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How do you stop showing up as ‘Anonymous’ when leaving comments on WordPress?

It can be frustrating not only for those leaving comments on blogs when they appear as ‘Anonymous’, but also for the blog host, who won’t know who left the comment unless there are clues to the person’s identity.

Are you ‘Anonymous’ when leaving comments?

I see many comments from ‘Anonymous’ on other blogs saying they don’t know why they are showing up as ‘Anonymous.’ Many go on to blame WordPress for it.

However, it’s not always WordPress’s fault!

What are the reasons for your comments showing as ‘Anonymous’

The most likely reason is that you are not logged into a WordPress.com account. But there are other reasons.

Here are the main reasons and fixes for appearing as ‘Anonymous’

Missing Gravatar: WordPress uses a service called Gravatar (Globally Recognised Avatar) to display your profile picture and name. If you haven’t set up a Gravatar with your email address, WordPress defaults to ‘Anonymous.’

How to fix it: – Set up a Gravatar account. You can create a free account at gravatar.com and associate your email and name with a profile picture. You must use the same email address for your Gravatar account as you use for your WordPress blog, so it connects to your blog.

Not Logged In: If you are not logged into your WordPress.com or WordPress-connected account, the site treats you as a guest, often defaulting to ‘Anonymous.’

How to fix it: Ensure you are logged into your WordPress account before commenting.

Site Configuration: The blog owner may have set up their site to permit comments without requiring a name or email address. This is because not everyone wishes to disclose their name or identity. I respect my readers’ privacy, so I have configured my blog to allow comments without revealing commenters’ identities.

How to fix it: Ensure you are logged into your WordPress account before commenting.

Browser Issues: Cache/Cookies: Old cache or cookies can prevent your credentials from being recognised.

How to fix it: Clearing your browser’s cache and cookies often solves this problem. I’ve noticed this method works whenever I encounter issues with any website, not just WordPress. I clear the cache and cookies on my desktop computer at least once every few months, but the frequency depends on how often you use a device. If the problem persists, try a different browser or open a new window in your current browser in ‘incognito‘ mode to see if that resolves it.

App Glitches: Like everything else, the WordPress Jetpack app will cause problems if you don’t update it.

How to fix it: Try updating it, logging out and back in, or reinstalling the app. If your device is not set to automatically update apps, consider changing the settings so you don’t have to remember to update them. If you don’t have the latest updates, you’re likely to encounter problems.

Outdated themes: When WordPress retires a theme, it ceases support for it. This means that any bugs, including those affecting how your comments appear, will not be fixed.

How to fix it: Switch to a current WordPress-supported theme.

Privacy Settings: If your browser is blocking third-party cookies, it may prevent your profile from appearing correctly on other people’s blogs.

How to fix it: Change your browser’s settings to enable cookies.

Theme bugs: Some bugs may only affect certain WordPress themes. ‘Anonymous’ comments are one such bug.

How to fix it: If you have tried everything else and your comments are still showing as ‘Anonymous’, report the bug to WordPress, and ensure you inform them of the device you are using and the name of your blog’s theme.

Summary:

Create a free Gravatar account at gravatar.com and associate your email and name with a profile picture. Ensure you use the same email address so that your Gravatar account connects to your blog.
Always ensure you are logged into your WordPress account before leaving comments.
Clear the cache and cookies in the browser on the device you use to browse the internet.
Try using a different browser or leaving a comment while in ‘incognito’ mode.
The blog’s host may have set it up to allow comments without requiring a name, email address, or WordPress login. Therefore, ensure you are logged into your WordPress account.
Ensure the WordPress/Jetpack app is up to date by downloading its latest software.
Change your blog’s theme if WordPress have retired it.
Change your browser’s settings to allow third-party cookies.
Tried everything in the above list, but still encountering the problem. Report the bug to WordPress.

Have you encountered issues with your comments appearing as ‘Anonymous’? What steps did you take to resolve your ‘Anonymous’ comment problems? Did any particular solution work best for you? Have you ever come across a blog that required you to log in to leave a comment? Did this affect your willingness to engage? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

The featured image on this blog post is sourced from Pixabay. AI reviewed spelling and grammar errors.

The image in this post was created using the WordPress image generator.

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I recently began receiving emails from WordPress informing me that another blogger has recommended my blog.

Of course, there’s an easy way to recommend another blog simply by writing and publishing a post and linking to that blog, but this new way of recommending another blog was something I thought was much better.

After all, once you read a post recommending a blog, it isn’t long before that post gets pushed down your reader list, until it’s probably forgotten about. So, if you haven’t read the post or maybe thought you’d come back to it later, you probably won’t.

However, this new method of recommending a blog is better because the blogs you recommend appear on your Gravatar profile when using the WordPress Reader, which means that anyone checking your Gravatar will see a list of the blogs you recommend.

It’s easy to add the blogs you want to recommend. I’m using an Apple iMac desktop computer to demonstrate this. Here’s how to do it.

On the dashboard of your blog, click the ‘Reader‘ icon (represented by a pair of spectacles).

Click the ‘Reader’ icon.

On the Reader menu, open ‘Lists‘ and click on ‘Recommended Blogs.’

Click the Recommended Blogs link.

Click the ‘Edit‘ button and open the ‘Sites‘ tab. As you will see from the image below, I’ve already recommended some blogs.

Click the ‘Sites’ tab.

To remove a recommended blog, click on the ‘Remove‘ button.

To add a blog, start typing the name of the blog in the ‘Search or enter URL to follow‘ box, and a list of suggestions will appear.

Start typing to display a list of blogs.

Click the ‘Recommend‘ button to add a blog to your Recommended Blogs list. Note that if you are already following a blog, you’ll see ‘Subscribed‘ next to it.

The blog you recommended is now added to your Recommended Blogs list and will appear whenever anyone hovers their mouse over your Gravatar profile in the WordPress Reader. Click the ‘View All‘ link to see a list of all the blogs they recommend.

As you recommend blogs, they will appear on your Gravatar profile.

Whenever another blogger recommends your blog, you should receive a notification email from WordPress with the details of who has recommended your blog, provided you have not switched off notifications. However, I’ve not yet seen these notifications appear under the notification bell icon.

Based on my observations, after clicking on the Gravatars of many bloggers, few have recommended any blogs so far. Additionally, some bloggers haven’t included their blog details on their Gravatar, making it harder for others to find their blog. And remember that if you leave comments on other blogs, your Gravatar will appear next to your comment.

Have you seen this new feature on WordPress? Has anyone recommended your blog in this way? Will you start using the ‘Recommend Blog’ feature? Have you added your blog details to your Gravatar?

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

The featured image in this blog post is taken from Pixabay. AI checked spelling and grammar mistakes.

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