Molongui Authorship can use several avatar sources and automatically fall back from one to another depending on your settings and the information available for each author.
This guide provides practical examples of the most common avatar configurations.
All avatar options enabled
If Local Avatars, Gravatar, and the Custom Default Avatar are all enabled, the standard priority is:
Local Avatar → Gravatar → Custom Default Avatar
Examples:
- If the author has a Local Avatar, it is displayed.
- If there is no Local Avatar but the author has a Gravatar, the Gravatar is displayed.
- If there is no Local Avatar and no Gravatar, the Custom Default Avatar is displayed.
Local Avatars disabled
If Local Avatars are disabled but Gravatar and the Custom Default Avatar remain enabled:
Gravatar → Custom Default Avatar
Examples:
- If the author has a Gravatar, it is displayed.
- If no Gravatar is available, the Custom Default Avatar is displayed.
Gravatar disabled
If Gravatar is disabled while Local Avatars and the Custom Default Avatar remain enabled:
Local Avatar → Custom Default Avatar
Examples:
- If the author has a Local Avatar, it is displayed.
- If no Local Avatar is available, the Custom Default Avatar is displayed.
No Gravatar request is required in this configuration.
Only the Custom Default Avatar enabled
If both Local Avatars and Gravatar are disabled:
Custom Default Avatar
Every author without another explicitly configured display mode will use the same Custom Default Avatar.
Only Local Avatars enabled
If Local Avatars are enabled and both Gravatar and the Custom Default Avatar are disabled:
Local Avatar → No Avatar
Authors with a Local Avatar display it. Authors without one display no avatar.
Gravatar enabled without a Custom Default Avatar
If Gravatar is enabled but the Custom Default Avatar is disabled, the WordPress Default Avatar can be used when no Gravatar is available.
With Local Avatars enabled:
Local Avatar → Gravatar → WordPress Default Avatar
With Local Avatars disabled:
Gravatar → WordPress Default Avatar
The WordPress Default Avatar is configured under Settings > Discussion.
All avatar options disabled
If Local Avatars, Gravatar, and the Custom Default Avatar are all disabled:
No Avatar
Molongui Authorship has no enabled image source to display.
Author without an email address
Gravatar requires a valid email address. If the author has no email address, Gravatar is skipped automatically.
With Local Avatars and the Custom Default Avatar enabled:
Local Avatar → Custom Default Avatar
If the author has neither a Local Avatar nor a valid email address, the Custom Default Avatar is used directly.
If the Custom Default Avatar is disabled as well, no avatar is displayed.
Author with a Local Avatar and a Gravatar
When both sources are enabled, the Local Avatar normally has priority:
Local Avatar → Gravatar
The Gravatar is only needed if the Local Avatar is unavailable or another feature explicitly requests Gravatar.
Author with no Local Avatar and no Gravatar
If the author has a valid email address but no Gravatar, the final result depends on your global settings.
With a Custom Default Avatar enabled:
Gravatar → Custom Default Avatar
With the Custom Default Avatar disabled:
Gravatar → WordPress Default Avatar
Shortcode example: automatic resolution
Molongui Authorship Pro can explicitly use the normal global avatar logic with:
[molongui_author_avatar source="auto"]With all avatar options enabled:
Local Avatar → Gravatar → Custom Default Avatar
Shortcode example: prefer Local Avatar
[molongui_author_avatar source="local"]The standard fallback path is:
Local Avatar → Gravatar → Custom Default Avatar → WordPress Default Avatar
Only globally enabled sources can be used.
Shortcode example: prefer Gravatar
[molongui_author_avatar source="gravatar"]If no explicit default is provided, the normal fallback is:
Gravatar → Custom Default Avatar → WordPress Default Avatar
Shortcode example: Gravatar with Acronym fallback
[molongui_author_avatar source="gravatar" default="acronym"]The resolution becomes:
Gravatar → Acronym
Shortcode example: Gravatar with no fallback
[molongui_author_avatar source="gravatar" default="none"]The resolution becomes:
Gravatar → No Avatar
Shortcode example: Local Avatar with Acronym fallback
[molongui_author_avatar source="local" default="acronym"]The resolution becomes:
Local Avatar → Acronym
Global settings are always the master switches
Individual components can choose which avatar source they prefer, but they cannot re-enable a source that has been disabled globally.
For example:
- If Gravatar is disabled under Authors > Settings > General,
source="gravatar"cannot force a Gravatar request. - If Local Avatars are disabled globally,
source="local"cannot force a Local Avatar to be displayed.
This keeps avatar behavior consistent with your site-wide configuration.
