How To Change Your Admin Username In WordPress
When WordPress is installed it sets your login name to “admin” by default. If you want to change it you will usually need to manually edit the WordPress database, which might seem a bit intimidating for people not familiar with MySQL/phpMyAdmin. That’s why I created a small plugin that will let you easily edit your username from within WordPress.
How It Works
The plugin adds a new menu item called “Change Username” to the “Users” menu on the Dashboard. Clicking it will display a form where you can enter your new login name. All you need to do is enter the desired username in the form and click “Save Changes”. The plugin will then automatically perform the required database operations and let you log in with your new username right away.
Download Plugin
change-admin-username.zip (3 KB)
I’ve tested the plugin on WP 2.6 – 2.8.3 but it should be compatible with most older versions, too – all the way down to 2.0.x. If you find any bugs feel free to leave a comment below.
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I’m afraid your comment is somewhat confusing. Are you sure you installed the plugin correctly? You need to copy the change-admin-username folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory and then activate the plugin in the “Plugins” tab of the WP dashboard. Then follow the instructions in the post above.
Hi WS,
thanks for replying. I see it in the “plug in” files next to the other ones I DL’d….But when I go to the dasboard, I do not see it listed in the installed section….yet the other plug-ins I have tried do show up. I did unzip it before transferring it with File Zilla, and like I said, the other plug-ins I downloaded do show up.
Any idea why it does not show up in the dashboard?..
thanks for taking the time to answer..
Harry
This is probably obvious, but have you checked the “Inactive” tab?
Anyway, it is nevertheless a problem with the installation (it couldn’t possible be a bug in the plugin itself because you haven’t even activated it yet). Maybe the .php file got corrupted during unzipping or the FTP transfer? Try doing it again.
Another thing you could check is whether the webserver has sufficient privileges to read the plugin file.
Thanks WP, I will try that tomorrow and get back…
I think its the corruption angle myself….I’m sure Host gator is fine with privileges as the other plug ins have worked fine…
Thanks. It works. Simple and effective 🙂
Hi WS,….Good Morning, I wanted to give you an update and to say thanks. I deleted the plug in, repeated the same procedure( DL to desktop, unzip, FTR through file zilla)….It shows up in my Host gator Files, but did not show up in the WP Dashboard.
Bur As I was looking at everything, I noticed an upload button in the Dashboard “plug-ins” section which allows you to upload a zipped folder from the PC….. So I did that instead. Installed it, and it worked fine……
I have since tried other plug ins through FTP, and they all showed up, so it must be some sort of glitch…..
Bur as long as it’s installed, I’m happy….
If I can ever help you with RC cars, or anything on my site, let me know….
Well, I’m glad you got it working.
[…] —>Change Admin Username Plugin<— […]
Hi WS,
I really appreciate your plugin but it isn’t working for me 🙁 It changed my admin username but now i can’t seem to login neither with the old nor the new username. If I delete the plugin via ftp, can it be fixed?
Try clearing your cookies first.
If that doesn’t help, you’ll need to go into the database with something like phpMyAdmin and manually change the username of the appropriate record back to the old value in the wp_users table. Just deleting the plugin won’t be enough.
Been there, done that… I renamed the username back to admin via phpmyadmin, but when I log in, the wp-login.php stays blank… If I type a different username or password, it marks them as incorrect, and insists that my browser is blocking WP’s cookies and I shall activate that -but it is done. The site stays functional, at least. Maybe it’s my fault, i messed around with the .htaccess and things, trying to make the installation safer.
I’m now more inclined to believe it’s one of those “.htaccess and things”. Changing the username in the DB is the only thing the plugin does, so anything on top of that would be caused by something else.
[…] You may also use a WordPress Plugin to change your username. There are several plugins out there that will help you do this. The plugin I recommend: http://w-shadow.com/blog/2008/07/24/change-admin-username-in-wordpress/ […]
[…] account. If the idea of deleting that admin account makes you a little uneasy, there’s a simple plug-in that will allow you to just change the username of that account instead of creating a second […]
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Thanks i was looking to change my admin login didnt do because it was too confusing This plugin really made it easy thanks
Thanks i was looking to change user name didnt know how to do it
Great idea, tried with wp 2.8.6 but it seems not to work ;-( Will wait for upgrade! Thanxs.