About 3 years ago, we showed you how to change the default gravatar in WordPress using the code method. In this article, we will show you how to add new default avatars in WordPress using a plugin, so you can do so without editing a single line of code.

Why default Avatars?

By default, WordPress uses gravatar to display user’s avatars based on their email [see our article on What is a Gravatar and why you should be using it]. If a user is not registered with gravatar, then it shows a mystery man avatar. You can customize it to match your site’s branding if you want.

To do this, simply install and activate Add New Default Avatar plugin.

Upon activation, simply go to the media library to upload an image you want the gravatar to be. It’s probably best if you upload the exact size image. So if your site’s gravatar are 48 x 48 pixels, then use that dimension. Once you have done that, go to Settings » Discussion.

There are fields in the gravatar area which lets you add the name and image URL.