The Advantages of Turning off Gravatars in WordPress
If you own a WordPress website, you may be familiar with Gravatars – a third-party service that allows users to add a profile picture to their websites. While Gravatars can be useful, there are situations where disabling them can be beneficial, such as improving website performance or addressing privacy concerns. This article will guide you through the process of disabling Gravatars in WordPress and replacing them with local avatars.
How to Disable Gravatars
To disable Gravatars on your WordPress website, follow these simple steps:
- Login to your website’s admin area.
- Go to the Settings » Discussion page.
- Scroll down to the Avatars section.
- Uncheck the box next to the “Show Avatars” option.
- Click on the “Save Changes” button to save the modifications.
By following these steps, you will successfully disable Gravatars on your entire website. You will see a default user icon in the admin toolbar instead of your Gravatar image, and Gravatars will no longer appear next to comments on your WordPress blog.
Replacing Gravatars with Local Avatars
If you still want to have avatar functionality but prefer to use local profile pictures instead of Gravatars, you can do so by following these steps:
- Install and activate the Simple Local Avatars plugin.
- Go to the Settings » Discussion page.
- Check the box next to the “Local Avatars Only” option.
- Click on the “Save Changes” button to save the modifications.
With the Simple Local Avatars plugin activated, any requests to Gravatar.com will be blocked, allowing you to use local avatars. Users can easily upload their own profile pictures by visiting the Users » Profile page. They can choose an image from the WordPress Media Library or upload a new one. The plugin will then use the custom avatar image uploaded by the user, or revert to the default avatar image if no custom image is available.
In Conclusion
Disabling Gravatars in WordPress offers numerous benefits, including improved website performance and enhanced privacy. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily disable Gravatars and replace them with local avatars. For more information on WordPress avatars, please refer to our other tutorials on Gravatars and avatars. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for additional helpful WordPress video tutorials, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
