How to Change your WordPress Default Admin Username

Guess the default admin username for WordPress

WordPress sites are often abused by bruteforce login attacks, where hackers try to find the correct admin login details(usernames and passwords) to break into the WordPress Dashboard and start hacking the site traffic, files and database.

One way to protect your WordPress site from these attacks is to change the default admin username to a random one. If you keep using the default admin username, you make things easier for bruteforce login attacks since they only have to find or guess the password part of the admin login details.

As most things are added to the default WordPress setup, there are two ways to change the admin default username. You can do it manually or use a plugin to do it for you. Below, we’ll cover both ways to change your WordPress installation’s default admin username.

How to change your admin username manually

1. First, log in to your WordPress Dashboard using your default admin username and password.
2. Create a new admin username. Make sure you use a random name and create a complex password.
3. Log out and log in using your new admin login details.
4. Delete the default admin username and attach any posts created by that user to your new admin account.

How to change your admin username using a plugin

If you don’t want to get your hands dirty for changing your WordPress admin username, then you can use a plugin like Easy Username Updater by Yogesh C. Pant to simplify the process.

Follow the steps below to install, activate and use this plugin to rename your default admin usernames.

1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard and search for the Easy Username Updater plugin.
2. Please install and Activate it.
3. Select the Username Update tool under the Users sidebar menu.
4. Select the Update option for the admin username you want to change.
5. Set a new username and choose if you want to notify this user of the username change.
6. Suppose you’re changing the username for the account you have logged in. In that case, you will be automatically logged out of your WordPress Dashboard, so enter your new login username and the existing password and log in again.

If you want to simplify the login process and use a simpler login option, use your account email and password instead.

Don’t hesitate to comment below if you have questions or need further information about changing your default WordPress admin username.