Revamping Avatars

Recently I have been noticing that the avatars on MyBlogLog have not been updating properly so I’ve made the switch (for my blog anyway) to deal with only Gravatar since their service is more reliable in displaying the proper avatar in which I wish display.

What is Gravatar?

Gravatar (Globally Recognized Avatar) is a web service that allows you to have a universal avatar (or mini graphic) that you can use to represent yourself on various websites but in particular blogs. WordPress 2.5 introduced native support for the Gravatar due to that fact that they are run by the same company which makes sense to integrate them together.

You use your email address as a unique identifier which is then put through a MD5 hash so that it isn’t easily stolen and used for evil. Most blogs out there use avatars in comments which add a more personal element to posting comments. If you’re sneaky and want to increase traffic to your site people also use fake avatars in hopes people will click on your link. Sex sells right? So can provocative avatars.

I used to use a WordPress plugin called MyAvatar which uses both MyBlogLog avatars and Gravatars. I found that this method became unreliable when I updated my avatar in MyBlogLog and wanted my new one to be displayed on websites. I will still update the MyBlogLog avatar (which also updates your Yahoo Avatar) but I will stick to using Gravatar as the primary avatar representation for my visitors.

If you do not have a Gravatar account I would suggest you create one. It’s easy as all you need is to register an email address and upload a photo or graphic you wish to use. That’s it, it really is that simple.

There is an official Gravatar WordPress plugin but if you want to use the code it is fairly simple to implement within the Comment Loop of your blog post (normally located in comments.php within your theme).

Locate the following code in comments.php of your WordPress theme:

Now where you want the avatar to show up in your comment insert the following code:

It is really that easy though you might want to add more styling but it gives your the basics. Avatars I find are a great way to promote yourself on other people’s websites (those that display gravatars etc) and are also a way to increase your incoming links based on the photo you show. I like to use them because I can see who visits my site and leaves comments, after all aren’t we more visual? So don’t skimp out, ensure your avatar is bright, clear and inviting!