The default WordPress admin username makes your WordPress site vulnerable to hackers. The popularity of WordPress among millions of users around the world also makes it one of the most targeted platforms for hackers. As a part of the WordPress security series, in this article, I would discuss how you can change WordPress admin username, reducing the threat of brute force attack.
After this guide, you’ll realize how easy and simple it is to change your default username and be able to manipulate the actions within less than 5 minutes.
3 ways to change WordPress Admin Username
There are 3 ways you can do to change WordPress admin username: Change it manually by creating a new admin to replace the default one, Use plugin, and Touch the phpMyAdmin. Personally, I prefer the first method that is to do it manually, and don’t recommend the complex and way more ‘adventurous’ phpMyAdmin editing.
Okay, let’s begin.
Method 01: Manually change the default admin username in WordPress
This method is very easy and anyone can do it right away to have a more secure admin username for WordPress site. The main logic is to add a new user and assign administrator role, delete the default admin and attribute all content of the old admin to the newly added one.
1. Add new user
Log into your Dashboard. On the left-hand menu, hover to Users and choose Add New.
2. Save new user
Fill in all required information. You should give it a harder-to-remember username (that’s our purpose). In the Role drop-down menu, choose Administrator so that this new user has the right as an admin. Then hit Add New User.
3. Log out of admin account
Hover to the top right of the page to log out.
4. Log in with new user account
Now log in again to your Dashboard but by new user account.
5. Delete the default admin
Choose to view All Users in Users section. Hover to the default admin and click on Delete.
6. Confirm the deletion
To save all the contents you have previously created with the old admin account, tick on Attribute all content to. And from the drop-down menu choose the new admin username.
Finally, Confirm Deletion.
As a result, you will not see the old admin in your user list. The admin account now belongs to the new administrator user.
Method 02: Use plugins to change username
For some reasons you cannot follow the first method, you can rely on some plugins to help change your WordPress admin username. The way it works is simple. You just need to enter the new username to replace the old one.
You can try these plugins to do the job Username Changer, WPVN – Username Changer.
Method 03: By using phpMyAdmin from cPanel
With 2 above methods, you can easily and quickly change your default admin name. For me, this last method is not recommended since it is quite complicated and somehow risky for non-technical people!
Still, you can refer the below steps to learn how to change admin name by using phpMyAdmin from cPanel.
1. Finding Your Database Name
Since we need to make slight changes in database, wel need to know what it’s called in order to figure out which one to edit. You can do this by checking your wp-config.php file in the root of your WordPress files.
In cPanel, select the File Manager button under the Files section. If the File Manager Directory Selection pop-up appears, select the Web Root option or the Document Root for your site in the drop down list.
Select the wp-config.php file and click the Edit button at the top of the page.
Your database name will be listed on where your_db is written. Once you know your database’s name you can go ahead and change its tables.
2 (a). For Single WordPress Installations
In cPanel, click the phpMyAdmin button under Databases on the homepage. Select your database from the list on the left. Next, locate the wp_users table.
Click on it and find your admin username on the list.
Click the Edit button to insert values into the table option. Type in a new username in each of the fields where it’s displayed.
At the very least, you need to edit the user_login field to change your username. If you would like to also change how your name is displayed on your site’s front end, change the display_name field.
The user_nicename field is the slug that will appear in the URL for places like the author archive page. What you enter here should not include spaces.
It’s usually the same as your login username, but in cases where your username doesn’t look so user friendly, you can choose a different name to appear as the slug.
When you’re done, save the changes you have made.
At the bottom of the table options, you’ll see a set of drop down boxes. Set the first one to Save and the second to Go back to previous page, then click Go to save your changes.
Once you’ve made these changes, you’re done and you can now use your new custom username to log in. If you’re using Multisite, there are a few more steps you need to complete.
2 (b). Multisite Installations
To change your super admin username for your network, first complete the steps above. Once you’re done, go back to your database tables list and find the wp_sitemeta table.
Click on it to reveal all its table options. When they load, look under the meta_key column for the site_admins row.
Click the Edit button on the left of that row. Next, change the values for your admin username in the meta_value field.
There are two things you need to change. The first is your username. The second is the value for the character count of your username.
a:1:{i:0;s:5:"admin";}
In the above example, the default username “admin” is shown and you would need to change admin and the number five which is displayed before the name. Since the username has five characters, the number five is listed before it.
This number may be different for you if your username is longer than five characters. The meta_value may also look different if you have other permissions attached to your admin account. If this is the case, just look for the same values among the code.
If you wanted to change your username to “ILoveStudyWarehouse,” for example, you would change the values to look like this:
a:1:{i:0;s:19:"ILoveStudyWarehouse";}
Admin has been changed to the new username and the number “5” has been changed to “19” to reflect the number of characters in the new username.
Once you’re happy with your new username, click Go at the bottom to save the changes you made.
If you’ve followed along then you have successfully changed your default username to a custom one by making a few small tweaks to your database.
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Conclusion
It’s very easy, isn’t it? With this simple yet effective tip, I hope to help you improve your WordPress site security and make it harder for any hacking attempts.