On WordPress websites, You can reset your password within the admin area or by clicking your “Lost your password?” link on the WordPress login page. There isn’t an alternative to change your username.
If you try to change an account’s username through the profile page, you are notified to note that ” Usernames cannot be changed.”
WordPress does not natively allow you to change usernames.
You can use several methods to change your username for WordPress accounts. I’ll explain each one in this post.
Why Would a Username Need to Be Changed?
There are many legitimate reasons to consider changing the username of your account.
- Security – Accessing WordPress without authorization WordPress through Brute Force Attacks is more probable when an ordinary username is used in conjunction with an unsecured password. This is the reason usernames like administrator or user are not recommended.
- Username Refusal Administrators can often change their usernames in the WordPress install process since their main goal at the time was installing WordPress and not thinking about the best username. On my sites, many authors have asked to change their usernames because they would like to create an alias instead of their actual name, while others were looking to make their usernames more personal and represent their brand.
- Account migration If an editor or administrator departs from a business, they can transfer the account to another employee and change their username.
A Note About WordPress Usernames & Security
Staying clear of commonly used login usernames, such as administrators, users, or web admins, is advised. A good username must include a mix of uppercase and lowercase numerals, letters, and other special characters, such as underscores, spaces, hyphens, or periods, and the symbol @. Other special characters and characters that are not Latin are not permitted, but using plugins to address this issue is possible.
WordPress users aren’t allowed to utilize special characters,
While unique usernames are recommended, it is worth remembering that if you are using WordPress author templates, the usernames of authors can be viewed publicly at website.com/author/username/.
Publicly visible author URLs are an issue that WordPress plugins like the Smart User Slug Hider can solve. However, the reality is there are numerous ways that a skilled hacker could view usernames. Using complex usernames can, at best, slow down hackers.
Don’t be concerned by this. The best way to avoid Brute-Force Attacks is to use two-factor authentication for logins using a reliable WordPress security plugin that enforces passwords with solid security and restricts the number of login attempts.
How to Change a WordPress Username Using a Plugin
The WordPress plugin Easy Username Updater simplifies the process of changing the username. After you download this plugin on WordPress.org, a brand newly created ” Username Updater” settings page will be accessible within the WordPress administrator section under Users.
Step 1: Select a User to Update
The main page of Easy Username Updater shows all your users. All you need to do is choose the user you wish to edit and click the update button to the right.
Select the user you want to change.
Step 2: Define the New Username
On the next screen on the next page, you’ll be asked to select a new username. If you’d like to, an email will be sent to users, informing them of the changes.
After completing the new Username field, select”Update Username” to proceed ” Update Username” button to continue.
Select a new username.
Step 3: Review Your Changes (Optional)
It’s that easy to change your username with the Easy Username Updater. If you’d like, you can check the modifications you made by clicking the user’s profile on WordPress.
The username has now been updated.
Many popular WordPress security plugins allow users to change usernames, and there are dedicated username changes within the WordPress plugin directory. Still, I’ve discovered the Easy Username Changer among the most straightforward methods.
The “New User” Workaround
WordPress cannot directly change usernames; however, once you delete an account, you may transfer all content to a new user. Therefore, a better option than changing an account username is to move the entire range of one account to the other.
Step 1: Create a New User
The first step is creating a new user on the WordPress Users page. It is this account from which the entire content will be moved.
Adding a new user in WordPress.
Step 2: Select the User You Want to Delete
Next, select the previous account you wish to remove from the WordPress user page.
Select the user that you want to delete.
Step 3: Delete the Old User & Attribute All Content to Your New User
The last step is eliminating the old user and transferring all their content to the new user. If you click the “Content Deletion” button is clicked, the pages, posts, and other content will be attributed to the new user.
It is important to note that for the user with no pages or posts associated with them, no options to transfer content will be available.
Attribute all content to your new user.
For a simple WordPress website, moving all content to an entirely new user is an easy solution that doesn’t require plugins or changes to the database directly. I’d be wary of using this technique on more complex WordPress websites because it only transfers WordPress content. It doesn’t move permissions for users or other settings created through third-party WordPress plugins.
How to Change a WordPress Username in PHPMyAdmin
Users can change their usernames directly within the WordPress database using an administration tool for databases like phpMyAdmin.
When modifying your databases, I recommend you back up to your WordPress website. Backups are easily created using BlogVault, a BlogVault WordPress plugin, and can be used to restore your website if there is a problem completely.
Step 1: Launch phpMyAdmin
The first thing you have to do is start phpMyAdmin. You’ll discover the application in the database section in many web hosting management panels.
phpMyAdmin can be launched from hosting control panels such as cPanel.
Step 2: Select Your WordPress Database
If phpMyAdmin starts up, it will display all the available databases on the left side of the page. The one associated with your website’s configuration is in the wp-config.php file.
phpMyAdmin lists databases at the left-hand side of the page.
Step 3: Browse the WordPress Users Table
The data of all WordPress customers are saved in the user table. The table’s name will change when the prefix wp_ WordPress table’s prefix is changed in wp-config.php.
You can explore the WordPress users’ table by clicking on the table’s name or browsing the link.
All users are located in the wp_users table.
Step 4: Locate the User You Want to Change
The WordPress users table lists the users of the WordPress web page in rows, so you’ll need to find the person you wish to change.
Find the table row which lists the user you want to change.
If you’re searching the WordPress site with many users, you can use filters like the filters row instrument to limit your search.
The filter rows tool will help you locate users quickly.
Step 5: Edit the Username
Once you’ve located the user you’d like to edit, you can modify that user’s username. The column that determines users’ usernames can be found in the user’s login, and phpMyAdmin allows you to alter this field directly. All you need double click the area and type in their new username.
Enter the new username in the user_login column.
If you’d like to edit the user’s profile, click an edit button for the account. It will take you directly to the Insert page, where you can change your user’s value by changing username_login. Just click Go after you have made your changes. Button to go button after you have adjusted your settings.
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