How To Change Username In WordPress In 2023

Are you searching for how to change the username in WordPress? Here is a complete guide for you.

Changing a username is not such a difficult task in wordpress. The default username for WordPress is admin and you need to change it. In this article, there are possible methods through which any administrator can change the username.

Hope this article will be helpful for those who want to change their username and don’t know how to do it. They are searching for the right methods to change the username. And here they found our article and found the best possible ways to change the username.

Before listing the methods of changing user names, let’s have a little knowledge about what a username is. Let us discuss why we need to change the user name. And what kind of username is best for WordPress?

What Is The Username In Wordpress?

A username is a unique identifier that identifies the users registered on the website. It is an important part of the user’s profile in Wordpress and plays a great role in logging in,  user identification, posting content, authorship attributions, etc.

Importance Of Username In WordPress

In WordPress, the username is an important part of the profile of the user. It  has various important functions, such as:

Identification Of User:

The username is used for the identification of a user in WordPress and is shown next to the content they post and in comments.

Login Credentials:

The username is an important login credential through which the user can access the account of wordpress.

Authorship: 

The username in WordPress is used to credit content to the right author, such as articles, pages, blog posts, and comments, etc.

Security:

A unique username that is difficult to guess should be set as no hacker can get access to it easily. This will improve the security of the website. 

Personalization:

For personalized user experience on the website, like on logging in the the greeting message appears using the username of the user.

Need For Changing Username In WordPress:

In wordpress, there could be many reasons why the user wants to change the username. Here are a few reasons for changing your username:

1. Personal Preference:

A user can change it as he desires to pick a better name that depicts his personality, or better reflects the brand or identity.

2. Security:

To keep the site secure,  a username should not be so simple that anyone can guess it easily. It should be unique and unpredictable so that hackers can’t get access to it easily.

3. Website Transfer:

If the website ownership is transferred to some other person, and he wants to change the username.

4. Misspelled Username:

Misspelled or any other type of mistake is made while setting the username.

5. TeamWork:

It would be helpful to have a username easy to differentiate from one another if multiple users are working on the same site.

6. Compatibility:

Specific plugins or any other tools may require a specific format for the username to meet the necessary requirements for using those tools.

7. Legal Cause:

If for any reason the user changes its legal name, they might also want to change the username of the website.

Choosing The Right Username:

Following guidelines should be kept in mind before choosing the right Username for your account. 

1. Avoid using common usernames like admin, user, your name, company name, etc. so the website should not be vulnerable to hacking attempts.
2. Avoid using your personal information in the username like birthday, address, name, etc. that can be guessed easily.
3.  The username should be a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols, and no easy patterns like 1234, asdf, abcd, 0000, etc. 
4. The username should also be easy to remember as it is essential for logging in to your account. Also easy for others to identify you on websites.
5. To improve website security use a unique username, not commonly used by other users of wordpress.

Methods For Changing The Username In WordPress:

WordPress has multiple ways to change a username according to the level of access and role of the user. Here are some methods:

1. Through WordPress Dashboard:

The username can be changed through the WordPress dashboard,

1. First Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to Users in the left-hand menu.
3. Go to All Users.
4. Click on the username to change it.
5. Edit and enter the new username in the username field
6. Finally, click on the Update User/Save Changes button.

2. Through Database:

1. First, you need to access the database through any database management tool like phpMyAdmin.
2. Then locate the user tables of wordpress that might be wp_users.
3. Now search for the user whose username you want to change.
4. Click on the edit button to access the field for changes.
5. In the user_login field, change the name of the user, and make a new strong name of your desire.
6. Now save the changes by clicking on the Go button.

Editing the database may be a risky task. Any changes might occur mistakenly. So, it’s a good practice to back up your database before going to make changes to it.

3. Creating A New Username And Delete The Older One:

Creating a New Username:

1. First, you need to log in to your WordPress Dashboard.
2. Go to Users > Add New tab. Here you will get a set of fields required to fill for adding new users.
3. Add a new Username of your desire. Also fill in the other fields like email address, passwords, etc.
4. You must assign the role to the Administrator before creating the new user to get the same privileges as the older admin user account.
5. Now click on the Add New user button after filling in the fields.
6. Then after saving the new account, log out from the account.
7. Log in back from the newly created account with all the authorities as administrators.

Deleting Older One:

1. Again go to All Users from the wordpress dashboard.
2. Find the older username.
3. Here you can delete the user from the Delete button located underneath it.
4. On deleting the user the wordpress will ask you about transferring the content of the older user to a new one.
5. Here select Attribute All Content To and choose the new user to assign all the previous content to the new user.
6. Now you can confirm the deletion.

4. Through Plugins:

Changing the username by using a plugin is the easiest way. There are different plugins that can be used to change the Username directly from the WordPress dashboard.

First of all, you need to install the plugin and activate it to use its tools. This will create a new submenu on the user’s menu to add additional functionalities. Some of the popular plugins you can install are given below.

• Username Changer:

This plugin is lightweight and no configuration is required for it. It is used to change the Username of the User on their sites. It can also change the display name of the user. 

In addition, the plugin provides a facility to search the user through its user name, role, or email address. The newly updated username can be sent to the user by email. 

• Simple User Rename :

This plugin is compatible with multisite WordPress and also enables and disables the plugin for an individual site. 

Through this username, display name, and login name can be changed directly from the profile. It is also used to change the author slug and URLs associated with the user’s account.  

• Theme My Login:

This plugin allows users to create custom logins and registration pages from the user front and is also used to change usernames in WordPress. 

It has also some advanced features like user profile management, custom email notifications, and custom redirections.

• Ultimate Member:

This plugin is a complete user profile and membership for WordPress. You can change the username through this plugin. It also has advanced features like user registration forms, social media log in, user roles, custom fields, etc.

• WPForms:

This plugin allows users to change the username during the registration process as this plugin provides a user registration form builder. Some advanced features like email notifications, integrations of payment, custom fields, etc. are also present in this plugin.

Before making changes to the profile through plugins you must need to backup your sites and database. Also, test the plugins on the staging site before using them directly on the live site. 

Conclusion:

Changing the username is sometimes necessary for wordpress, especially when the website is handed over to the new user. So every user of WordPress and administrator should know these methods to change the username in time.

But the most basic reason is security. To make the website secure setting a strong username is necessary to avoid risks of hacking. If the site is not secure with a strong username and password there are more chances of success of hacking attempts. So always take strong security measures.

Hope so you get what you want, and the article was helpful for you. Hope the methods worked for you before any issues.

But If you have any issues or further questions about changing the username you can ask in the comment sections. Thanks for visiting.