So after playing around with the commenting system the other night, which I discussed in I have a new commenting system, I left it for a couple days. You know how it is – you spend lots of hours on a problem to find a solution to it, and when you finally implement a solution that works, you just want to walk away from it for a while and move on to something else.
But I was commenting tonight with good ol’ Cranky Jim when I realised something was missing. A photo of myself.
It looked a bit bland and boring with no photos, just like Cranky Jim’s. So I went about adding one, and after doing it, thought you might like to know how to do the same.
If you look at this image of the comments, you can see that my photo is there, but that’s because I resolved that issue (I love finding problems and implementing solutions!).
By the way – you don’t have to add a photo of yourself, but it would be great if you did. I love seeing the faces behind the words of those who join me in discussions here.
How to add an image to your comments
(Click on the images to expand them.)
1. Go to gravatar.com – that’s the service provider for images integrated with WordPress blogs.
2. Create a new account (unless you already have one)
Otherwise you can log in with your current account details or a WordPress.com account if you already have one.
3. Create your new account details – make sure you use an email address that is normally associated with the comments you make on blogs! That’s the most important part of this exercise.
Once you’ve submitted an email address, a username and a password, you’ll then have to activate your new account. Make sure you do!
Doing this also gives you your very own brand new WordPress.com account, just in case you ever want to start blogging one day.
4. Sign into your new Gravatar account
Use your new username and password to sign in and then you’ll reach your profile screen where you can manage your Gravatars. Yours will look like this, but with your own email address:
5. Click on the link to add a new image
Find the image wherever you have it stored, or take an image with your webcam.
If you’re selecting a file from your computer (the most common method):
Click on Next.
You’ll be able to crop your image to your preferred dimensions.
Your image will look much better than mine.
Click on Crop and Finish when you’re ready.
Now you’ll need to choose a rating for your image, just in case it’s not meant for innocent young eyes like mine.
6. You’re finished!
Finally, you’ve finished the process. It’s not that involved, really, and shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes or so. Very easy.
Your image is now associated with your email address, and every time you leave a comment on a WordPress blog or any blog that uses Gravatars (most do), your image will be right next to your comment. Woohoo!
7. “What if I comment with more than one email address?”
That’s fine, you can actually add other email addresses to your profile, and even other images.
When you have multiple email addresses and multiple images added, you select an email address and then select an image, and that image is thereafter associated with that email address. It allows you to use different email addresses and images on different sites, for different reasons – all from the one Gravatar account.
I hope you’ve found this helpful!
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