1 2 uh… oh yeah 3!
Thanks for the help! Hope it works, even if I don’t use wordpress for my blog.
Thanks for the step by step explanation!
Testing
Hummm it still doesn’t work on all websites… why would that be?
Test. Not working anywhere else…
testing gravatar
Thanks for the above…Its been working fine on my own site (when responding to other people’s comments) but I’m having a tough time having it show up when I make comments on other sites. Any ideas what I may be doing wrong?
2nd test..think I know what I did wrong…
Last time, I promise 🙂
I had my gravatar set up for previous sites. But when I just launched my new website http://changegrowachieve.com and used my new email address, I couldn’t figure out how to get my Gravatar to show up with the new email address. I was looking in the wrong place. All you have to do is add any email address you use to make comments with to the actual gravatar account. Phew! Now you can see my smiling face! – Joe
Lemme see if this works. And it does!! 😀
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Thanks for the advice!
New year, new tech skill! Yay for Gravatar!
Testing…did this work?
Testing!
testing
testing
Thanks for this!
Not sure why this is not working for me???
It worked! Thank you for this awesome information! I was having issues prior to seeing your blog! Thank you for your help!!
i am looking to see why my avatar is not working on my blog. Any ideas???
Testing, testing!
Testing… like everyone else…
I’ve created my gravatar and posted comments on a few blogs, but the picture only shows up sometimes 🙁
Thanks!
Thanks!
cd
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testing
Yep it worked….thx for the info….loving this avator
Checking to see if it worked.
testing
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Thanks
Thanks but I’m wondering if this will work on Google search
Checking to see if mine shows up!
It didn’t work, Nat.
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test test
now testing, thanks
sometimes works…sometimes doesn’t
another test
testing
Testing Testing
I have done the website first and today I signed up with Gravatar. I have done the steps but I still can not see the Gravatar beside our website on the web. When I log in to WP the little icon is there beside my name not sure what did I do wrong? Can you help me?
Test – my gravatar still doesn’t show up on google search or on comments. This is a test – you don’t have to respond – but I’m going to try again.
testing……
Please Follow Me @KayGh33 Twitter
Less Addup ill Follow Back U follow
didn’t work
testing…
testing
Thank you for the tips!
Testing this gravatar business out. Thanks for the site!
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FAIL! Have tried everything and still no go…
Did it work??
Thank you for this info! Let’s see if it worked 🙂
testing
Testing again
Comment.
Testing my fresh new Gravatar, thank you for the tips!
Testing gravatar…
Hi, just wanted to test my gravatar.
Does this mean when I put my site link on other pages, facebook etc it will show up as well?
Thanks!
* You’re
Thank You!
askdetectivewill@gmail.com
Thanks for the steps. The only thing is when commenting on some sites it keeps trying to login with the email that is associated with the image, which doesn’t have a wp account. Is there a way around that?
Thanks for the post. What would one search for if looking for websites in a niche that you can leave comments on using gravatar? I keep ending up on websites that don’t recognize Gravatar. Thoughts?
Did it work?
Testing.
Test #2.
does it works in out going emails as well? I want to show my gravatar as thumbnail.
Great post!
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Let’s see if this works
thank you, it’s really very clear and helpful 🙂
testing
Test!
This is a test, only a test.
Danger Will Robinson!
Been signed up with Gravatar for a while, but my picture doesn’t always show up in posts. So this is a test!
Thanks!
Testing…
Hi, thanks for the great information.
Hello, world!
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Does this gravatar work?
test2
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Test
test again
won’t work for me on facebook 🙁
even though i have authorized it within facebook, it still doesn’t recognize it within gravatar.
Testing, 1, 2, 3
Gravatar won’t appear with comments if a blog has not authorized it. WordPress.org has set up. Go to Settings>Discussion.
thanks, I hope this works
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I set up my Gravatar okay, but it did not appear on someone else’s website. It does appear on my own. Just testing it here to see if it shows up. Thank you.
Thanks it worked!
testing
TEST
test
test of avatar
Test
This is a test
Gravatar test
test!
Hello
Testing again. Didn’t work the first time…
Testing. Thanks.
Will it work here? Sometimes when I comment my fb profile shows up instead. Aggravating!
Do we have to login to Gravatar every time we are going to comment on someone else’s blog? Does it automatically pull the gravatar just based on the email we put in the comment box? Thanks for the great write-up!
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Thanks for a great post!
Hey! This worked! Thanks for the instructions