3 Best Ways To Change Default “Admin” Username In WordPress

WordPress is the most well-known Content Management Systems worldwide. But WordPress is an open source web application and it's free. This means everyone has access to its programming codes. This enables hackers to try out new breaching strategies.

Typically WordPress website development is quite safe and protected if you use some security steps to keep hackers away from your site. The very first thing hackers try out is to login to the website through the default username. So, one must change the username as soon as possible. Here are the best 3 ways of doing it.

From PHPMyAdmin

The default username can also be changes from the cPanel and PHPMyAdmin. For doing this, login to your cPanel and click on PHPMyAdmin. Here you can see various database. Select the database in which your blog is being hosted.

Now look at the left hand side. You will see a list displaying all the tables of the database. Here, click on “wp_users”. Now select the user name you want to edit. Change the user_login field to the desired name and click on “GO”. Now, go back to the website and log in using the new user name you just edited. You can consult your WordPress developer if you are not sure of something.

Using Plugins

Some people find it uncomfortable to get into PHPMyAdmin and do anything. Do not worry. The best alternative for them is to install some plugins that are available for this task and change the default user name. Some of these plugins are specifically designed to make modifications in the user name. The best three plugins for the task are:

• Sucuri Security
• Username Changer
• Admin Renamer Extended

Sucuri Security

This is a complex plugin which does more than changing the default username. The plugin keeps a check on the site for malware or spyware and prevents brute attacks from hackers trying to enter the backend of the server. One of the options of this plugin is to check whether or not you have changed the default username, which is “admin”.  If so, it gives options to change the username instantly.

Admin Renamer Extended

As the name goes, this plugin allows you to change the default “admin” name. It can also be used to change username of other admins. Admin Renamer Extended is a multi site compatible plugin.

Username Changer

This is also a simple functioning plugin that can be used to change the default username. The plugin updates the username if it is similar to the username.

Creating A New User

One more easy and conventional way of changing the default username is by creating a new user with the admin rights. Go to the dashboard and select Users>> add new user.

Now you will have the fields to add the information about the new user. Enter the data as required. Remember to add a different email id this time. 

Once all the info has been added, log out from the website. Log in with the new username and delete the old user account with the name “ admin”. Now, WordPress will ask you what you want to do with the content of “admin” account. Simply assign it to the new account you just created.