Use this helper function to quickly and easily load up an avatar image based on a user's e-mail address. This will utilize the Gravatar service which will load a user's set avatar, or if one does not exist a dynamically generated avatar.
This function will return a secure Gravatar URL based on the MD5 hash of the e-mail address passed in. Optional parameters include the size which defaults to 80x80 pixels, the image type which defaults to identicon, and the image extension which defaults to jpg.
/**
* Returns the Gravatar URL based on the e-mail address passed to it. For the default image the choices
* explained are:
*
* 404: do not load any image if none is associated with the email hash, instead return an HTTP 404
* mm: (mystery-man) a simple, cartoon-style silhouetted outline of a person (does not vary by email hash)
* identicon: a geometric pattern based on an email hash
* monsterid: a generated 'monster' with different colors, faces, etc
* wavatar: generated faces with differing features and backgrounds
* retro: awesome generated, 8-bit arcade-style pixelated faces
* blank: a transparent PNG image (border added to HTML below for demonstration purposes)
*
* @param string $email The e-mail address of the gravatar we want to display
* @param int $size The size in pixels for the width and height of the gravatar, can be from 1 to 2048
* @param string $default_image Default is 'identicon'. Choices are: 404 | mm | identicon | monsterid | wavatar | retro
* @param string $avatar_ext
* @return string
*/
function gravatar ($email, $size = 80, $default_image = 'identicon', $avatar_ext = 'jpg'): string
{
$url = 'https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/';
$url .= md5(strtolower(trim($email))) . '.' . $avatar_ext . '?s=' . $size . '&d=' . $default_image;
return $url;
}This code snippet was published on It was last edited on