Don’t make this big WordPress mistake

Most WordPress sites are set up using the 5-minute install method or with a quick setup tool offered by the hosting company. The majority of these methods populate the first user with the username admin.

Hackers know this.

So the hackers guess admin when trying to break into a WordPress site. and if you are using admin, or have an account on your site with that username, you are doing half of the work for the hackers trying to get in + do damage to your business.

If you aren’t using admin, head to your All Users page in your dashboard + take a peek. Any listing of the username admin needs to be addressed. pronto.

Get a new, more secure, username

Before you can ditch your username, you’ll need to come up with a more secure one. While using your name is more secure than admin, this resource on how to pick a secure username will get you set up with a better option.

Once you’ve decided on one that will protect you, your business + your site visitors, follow the steps below. Since you can’t simply change the username for your account, you’ll need to create a new user + then delete the admin one. The good news is that it’s a really quick process.

1. In the Dashboard go to Users > Add New
2. Create a new user with the secure username you picked out
3. Set the email address — you can’t use the same email that’s on the account you’re deleting, but you can change it after you delete the admin account
4. If you want to set the password on the screen, click Show Password + set it
5. Match the user role to the account you’re deleting (likely Administrator)
6. Click Add New User
7. Log out
8. Log in as the new user you just created
9. Under Users > All Users, delete the account using admin as a username
10. Select “Attribute all content to” + select the new account you created
11. Click Confirm Deletion
12. Now you can change your email address by going to Users > Your Profile