For increased WordPress security, avoid installing a WordPress site using the user name “admin”.
This is the default installation username for WordPress and one of the leading causes of brute force attacks on WordPress sites.
In this step-by-step tutorial for non-technical WordPress users, we’ll show you how to change the admin username in WordPress to a more secure user name.
Changing Your Admin Username In WordPress To A Different Username
By default, in a new WordPress website installation, the first user is usually the administrator.
The default WordPress username admin is not recommended, as it creates a security risk to your WordPress site …
Let’s change the admin username in WordPress to a more secure username.
There are several ways to access your “Profile” section and view your user name details after logging into your site admin area:
Select the Users > All Users section in the main menu …
Click either on your username, or the Edit link when hovering over the username with your mouse …
Or, select Edit My Profile from the “Howdy, User” drop-down menu near the top-right hand corner of your admin area …
You can also access your “Profile” page by selecting Users > Your Profile from the Dashboard menu.
What you will see when you get into the Profile area, however, is that usernames can’t be changed inside your Dashboard …
So, how can you modify the WordPress admin user name?
Change Admin Username By Creating A New Admin User
If your admin login is “admin,” here’s the easiest way to change the user name without going into your server:
First, let’s create a new user …
Next, create a different username, and assign this new user account the role of “Administrator”. Remember to save your changes to update your settings …
You will now see a new admin user with a new user name, plus the original username (i.e. “admin”) …
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 displayed in the “Howdy, User” screen …
Click on Users > All Users in your main menu …
Delete the old user account …
Choose the option to attribute all content owned by the old admin account and reassigned it to your new user, then confirm the deletion of the old 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 intended for non-technical WordPress users, let’s go one step further and show you how to change a username 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 User Name Inside The WordPress Database
For the example below, we’ll be working with the cPanel management software …
cPanel management application
Log into your server admin area …
cPanel admin area
Navigate to the “Databases” section and open phpMyAdmin …
phpMyAdmin
Click on your WordPress database.
Note: If you have a number of databases set up on your domain, make sure that you select the correct one …
phpMyAdmin databases
Don’t be concerned about the technical-looking nature of the information on your screen.
Click on wp_users …
The username is located in the “user login” column. To edit the field just double-click on this text you want to change …
Type in the new user name and click outside the edit box to update the field with a new user name …
Log out of your server if you’re done and reopen the browser to your WordPress site. You will probably find that your session has expired. If so, log in again with your new Admin login details …
You should see that the username is now updated. However, your site will probably still display the old “nickname” …
To choose a new “nickname”, visit your Users screen and click on the Edit link below the username …
You can also access 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 drop-down 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 username 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)