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/ Author Avatars List/Block

Author Avatars List/Block

By Paul Bearne

Community & Social / User-Generated Content

Author Avatars List/Block Review - In-Depth Analysis

Display lists of user avatars using widgets or shortcodes. Supports Gutenberg and various user roles.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.87/10

User Rating

4.8/5 (based on 32+ reviews)

Active Installations

4,000+

Update Frequency

Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin makes it easy to display lists of user avatars, grouped by user roles, on your multiuser site. It also allows you to insert single avatars for blog users or any email address into a post or page, great for displaying an image of someone you are talking about.

It makes use of built-in WordPress core functions to retrieve user information and get avatars. Integrates with Gutenberg, BuddyPress, xprofile, Multisite, Wpmu, BBPress, and co-authors.

Avatar lists can be inserted into your sidebar by adding a widget or into posts/pages by using a shortcode. The plugin comes with a tinymce editor plugin which makes inserting shortcodes very easy.

This also provides Gutenberg Block for use with the Gutenberg editor. Both the shortcode and widget and Gutenberg Block can be configured to show a custom title, only show specific user groups, limit the number of users shown, change the sort order, adjust the size of user avatars, and show a user’s name or biography.

Comparing to Alternatives

Author Avatars List/Block is a straightforward plugin focused on displaying author avatars with filtering and sorting options. It stands out for its simplicity compared to more feature-rich alternatives.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Easy to use with clear avatar display options
Supports filtering and sorting of avatars
Compatible with recent WordPress versions
Lightweight and focused on avatar listing

Weaknesses

Limited styling customization options
Occasional formatting issues reported after updates
Lacks advanced author bio features found in alternatives
No premium version to extend functionality

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback highlights the plugin's ease of use and effectiveness, though some report minor issues after updates.

Positive highlights

"Works like a charm for me. Lots of options to filter and sort avatars on page." - Aleksandr
"Works perfectly. Love it." - traceybell
"Just what I was looking for. Works smoothly with WP 6." - Anna Apollonia
"Shows neatly the many authors/collaborators, saving a lot of manual work." - Anonymous User 18721493

Common complaints

Formatting issues after recent updates
CSS elements appearing incorrectly on page
Occasional need to remove plugin due to display problems

Weaknesses

Text formatting errors such as bold tags showing
Limited ongoing support for fixing bugs quickly
No advanced features or premium support options

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users who want a simple and effective way to display author avatars with filtering and sorting on their WordPress site without needing advanced author box features.

Not ideal for

Those seeking a highly customizable author box with detailed bios, social links, or premium support should consider more feature-rich alternatives.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version includes all core features such as avatar listing, filtering, and sorting, providing good value for users needing basic author avatar display.

Final Verdict

Author Avatars List/Block is a reliable and easy-to-use plugin for displaying author avatars with useful filtering and sorting options. It works well for users who need a straightforward solution without extra complexity.

However, it lacks advanced customization and has some reported formatting issues after updates. Users requiring more features or premium support may want to explore alternative plugins.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Author Avatars List/Block plugin.

User avatars

Avatar display

Gutenberg support

Screenshots

FAQ

A shortcode is a tag like [authoravatars] which you can insert into a page or post to display a list of users on that post/page. You can read more about shortcodes in general in the wordpress codex, for example here or here.

The styling of the widget is controlled by the styles defined in css/widgets.css, avatars on posts/pages (using the shortcode) are styled by code in css/shortcode.css.

You can override the styles in that file by copying a style block to your theme’s style.css and adjusting respectively. For example add the following to remove the padding from avatars displayed in a widget:

html .widget_author_avatars .author-list .user {   padding: 0; }

demo edit

Contributors and developers

“Author Avatars List/Block” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Paul Bearne

Ben

Free Version Docs

WPS

6.87

Average

Ratings

4.8 out of 5 | 32

Version

2.2.0

Last updated

2 weeks ago

Active installations

4,000+

WordPress version

7.1.0 or higher

PHP version

or higher

Languages

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Author Avatars List/Block Review - In-Depth Analysis

Performance Overview

What It Does

Comparing to Alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

Who Should Use This?

Pricing & Value

Final Verdict

Other Notable Features

Screenshots

FAQ

Contributors and developers

Ratings

Reviews (32)

Sort by:

Contributors & Developers

Interested in development?

Changelog

Security Status

Secure

No Unpatched Vulnerabilities

Known Vulnerabilities (4)

Previous Versions

WPS

6.87

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