Use different WordPress admin username

When installing WordPress the default administrative account is created simply as admin, using a different username for your admin account can be a great way to provide extra security for your WordPress website.

This article was written after the recent WordPress wp-login.php brute force attack that has been taking place, and is recommended as a good measure to help keep your WordPress website protected.

Changing the WordPress admin username

The steps below will show you how you can change your default WordPress admin username to something more secure to help protect your WordPress website from unauthorized login attempts.

1. Login to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Hover over Users in the left-hand menu, then click Add New.
3. Fill out the user info, select Administrator from the Role drop-down, then click on Add New User.
4. After seeing your new admin user created, hover over Howdy, admin at the top-right, then click on Log Out.
5. Now login with the new WordPress admin username and click on Log In.
6. Click on Users from the left-hand menu.
7. Hover over the old admin username, then click Delete.

8. WARNING!!! If you delete your old WordPress admin user, without attributing its posts to the new admin user, you will lose all of those posts!

   Select the new admin username you created from the Attribute all posts drop-down, then click on Confirm Deletion.
9. Now you should notice that the old default admin username is gone, and your new admin username should now be showing all of those old posts attributed to it.

You should now understand how to use a different WordPress admin username to help provide an extra level of security for your WordPress website.