For security reasons, it’s safer to not install WordPress sites with the username “admin”.
This is the default installation username for WordPress and one of the first areas of potential vulnerabilities hackers look for when attempting to break into the WordPress platform.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we’ll show you how to change your WordPress admin username from ‘admin’ to a more secure username.
Changing Your Admin Username In WordPress
By default, with all new WordPress installations, the first user is also the admin of the site.
Having the default WordPress username admin is not recommended, as it creates a security risk to your WordPress site …
Let’s change the WordPress admin user name from ‘admin’ to a more secure user name.
There are a number of ways to view your user name details inside your admin area:
Click on the Users > All Users screen in the main menu …
Click either on the user name, or click on the Edit link when hovering over the username with your mouse …
Or, select Edit My Profile from the “Howdy, User” menu near the top-right hand corner of your Dashboard …
You can also access your “Profile” screen by selecting Users > Your Profile from your main menu.
You will discover in the Profile page that user names cannot be changed from the Dashboard …
So, how can you edit your user name?
Change Admin Username By Creating A New Admin User
If your admin login is “admin,” here’s the easiest way to change this without going into your server:
Click Add New to create a new user …
Next, create a new username, and assign the new user the role of “Administrator”. Remember to save your changes in order to update your settings …
You have now created a new user with admin privileges …
Log out of your WordPress admin area …
Log in with the new admin details for the user you have just created …
You should see your new username details in the “Howdy, User” screen …
Click on Users > All Users in your main menu …
Delete the old administrator account …
Select the option to attribute all content owned by the old admin account and reassigned it to the new user, then confirm the deletion of the old admin account …
You are now left with only the new Admin account, effectively changing your WordPress admin user name …
Change Admin Username Using A WordPress Plugin
Another easy way to change the username is to use a plugin like the one shown below.
Username Changer
(Username changer)
Username Changer is a free WordPress plugin that lets you easily change your admin username (and allow other users to change their usernames too!)
Installing The Plugin
To install the plugin from your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add Plugins and type in “username” into the Keyword search field (if you need help see our tutorial on installing WordPress plugins).
There are several plugins you can use to perform a similar function. Locate the Username Changer plugin and click on ‘Install Now’ …
(Install the plugin)
After installing the plugin, click the ‘Activate’ button …
(Activate the plugin)
Configuring The Plugin
After installing and activating the plugin, go to Settings > Username Changer …
(Settings – Username Changer menu)
This brings you to the ‘Settings’ screen.
Here, you can allow other user roles to change their usernames too (be careful about doing this!) …
(Username Changer Settings – Allowed Roles)
You can also configure email notifications (if you choose to allow users to change their usernames) …
(Username Changer Settings – Email notifications)
Using The Plugin
To change your username, go to Users > Your Profile …
(Users – Your Profile menu)
Scroll down to the ‘Name’ section and you will see a ‘Change Username’ link next to the grayed out username field. Click on this link to change your username …
(Click on ‘Change Username’ link)
The ‘Username’ field will become editable. Change your username and click the ‘Save Username’ button …
(Save your new username)
Changing your username will log you out of your WordPress admin area. You will need to log back into your WordPress site.
Click on the link to log back in …
(Click on the link to log back in)
Log back into your site with your new username (note: your password should remain the same) …
(Log back in with your new username)
Note: If you don’t click on the link to log back in you will find yourself logged out of your site …
(Changing your username will expire your session)
After logging back into your site, go to your User Profile section and you will see that your username has been changed.
(Username changed)
To learn more about this plugin, go here: Username Changer
Although this tutorial is mostly designed for non-technical WordPress users, let’s go one step further and show you how to change your WordPress user name inside the WordPress database.
All you need is admin access to your server’s control panel.
To learn how to search and replace content in your WordPress database without touching code or editing WordPress database tables, see the tutorial below:
How To Change A Username Inside The WordPress Database
For this example, we’ll be working with the cPanel management software …
cPanel
Log into your server control panel …
cPanel administration area
Find the “Databases” section and open phpMyAdmin …
phpMyAdmin
Click on your WP database.
Note: If you have multiple databases set up on your domain, make sure you choose the correct one …
phpMyAdmin databases
Don’t worry about the complicated-looking screen.
Click on wp_users in the “Table” column on the left-hand side …
The user name is located in the “user login” column. To edit the field just double-click on the text you want to change …
Type in the new user name and click outside the edit box to update the field with your new user name …
Log out of your server if you’re finished and go back to your WordPress site. You will probably find that your session has expired. If so, log in again with your new Admin credentials …
You will see that the username is now updated. However, your site will probably still be displaying the old “nickname” …
To choose a new “nickname”, visit your Users area and click the Edit link below the username …
You can also get to your Profile section if you click on the Edit My Profile link in the “Howdy, User” section …
Select a new name to display publicly from the dropdown menu …
Note: You can also create a new Nickname in the Nickname field and it will then be available for selection in the Display name publicly as dropdown menu …
Click Update Profile to save your new settings …
You admin area is now updated with a new username and nickname …
Congratulations! Now you know how to change the WordPress admin user name on your website or blog.
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"If you're new to WordPress, this can stand on its own as a training course and will stay with you as you progress from beginner to advanced and even guru status." - Bruce (Columbus, Ohio)