How to change your WordPress username

Maybe you were zipping through the WordPress setup process and misspelled your username. Or maybe your username is ‘admin’ and you just learned how that’s a huge security risk. Whatever the reason may be, WordPress doesn’t have a built-in way to change your WordPress username. If you go to your profile in the Dashboard, you’ll see a note that says, “Usernames cannot be changed.”

But… there is a way to make it happen!

Steps for changing your WordPress username

Before you begin, note that you will need to be an admin (or have an admin complete these steps).

  1. In the WordPress Dashboard, go to Users > My Profile
  2. Add a letter to the beginning of your email address then scroll down and hit “Update Profile” (e.g. [email protected] should be [email protected]) — this frees up your email address to be used in a new account
  3. In the sidebar, go to Users > Add New then type in your desired username, your email address, and choose the Admin role (or whatever the current role is for the account you’re changing)
  4. Hit the “Add New User” button
  5. Log out of WordPress then log back in as the new WordPress user
  6. Go to Users > All Users
  7. Hover over your old username and press “Delete”
  8. Important – on the next screen, press the radio button for “Attribute all content to” and select your new username in the dropdown
  9. Press “Confirm Deletion”

You’re now free to roam about the WordPress with your new username. Don’t gloss over step eight or else you will lose all of your posts, pages, and other content that was created under your old account. Happy WordPressing!

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