What are Gravatars?
When browsing different websites, you may notice that many users have a picture next to their name. These pictures are called “avatars.” WordPress, however, uses a specific type of avatar called “Gravatars“–short for “Globally Recognized Avatar.” Unlike standard avatars, Gravatars follow you around the web and automatically appear when you post a comment on a WordPress site.
WordPress integrates Gravatars into every WordPress site. Once registered with Gravatar, the service matches your WordPress profile information to the email address registered with Gravatar and displays your custom Gravatar image next to comments and (optionally) elsewhere on the WordPress site. If you choose not to sign up with Gravatar, you can set a default icon to appear next to your name.
Turn Gravatars on
Go to Settings > Discussion > Avatar
Click Show Avatars to turn Gravatars on or off for your site.
Maximum Rating: When users create a profile on Gravatar, they are given the opportunity to rate their Gravatar image as G, PG, R, X based on its appropriateness. Select the radio button for the maximum rating you would like displayed on your site.
Default Avatar: WordPress allows for you to select what image you would like to display when a commenter does not have a Gravatar account. Selecting one of the “generated” icons gives you and your users some of the benefits of a Gravatar without requiring them to have a Gravatar account. The icons that say “generated” next to them take the email of the commenter and link it to an auto-generated image. Now, every time that commenter posts to your site, they will have the same unique image next to their name.
