Bloggers and Gravatars: More advice

~ beetleypete

I often mention how lucky I am (and how much I appreciate) to have steady stream of new followers. Many of those are also new bloggers, and the majority of them make the same error, time and again. This is not the first time I have highlighted this, but for the benefit of new people, I will try again.

They fail to link their Gravatar profile to their WordPress site, or their own self-hosted site. So when I decide to click on their Gravatar, prior to heading over to their blog to thank them, or to see if I might want to follow them, I almost always find that the most important link is missing. That means I can’t easily click onto their site, and it also means I am unsure if they even have one. So that blogger doesn’t receive my customary thanks, and I am unable to read any posts on their site, or leave comments. Crucially for them, I am also unable to follow, should I wish to do so. I could try Googling the names of the websites shown, but in many cases, I am only seeing the ‘username’, so that won’t work.

If you are not sure what a Gravatar is, here is an explanation.
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/what-is-gravatar-and-why-you-should-start-using-it-right-away/

You will have one, though you may not know why, or what it is. If you didn’t choose to use a photo or graphic, then WordPress will generate a random pattern or image to accompany your name on comments. For example, I have a photo of a Sharpei pup, (shown below) as my own choice of Gravatar. I can change this by using any photo, anytime I want, with the size altered on my profile page. Many people use a portrait photo of themselves, or a logo they have designed. It can really say something about you or your blog, if you chose wisely. Once you have decided what to use, or are content to remain with the random image assigned, then the next step is to add a link to your blog or blogs. That will appear under your Gravatar profile, every time someone clicks on it.

This is how to add your site or sites.
https://en.gravatar.com/support/profile-links/

It can’t be that hard, as even I managed it! But nobody really tells you about it at the start, so we can all be forgiven for not knowing.

Those are my top tips for getting your site recognised from your Gravatar, every time you leave a comment on another blog, or decide to follow another blogger. If you choose not to bother, then you are reducing your own impact in the community of blogging, and will notice a significant lack of engagement.

Best wishes to you all, Pete.

74 thoughts on “Bloggers and Gravatars: More advice”

  1. Pingback: Gravatars and Site Links: Here I Go Again | beetleypete

  2. Thanks very much for the easy to follow guide, Pete. I’ve avoided interacting with Gravatar hitherto, because I found the first page particularly unhelpful [although that might have changed in the meantime]. I’ve now linked my WordPress account, but I couldn’t link the business site, http://www.wilfredbooks.co.uk, because Gravatar wouldn’t recognise it: presumably because it’s still ‘only’ http, rather than https. I did a survey on Facebook recently, and it was about 50/50 between people who could click through first time, and those who were barred by their browser, for ‘security’ reasons; most people found [when I suggested it to them] that is they clicked again, they could reach the site. I suppose I’ll have to bite the bullet and upgrade sometime soon, but there is a cost, which inherently goes against the grain, notwithstanding the work required. Cheers, Jon.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks, Robbie. I keep banging on about it because so many new bloggers just don’t do it. 🙂
      They must be so disappointed, when nobody comments on their blogs!
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  4. Reblogged this on beetleypete and commented:

    I am reblogging this, (yet again!) for the attention of new followers. It is only Wednesday, but I have already received notification of 14 new followers of my site who do not have their own site linked to their Gravatar.
    This is why you should do that, and how you can do it too.
    Thanks for following, I really appreciate that. But if I cannot find you, I cannot thank you, read your posts, or potentially follow your site. Please do it. IT’S EASY!
    Best wishes to you all, Pete.

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      1. I often see the same.
        They are using Gravatar, but don´t understand it.
        Better telling your account, so you can say “thank you”.

        Best wishes too Pete.

        By the way, i really like your blog – it is great 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

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    1. Many thanks for reading, and leaving a comment. If you found this helpful, then I am very pleased. 🙂
      And extra thanks for following my blog, which is much appreciated.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  7. Like lucindablogs I was in the dark (probably self imposed). I do balk at one site leading to another and then yet another and tend to loose interest once I have determined I can’t really get the information I need at one site–Gravator falls into this categoty. Thanks for the lead. Warmest regards, Theo

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  19. Thanks, Pete 🙂 I had no idea they weren’t already connected. Not that I click on Gravatars very often. I generally click on the names next to them. But still useful to know…

    Liked by 2 people

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  25. 🙂 Pete, I have also encountered the same situation.

    What drives me a bit crazy is this: people deleting their old blog, starting a new one and not updating the relevant information on their Gravatar. And, when I click on their name, I am forwarded to a WordPress message that tells me that their site is no longer available and that the authors have deleted their site.

    Unfortunately, countless bloggers are taking their Gravatar profile for granted.

    Liked by 2 people

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  26. Many thanks for that tip. Despite having blogged for over 4 years, I hadn’t done this. I’ve just done it now, both to my main Blogger site and to my WordPress feed. Hope it makes things easier in the unlikely event that anyone would want to check up on me.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thanks for letting me know, Tasker. Whether or not you notice any immediate changes, it will be very useful in the long term, I have no doubt. 🙂
      I just clicked on your Gravatar, and it works prefectly!
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. I for one would welcome any other accessibility tips you have. Only the other week someone left a comment that I was hard to follow (by which I hope they meant I was hard to link to rather than hard to understand!) so having updated Gravatar should have made it a bit easier.

        Liked by 2 people

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        1. I also have links to Twitter, where people can follow via that platform, just by clicking on the links in the auto-generated tweets. Many of my followers are also email-only followers, as they don’t have blogs or sites. I have the ‘Follow By Email’ widget on the right hand side of this blog, as well as the ‘WordPress Follow’, which links me to the Reader of other WP bloggers. Both were added from the dashboard menu. Scroll down to ‘Appearance’ then over to > Widgets. Choose which ones to apply, and they appear immediately. The follow by email only option has attracted quite a few people who prefer that way to follow.
          Best wishes, Pete.

          Liked by 1 person

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        2. I just checked you blog, and you only have the WordPress ‘standard’ follow button that appears briefly at the very bottom of the page. You might want to consider adding both of those widgets I mentioned. 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

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          1. Thanks again. I’ve added the follow by email link. It was hard to find – you first need to click WPAdmin to get the dashboard and, well, with all the toys you find there to play with, it’s better than Christmas.

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    1. It is not actually Ollie. We do have some similar photos of him that look almost identical, but I found that photo online, and really liked it because it has no distracting background. (Our ones do)
      Your Jessica Rabbit is a good example of what I am writing about here. It grabs attention perfectly. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

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