Why Is No Avatar Displayed for an Author?

If no avatar is displayed for an author, Molongui Authorship may simply have reached the end of the available avatar fallback chain.

This can happen when one or more avatar sources are disabled, unavailable, or explicitly configured not to use a fallback.

1. Check which avatar sources are enabled

1. Go to Authors > Settings.
2. Open the General tab.
3. Find the Author Avatar Settings section.
4. Check whether Local Avatars, Gravatar, and the Custom Default Avatar are enabled.

If all available avatar sources are disabled, no avatar will be displayed.

2. Check whether the author has a Local Avatar

If Local Avatars are enabled, edit the author and check whether a profile picture has been uploaded.

For WordPress Users, open the Author Profile tab and check the Profile Picture panel in the sidebar.

For Guest Authors, edit the Guest Author and check the Profile Picture panel.

If no Local Avatar is configured, Molongui Authorship moves to the next available avatar source.

3. Check whether the author has an email address

Gravatar requires a valid email address.

If the author has no email address, Gravatar is skipped automatically.

For example, if there is no Local Avatar and the author has no email address, the next available fallback may be the Custom Default Avatar.

4. Check whether Gravatar is enabled

If Use Gravatar for author avatars is disabled, Molongui Authorship will not attempt to use Gravatar.

This also means the WordPress Default Avatar is not available through the normal Gravatar fallback flow.

5. Check whether the Custom Default Avatar is enabled

If the author has no Local Avatar and no usable Gravatar, the Custom Default Avatar can be used as the final fallback when it is enabled.

If the Custom Default Avatar is disabled as well, no avatar may be displayed.

6. Check Author Box fallback settings

The Author Box can be configured with an explicit fallback such as None.

If the selected avatar source is unavailable and the fallback is set to None, the Author Box will intentionally display no avatar.

7. Check shortcode fallback settings

If you are using Molongui Authorship Pro, the [molongui_author_avatar] shortcode can explicitly request that no fallback be used.

For example:

[molongui_author_avatar source="gravatar" default="none"]

If the author does not have a Gravatar, no avatar will be displayed.

The same applies to:

[molongui_author_avatar source="local" default="none"]

If no Local Avatar is available, the shortcode displays nothing.

8. Check whether the avatar image still exists

If a Local Avatar or Custom Default Avatar points to an image that has been deleted from the WordPress Media Library, Molongui Authorship cannot display it.

Reassign a valid image and save the changes.

When is no avatar expected?

No avatar is an expected result in situations such as:

• All global avatar sources are disabled.
• The author has no Local Avatar and Gravatar is disabled.
• The author has no email address and no other fallback is enabled.
• The Custom Default Avatar is disabled and no other avatar source is available.
• The Author Box fallback is set to None.
• A shortcode explicitly uses default="none".

Still not seeing an avatar?

Check the following:

• At least one avatar source is enabled under Authors > Settings > General.
• The author has a valid Local Avatar or email address when required.
• The Custom Default Avatar is enabled if you want a guaranteed image fallback.
• The Author Box is not configured with None as the fallback.
• The shortcode is not using default="none".