Do you want to change WordPress username?
But WordPress does not allow username to change. Not from the dashboard by default.
However, there is nothing to worry about.
Despite WordPress not allowing to change the username, there are few methods to change it. In this article, I will help you change your WordPress username in a few steps that are easy to follow.
Why Changing WordPress Username?
Many time people put ‘admin’ as the username when creating the WordPress website.
Though WordPress login security depends on many settings, keeping the most common username in the world is not a smart thing to do.
Knowing your username, the hacker only has to use a dictionary attack to guess the password. Keep the username that you can remember, and try to hide it as well as your passwords.
Another reason to update the username is to complement the current version of the site.
Blog and websites are an ongoing process. They changed, adapt, and transforms into something better and bigger.
When you started the blog, you chose a username without giving much thought, but now the site is established, you want a more solid username that matches the site message.
Method to Change WordPress Username
You can either update the username manually, or you can use a WordPress plugin. Both of the methods work like a charm.
It’s up to you what process clicks with you.
Note: Please take a complete backup of your WordPress website before proceeding. You may accidentally lock out yourself from the website or accidentally break down anything.
Chance WordPress Username by Deleting/Creating New Account
We are not actually changing the username, though this little WordPress hack has the same endgame.
Technically, we will:
- Create a new account with the desired username
- Delete the old account & transferring content to a new account.
Doing this is as easy as it looks. However, I remind you to take a complete backup of your WordPress website before proceeding.
Creating a New Account
If you are the website administrator, you can create as many new accounts as you like.
Each new account will need a different username and email address. You have to use a different email for now, but you can use the main email for this account once you deleted the old account.
WordPress will generate the password, but you can change it.
Enter the username, email and password to the boxes. Select the administrator role to make the new account and admin account.
Click on the Add New User, and your new user will be added to the WordPress site.
Deleting Old Account
You cannot delete the account you are logged in from. To delete the old account, you have to log out and log in from the new account.
After logging in from the new account, go to the Users tab. Find the old account, and click ‘Delete’.
The next page will display the option to delete all content created by the old account or attribute all the content to the new account.
Choose the new account you just created from the dropdown and confirm the deletion.
That’s it.
The new account will function the same as the old one. But the username has changed.
Now another thing you can do is to use your old email. Deleting the old account free up your email, and now it can be used for the new account.
To do that, Edit the user profile, and update the email address. You have to verify the email ownership by clicking the confirmation link.
Chance WordPress Username by Using the Plugin
The easiest way to do anything in WordPress is to use the Plugin.
There are plugins for everything, and there is a plugin for changing the WordPress username.
Go to the ‘Add New Plugin’ page, and enter the Username Change. Install the plugin with a positive review.
I suggest using the Username Changer plugin. It only does what it says and is very lightweight.
After installing and activating the plugin, go to the user profile page.
You will find the ‘Change Username’ option that was not there before. Simply click on the link, enter the new username and hit save.
Moreover, the plugin allows the Administrator to change setting for other users. You can enable this function for the other users, depending on their assigned roles.
Wrap Up
In this article, I mentioned the simplest methods to change the username.
Whether you want to update the username due to security or just for fun, you can do it in few steps.
I hope this article helped you to achieve your objective. If there is any issue, you can leave it in the comment box.
