Unless you are installing WordPress using Fantastico or a similar script, you cannot change the admin username for WordPress. This poses a security risk as a hacker simply needs to guess your admin panel password while using the username ‘admin’ (the default username).
To make your WordPress blog secure from such an attack, you can change the Admin user name from within WordPress. This requires you to create a new admin username and delete the older one.
Here’s the step by step break down on how to do this in WP 2.7:
- Login to your WordPress panel
- Under ‘Users’ on the left, click on ‘Add New’ link.
- Enter your preferred username, password and email.
- Set the Role of this user as ‘Administrator’ and click the Add User button
- You’ve successfully created a new admin user.
- Now, log out from your admin panel and log in again as the NEW user you just created
- Finally, delete the old ‘admin’ user from Users > Authors & Users
You’ve just made your WordPress installation more secure. Stay tuned as there are going to be some very interesting developments on the blog (Hint: there’s a lot of stuff coming for YOU which you’ll love – I promise).
February 10th, 2009 at 2:50 am
Thanks for this informative post. We want to do this on our site and you’ve set out the instructions clearly. Just one question…what about the posts that have been posted under the old admin name? Won’t they become unmanageable?
February 10th, 2009 at 5:39 am
Thanks for your comment, Celosia. Glad you found the post useful.
When you delete the old admin username in step 7, it will prompt you about what you want to do with posts and pages created by that username. You can either choose to delete them OR assign them to some other user (which in this case would be your new admin username).
Hope this helps :)
Sagar
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:22 am
Thanks.
There is a plugin that can just change the user name:
http://w-shadow.com/blog/2008/07/24/change-admin-username-in-wordpress/
July 8th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Thank you Mr. Tech Guy,
I understand.
An other problem: One Site and 2, 3.. or more Admins. And a bad Admin will delete accounts of good Admins.
How can I make that only (one) MainAdmin can to delete others (more) Admin’saccounts?