How to Use WordPress’ Default Avatar

Molongui Authorship can use the Default Avatar configured in WordPress when an author does not have a Gravatar.

This is useful if you prefer to rely on WordPress’ built-in avatar fallback instead of configuring a separate Custom Default Avatar in Molongui Authorship.

Configure WordPress’ Default Avatar

1. Go to WordPress Dashboard > Settings > Discussion.
2. Scroll down to the Avatars section.
3. Under Default Avatar, select the avatar you want WordPress to use.
4. Click Save Changes.

Configure Molongui Authorship

1. Go to Authors > Settings.
2. Open the General tab.
3. Find the Author Avatar Settings section.
4. Enable Use Gravatar for author avatars.
5. Disable Use a custom default avatar.
6. Save the settings.

With this configuration, WordPress’ Default Avatar can be used when an author has an email address but no Gravatar associated with it.

How the avatar priority works

If Local Author Avatars are also enabled, the usual priority becomes:

Local Avatar → Gravatar → WordPress Default Avatar

If Local Author Avatars are disabled, the priority becomes:

Gravatar → WordPress Default Avatar

What if the author has no email address?

Gravatar requires a valid email address.

If an author has no email address, Molongui Authorship skips Gravatar entirely. In that case, the WordPress Default Avatar is not used through the Gravatar fallback flow.

If you want authors without an email address to always display a fallback image, use Molongui Authorship’s Custom Default Avatar instead.

What if Gravatar is disabled?

If Use Gravatar for author avatars is disabled under Authors > Settings, Molongui Authorship does not use the WordPress Default Avatar as part of the Gravatar flow.

In that case, the plugin will use another enabled avatar source, such as a Local Avatar or the Custom Default Avatar.

WordPress Default Avatar vs. Custom Default Avatar

These are two different fallback mechanisms:

• WordPress Default Avatar is configured under Settings > Discussion and is used as part of the normal Gravatar flow.
• Custom Default Avatar is configured under Authors > Settings and lets you upload your own fallback image.

If you enable the Custom Default Avatar in Molongui Authorship, it takes precedence over the WordPress Default Avatar in the normal Molongui avatar fallback flow.