Advanced User Avatar | Custom Profile Picture Uploader for WordPress, WooCommerce, and BuddyPress

Your WooCommerce customers are faceless. Reviews come from anonymous silhouettes, the My Account dashboard greets returning shoppers with a generic placeholder, and every account in your store feels like a transaction instead of a person. Faceless reviews are trusted less, and anonymous accounts give your customers no reason to feel connected to your brand.

Advanced User Avatar gives every customer a custom user avatar in seconds. Your users upload profile picture images straight from a phone or a laptop, crop them to fit, and save. The WooCommerce profile picture then appears on the My Account dashboard and the Account Details page automatically, and you choose which other parts of your store show it — product reviews, order history, checkout and wishlists.

Every photo is a self-hosted avatar, kept in your site’s own uploads directory. Your customers get a profile picture without Gravatar, without an external sign-up and without a single request leaving your server, and the picture shows up everywhere WordPress renders an avatar: comments, author boxes, the admin bar and the Users list.

For BuddyPress communities, the BuddyPress avatar upload screen is replaced with a faster flow that keeps the same crop and webcam tools. For WP-Members sites, it adds the uploader to the profile form. For any other WordPress site, drop the uploader anywhere with a shortcode or the Gutenberg block.

Features

WooCommerce integration

• My Account Dashboard avatar — customer’s profile photo displays on the dashboard the moment they log in
• Account Details upload field — customers update their photo from the same page they manage their account
• Product review avatars — reviewers show as real people on product pages instead of Gravatar silhouettes
• Choose where avatars appear — My Account dashboard, Account details, order history, product reviews, checkout and wishlists, each switched on or off independently
• Secure upload handling — file types are validated from the file’s contents rather than its name, uploads require a logged-in customer, and your size and type limits are enforced on the server whatever the request claims
• Page builder compatible — works alongside Bricks Builder and other builders without duplicate template rendering

Upload experience

• Crop interface — customers crop profile picture uploads to fit before they save
• Webcam capture — take a webcam profile photo in the browser, no file needed
• EXIF orientation handling — phone photos stay upright after cropping
• File type validation — you choose which of JPG, PNG, GIF and WEBP are allowed
• Max file size control — set the upload ceiling from settings
• Media Library picker — optionally let customers choose an image they already uploaded, off by default
• Auto-generated image sizes — 32, 64 and 96 pixel variants created on upload, so a small avatar downloads a small file

Placement options for developers and site builders

• Shortcode: [wpmake_advance_user_avatar_upload] renders the full upload form on any page
• Shortcode: [wpmake_advance_user_avatar] outputs the current user’s avatar
• Gutenberg block for drag-and-drop placement in the block editor
• Profile screen field at Users > Profile, the place most people look first
• Bulk avatar manager — every user with their current picture, searchable and sortable, on the Users > Users Avatar screen
• Theme template overrides, action hooks and CSS custom properties for anything the settings do not cover

BuddyPress integration

• Replaces the default BuddyPress uploader with the same upload, crop, and webcam flow used across your site
• Displays on member profile pages and the BuddyPress member directory so communities feel populated by people, not placeholders

Better Messages integration

• Custom avatars appear in the Better Messages chat interface automatically, replacing the default Gravatar with the user’s uploaded photo

WP-Members integration

• Avatar uploader added to the WP-Members profile edit form — members update their photo from the same page they edit their profile fields
• No template editing — the field is inserted into the existing form when the integration is switched on

Replace Gravatar with a self-hosted avatar

Gravatar sends a hash of every visitor’s email address to an external server to fetch their photo. For EU stores and any site under GDPR scope, that third-party request is a compliance question your legal team would rather not answer. The Advanced User Avatar plugin stores every photo on your own server. No outbound requests, no hashed emails leaving your site, no third-party dependency.

Install the plugin and give your customers a face on your store.

1. Install the plugin from Plugins > Add New, or upload the zip via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
2. Activate Advanced User Avatar through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
3. Go to Users > Users Avatar to set allowed file types, max file size and image dimensions, and to switch on the WooCommerce, BuddyPress, Better Messages and WP-Members integrations.
4. Add the shortcode [wpmake_advance_user_avatar_upload] to any page, or insert the Advanced User Avatar Gutenberg block. Users can also set their picture at Users > Profile without any placement at all.
5. For WooCommerce, enable the WooCommerce integration in settings — the avatar then appears in the My Account dashboard and Account Details page automatically, and you choose which other store locations show it.
6. To manage other people’s avatars, use the Manage Avatars tab on the Users > Users Avatar screen.

1. 

   The avatar upload field on the WooCommerce Account Details page. Customers change their photo on the same screen they manage their account — no separate page to find.

2. 

   The customer's photo in place on the WooCommerce Account Details page after upload, replacing the Gravatar silhouette.

3. 

   The crop interface. Customers frame their own headshot before it saves, so photos arrive the right shape.

4. 

   The upload form dropped onto any page with a shortcode or the Gutenberg block. Crop and webcam capture are built in.

5. 

   The Profile Picture field at Users > Profile, the first place most people look for it.

6. 

   The bulk avatar manager. Every customer with their current photo, searchable and sortable, with Change and Remove on each row.

7. 

   Admin settings — allowed file types, maximum file size, image dimensions, and which store locations show avatars.

8. 

   A customer's uploaded photo shown on their profile, replacing the default Gravatar silhouette across the site.

9. 

   The BuddyPress member area uploader, using the same upload, crop, and webcam flow as the rest of your site.

10. 

    The uploaded photo shown in the BuddyPress member area after save.

11. 

    Avatars displayed across BuddyPress member profile pages and the member directory.

2.1.0

• 06/09/2026 =
  • Feature – Optional usage tracking and a deactivation feedback form. Both stay off until you agree to them, and declining leaves the plugin fully working.
  • Feature – A welcome screen after activation, showing where the settings are and where the upload field appears, with an optional email opt-in for update announcements.
  • Enhance – The review request now waits for seven days of use and at least one uploaded picture, and each administrator answers it for themselves.
  • Enhance – New Help & Resources, More from WPMake and review cards alongside the settings.
  • Fix – The Settings link on the Plugins screen pointed at a page that does not exist, so it led to a permissions error instead of the settings.
  • Tweak – Added a Docs link next to Settings on the Plugins screen.
  • Tweak – Rewrote readme.txt for the WordPress.org plugin search: reworked the tag list, rewrote the short description, covered the phrases people actually search for in the description, and rephrased every FAQ question as a search query.
  • Tweak – Raised the minimum WordPress version to 6.3. The block already declared Block API v3, which WordPress only understands from 6.3, so the old 6.0 floor was never accurate.
  • Dev – New wpmake_advance_user_avatar_show_review_notice filter, to switch the review request off for everyone on a site.
  • Dev – New wpmake_advance_user_avatar_enable_freemius filter to keep the tracking SDK dormant, and a wpmake_aua_fs_loaded action.
  • Dev – New wpmake_advance_user_avatar_promoted_products filter for the plugins advertised in the settings sidebar.
  • Dev – New wpmake_advance_user_avatar_newsletter_endpoint filter for the welcome screen’s opt-in endpoint.
  • Dev – Uninstalling now also clears the review notice’s per-user state and the usage counter, whether or not data deletion was opted into.
  • Dev – composer.json declared PHP >=5.6.20 while the code has required 7.4 since the typed properties went in. Corrected to >=7.4.

2.0.0 – 02/09/2026

• Feature – Set your profile picture from Users > Profile, the screen most people look at first.
• Feature – Administrators can now change or remove any user’s picture. Until now everyone could only manage their own.
• Feature – New “Manage Avatars” tab lists every user with their current picture. Search it, sort it, and change or remove a picture without leaving the page.
• Feature – Optional setting to let people choose a picture they have already uploaded, instead of uploading a new one. Off by default.
• Feature – Optional setting to delete every picture and all plugin data when you delete the plugin. Off by default, and deactivating never deletes anything.
• Enhance – Pictures now appear everywhere WordPress shows one: comments, the admin bar, the Users list, the block editor and the REST API. Several of these still showed Gravatar before.
• Enhance – Pictures load at the size the page needs, so a small avatar no longer downloads the full-size photo.
• Enhance – Faster pages. Plugin scripts and styles now load only where a picture or upload form is actually shown; a logged-out visitor loads none at all.
• Enhance – The webcam feature only loads its code when “Capture Picture” is switched on.
• Enhance – The download is 944KB smaller, after removing bundled libraries the plugin no longer uses.
• Enhance – Nothing at all is sent to Gravatar for a user who has uploaded their own picture — not even a scrambled version of their email address.
• Enhance – Sharper pictures on high-resolution screens in BuddyPress.
• Enhance – Replaced the misleading “You can change your profile picture on Gravatar” text on the profile screen. Changing a Gravatar has no effect once this plugin is active.
• Fix – “Uploaded Image Size” did nothing. Every picture was saved at 500×500 whatever you set. It now saves at the size you choose.
• Fix – “Store in thumbnail sizes” never created the small versions it promised, so small avatars used a larger file than needed.
• Fix – Uploads failed on sites that had turned JPEG off under “Allowed File Type”.
• Fix – Cropping a see-through PNG no longer turns the transparent areas black.
• Fix – On sites that allow only GIF, the picture is now saved as it is instead of being rejected.
• Fix – Deleting a picture from the Media Library now clears it from anyone using it, instead of leaving them with a missing image.
• Fix – A picture an administrator sets for someone now belongs to that person. Deleting the administrator’s account no longer offers to delete other people’s pictures with it.
• Fix – Security: someone without permission to use the Media Library can no longer take an image from it as their own picture.
• Fix – Multisite: a user’s picture showed a completely different image on other sites in the network. It now shows correctly everywhere.
• Fix – Multisite: deleting the plugin now tidies up every site in the network, not just the one you deleted it from, and each site keeps its own choice about whether to delete.
• Fix – Multisite: the upload folder is created for every site, including sites added later.
• Fix – Multisite: deleting an image on one site no longer clears people’s pictures on another.
• Fix – “Product reviews” in the WooCommerce display settings did nothing; unticking it now hides review avatars.
• Fix – The upload widget no longer overflows its box when its buttons need more room.
• Tweak – Redesigned the plugin’s screens: a proper navigation bar across the top, and a cleaner user table that is easier to read.
• Tweak – The Media Library window now opens on the Media Library tab, not on whichever tab you used last somewhere else.
• Tweak – Multisite: the “Manage Avatars” tab is hidden from administrators who cannot edit users, because it could not change anything for them.
• Tweak – The review notice is lighter and no longer loads the admin scripts just to show three buttons.
• Tweak – WooCommerce settings now say where the order history avatar appears: above the orders table.
• Tweak – The thumbnail preview now shows the sizes actually generated: 32, 64 and 96 pixels.
• Dev – New functions for setting avatars from your own code: wpmake_aua_set_user_avatar(), wpmake_aua_remove_user_avatar() and wpmake_aua_current_user_can_edit_avatar(). See the FAQ.
• Dev – New actions wpmake_aua_avatar_set and wpmake_aua_avatar_removed, each passed the user ID and the attachment ID.
• Dev – Avatars are now supplied through the pre_get_avatar_data filter, at priority 99, instead of get_avatar.
• Dev – New wpmake_aua_avatar_subsizes filter for the extra image sizes generated on upload.
• Dev – New AJAX action wpmake_advance_user_avatar_upload_set_avatar assigns an existing attachment as an avatar.
• Dev – Uninstall honours the wpmake_advance_user_avatar_upload_url filter, so a relocated upload folder is cleaned up too.
• Dev – review_notice_content() was unprefixed in the global namespace. Renamed to wpmake_aua_review_notice_content().
• Dev – Added phpcs.xml, so composer phpcs and composer phpcbf run with no arguments. PHPCS also runs in CI now.
• Dev – grunt css no longer rewrites the bundled third-party stylesheets.

Developer note — why this is 2.0.0: two public functions have been removed, so the version is a major one. wpmake_advance_user_avatar_replace_gravatar_image() and wpmake_advance_user_avatar_build_avatar_html() are gone. WordPress now builds the avatar markup itself, including class merging and srcset. If you replaced either function, that override no longer runs — filter pre_get_avatar_data (this plugin hooks it at priority 99, so use a later one to override it), or the new wpmake_aua_avatar_subsizes filter for the generated sizes.

Both shipped templates changed in this release and are now marked @version 2.0.0. If you copied either into your theme, compare your copy against the new one — the uploader template gained the optional Media Library button.

1.3.0 – 29-08-2026

• Feature – WP-Members integration: adds the avatar uploader to the WP-Members profile edit form.
• Enhance – Templates can be overridden from the theme. Each one now resolves through yourtheme/wpmake-advance-user-avatar/, then yourtheme/, then the shipped copy, so customised markup survives an update. The theme sub-directory and the resolved path are both filterable.
• Enhance – Six new action hooks around the markup — before and after the avatar, before and after the uploader, and before and after the uploader’s buttons — for changes that do not need a whole template override.
• Enhance – Both shortcodes now accept attributes. size, radius and class on either, plus upload_text, remove_text and capture_text on the uploader, so a single placement can differ from the site-wide styling. The attributes were previously parsed and discarded.
• Enhance – Frontend styles are driven by CSS custom properties on the widget container, so one low-specificity rule in Additional CSS is enough to restyle the avatar size and shape and the button colour, padding, font size and radius — no !important needed.
• Fix – The get_avatar filter called remove_all_filters( 'get_avatar' ) and re-added only itself, discarding every other callback on the hook for the rest of the request — other plugins’ filters, and the site owner’s own snippets, silently stopped working. Replaced with a re-entrancy guard that gives the same protection without touching anyone else’s filters.
• Fix – Removed !important from .avatar-50, .avatar-100 and .avatar-150. get_avatar() already emits matching width and height attributes, so it only served to stop the theme, and the site owner, from resizing those avatars.
• Fix – Review notice buttons not behaving correctly.
• Fix – Security: the accepted file types and the maximum upload size were read from the AJAX request rather than from the saved settings, so a tampered request could ignore the site owner’s limits. Both are now enforced server side.
• Fix – Security: the upload and remove handlers were registered for logged-out visitors. A file was written and a media attachment created before the handler checked who was asking. Both now require a logged-in user.
• Fix – Uploaded file types are validated from the file’s real contents with wp_check_filetype_and_ext() instead of trusting the extension on the supplied filename.
• Fix – Cropping a PNG or GIF wrote JPEG data back under the original extension, losing transparency and flattening animation. Cropping now goes through WP_Image_Editor and preserves the source format.
• Fix – Cropping a WEBP upload failed outright — the crop had no WEBP branch and fell through to the JPEG decoder.
• Fix – Thumbnail sizes were generated from the uncropped upload. Cropping now happens before the attachment is created, so every generated size is cut from the final image.
• Fix – A failed upload no longer leaves an orphaned file behind in the uploads directory.
• Fix – The BuddyPress bp-disable-avatar-uploads option is only written when BuddyPress is actually installed.
• Tweak – The avatar directory is created on activation with wp_mkdir_p() instead of a mkdir( 0777 ) attempted on every request.

1.2.2 – 30-05-2026

• Fix – Design issue in Gutenberg block.

1.2.1 – 23-05-2026

• Enhance – WordPress 7.0 Compatibility.
• Tweak – Avatar uploaded success message design.
• Fix – Avatar Uploader interface not appearing.

1.2.0 – 20-05-2026

• Feature – Better Messages integration: custom avatars now appear in the Better Messages chat interface.
• Fix – WooCommerce integration conflicting with Bricks Builder and other page builders due to duplicate dashboard template rendering.
• Fix – Review notice not dismissing after clicking “Sure, I’d love to!” — the notice kept reappearing on every admin page.
• Fix – wp_get_attachment_thumb_url() replaced with wp_get_attachment_image_url() (deprecated since WordPress 6.0).
• Fix – date_i18n() replaced with wp_date() (deprecated since WordPress 5.3).
• Fix – upload_dir filter was never properly removed after file upload due to an anonymous closure reference mismatch.
• Fix – size_format() was called on an already-formatted string, producing incorrect upload limit messages.
• Fix – remove_avatar() no longer runs when no user is logged in.
• Fix – Removed redundant double nonce verification in AJAX upload and remove handlers.
• Fix – maybe_later dismiss action now uses a transient; dismiss_notice() now includes a capability check.
• Fix – Leading space typo in WPMAKE_ADVANCE_USER_AVATAR_TEMPLATE_PATH constant definition.
• Dev – Updated minimum WordPress version requirement to 6.0.
• Fix – join() replaced with implode() throughout (PHPCS standard).
• Fix – $args['class'] now guarded with empty() to prevent PHP notices on non-standard calls.

1.1.2 – 15-11-2025

• Enhance – EXIF orientation metadata support.
• Dev – Brand Assets Updated.
• Fix – Images rotated when cropping from mobile phones.

1.1.1 – 11-06-2025

• Dev – WordPress 6.8 Compatibility.
• Tweak – Plugin Name Typo.

1.1.0 – 08-03-2025

• Feature – WooCommerce Integration.
• Feature – BuddyPress Integration.

1.0.3 – 05-01-2025

• Feature – Store avatar in different thumbnail sizes.
• Feature – Allow users to use camera or webcam to capture picture.
• Feature – Ability for site owner to change uploaded image’s width and height.
• Tweak – Updated Readme.

1.0.2 – 21-10-2024

• Tweak – Added a review prompt.
• Tweak – Updated admin footer text.

1.0.1 – 21-09-2024

• Enhance – Improved design for selecting file types in settings.
• Enhance – Better styling for upload success and error messages.
• Dev – Added compatibility with WordPress v6.7.
• Dev – Updated minimum WordPress version requirement to 5.5 for better block support.

1.0.0 – 11-09-2024

• Initial Release