Membership & community plugin with user profiles, registration & login, member directories, content re...
Free
200k+ installs 4.4★ (1,444)
WP First Letter Avatar
Set custom avatars for users with no Gravatar. The avatar will be the first (or any other) letter of user's name on a colorful background.
The facts
- Rating
- 4.7★ from 33
- Active installs
- 2k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 11 Mar 2017
- Added
- Feb 2015
- Requires WP
- 4.6
- Tested up to
- WP 4.7.35
- Downloads
- 68,807
Our analysis
AI-assistedWP First Letter Avatar is a WordPress plugin that creates custom avatars for users who do not have Gravatar. It generates avatars using the first letter of the user's name and offers a selection of colourful letter avatars in various sizes. Users can also create their own avatar sets by following specific naming conventions.
The plugin is designed to enhance user engagement by providing relatable avatars, which may encourage more comments on posts. It is compatible with bbPress and wpDiscuz, but for BuddyPress, a different plugin is recommended. The plugin requires PHP version 5.4 or higher to function correctly.
Best for: This plugin is suitable for community and forum sites that want to enhance user interaction.
What it does well
- ✓Creates custom avatars using the first letter of the user's name
- ✓Includes a variety of colourful letter avatars
- ✓Allows users to create their own avatar sets
- ✓Compatible with bbPress and wpDiscuz
- ✓Lightweight images for high quality
Where it falls short
- •Does not work on PHP 5.3.x and earlier
- •Limited information on compatibility with other plugins
- •Last updated in March 2017
Verdict
WP First Letter Avatar offers a simple solution for custom user avatars, particularly for those without Gravatar. However, its age and limited updates may be a concern for some users.
From the developer
DanielAGW's own description of WP First Letter Avatar, lightly tidied.
WP First Letter Avatar sets custom avatars for users without Gravatar. The avatar will be a first letter of the user’s name. You can also configure the plugin to use any other letter to set custom avatar.
WP First Letter Avatar includes a set of beautiful, colorful letter avatars in many sizes. Optimal size will be chosen by the plugin in order to display high quality avatar and not download, for example, big 512px avatars when only 48px is needed… PSD template for avatar is also included.
You can also create your own avatar set by creating new directory next to ‘default’ folder and following the naming convention from ‘default’.
By default, custom avatar will be set only to users without Gravatars, but you can change that in settings and not use Gravatar at all.
WP First Letter Avatar helps you bring more colors into your blog. Plus, your readers will be more willing to comment on your posts, since they can actually relate to these avatars much better than to Mystery Person.
All images were compressed using the fantastic TinyPNG, so avatars are incredibly light and ultra-high quality.
WP First Letter Avatar is also available on GitHub.
Compatibility with other plugins
WP First Letter Avatar is fully compatible with bbPress and wpDiscuz. For BuddyPress compatibility please use my other plugin – BuddyPress First Letter Avatar.
Requirements
WP First Letter Avatar requires at least PHP 5.4. It does not work properly on PHP 5.3.x and earlier.
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