For improved online security, do not install WordPress sites using the username “admin”.
This is the default installation user name for WordPress and one of the first vulnerable areas of website security that hackers will test with the WordPress platform.
In this step-by-step tutorial for non-technical users, we’ll show you how to change your admin user name in WordPress to a more secure username.
How To Change Your WP Username From Admin To Another User Name
Typically, on all new WordPress installations, the first user is usually the site administrator.
Having the default WordPress user name admin is not recommended, as it creates a security risk to your WordPress site …
Let’s change the admin username in WordPress from ‘admin’ to a more secure user name.
There are a number of ways to access your “Profile” section inside your site admin area:
Click on the Users > All Users screen in the main menu …
Click on your username, or the Edit link when hovering over the username with your mouse …
Or, select Edit My Profile from the “Howdy, User” dropdown menu near the top-right hand corner of your screen …
You can also go to your “Profile” area by selecting Users > Your Profile from your main menu.
You will discover in the Profile page that you can’t change your user name from the Dashboard …
So, how do you modify a WordPress admin username?
Change Admin Username By Creating A New Admin User
If your WordPress username is “admin,” here’s the easiest way to change your user name without going into your server and altering any files or your WordPress database:
Click Add New to create a new user …
Next, create a better user name, and assign the new user account the role of “Administrator”. Remember to save your changes in order to update your settings …
A new admin user should now be displaying …
Log out of your WordPress admin area …
Log in with your new admin details …
You should see your new username details in the “Howdy, User” panel …
Select Users > All Users in the main menu …
Delete your old administrator account …
Choose the option to assign all content owned by the old admin account and reassigned it to the new admin, 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 designed for non-technical WordPress users, let’s go one step further and show you how to change your WordPress username inside the WordPress database.
All you need is access to your server.
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 Your User Name Inside The WordPress Database
In the example below, we’ll be working with the cPanel management application …
cPanel management application
Log into your server control panel …
cPanel administration area
Scroll down to the “Databases” section and open phpMyAdmin …
phpMyAdmin
Open up your WP database.
Note: If you have a number of databases set up on your domain, make sure that you choose the right one …
phpMyAdmin databases
Don’t panic when you see 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 the text you want to change …
Type in the new username and click outside the edit box to update the field with your new user name …
Log out of your server if you’re done and go back to your WordPress site. You may find that your session has expired. Log in again with your new Admin login credentials …
You should see that the user name has been updated. However, your admin details will probably still display the old “nickname” …
To change the “nickname”, open your Users section and click the Edit link below your username …
You can also reach your Profile section by clicking on the Edit My Profile link in the “Howdy, User” box …
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 drop down 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.
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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)