Why Is My Author’s Local Avatar Not Showing?

If an author’s Local Avatar is not showing, the most common causes are that local avatars are disabled globally, no image is assigned to the author, or another feature is explicitly requesting a different avatar source.

1. Make sure Local Avatars are enabled

1. Go to Authors > Settings.
2. Open the General tab.
3. Find the Author Avatar Settings section.
4. Make sure Use local author avatars is enabled.
5. Save the settings.

If Local Avatars are disabled globally, Molongui Authorship will not use locally uploaded profile pictures anywhere as an avatar source.

2. Check that the author actually has a Local Avatar

For a registered WordPress User:

1. Go to Users > All Users.
2. Edit the user.
3. Open the Author Profile tab.
4. Check the Profile Picture panel in the right-hand sidebar.

For a Guest Author:

1. Open the Guest Authors screen.
2. Edit the Guest Author.
3. Check the Profile Picture panel in the sidebar.

If no local image is assigned, Molongui Authorship will continue to the next available avatar source.

3. Make sure the image still exists

If the image assigned as the Local Avatar has been deleted from the WordPress Media Library, it can no longer be displayed.

Edit the author and assign a valid image again from the Profile Picture panel.

4. Check whether another avatar source is being requested explicitly

Some Molongui Authorship features can explicitly request a different avatar source.

For example, this shortcode:

[molongui_author_avatar source="gravatar"]

asks for Gravatar instead of the Local Avatar.

Likewise:

[molongui_author_avatar source="acronym"]

displays an acronym directly.

If you want the normal avatar priority to apply, use:

[molongui_author_avatar source="auto"]

5. Check the Author Box settings

The Author Box has its own avatar source and fallback settings.

If it is configured to use Gravatar as its primary source, the Author Box may intentionally display a Gravatar instead of the author’s Local Avatar.

Review the Author Box avatar configuration under Authors > Settings.

6. Remember that global settings act as master switches

Even if a feature explicitly requests a Local Avatar, it cannot use one while Use local author avatars is disabled globally.

This ensures that your site-wide avatar policy always takes priority over individual display settings.

Still not seeing the Local Avatar?

Check the following:

• Local Avatars are enabled under Authors > Settings > General.
• A valid image is assigned to the author.
• The assigned image still exists in the Media Library.
• The Author Box is not explicitly using another avatar source.
• A shortcode is not forcing Gravatar or Acronym.