Quick Tip: Change Your Login Info on Self-Hosted WordPress

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If you’re on self-hosted WordPress, chances are good that your username is “admin.” That’s how WordPress sets it up by default, and it’s easy to remember. In fact, I remember feeling kind of awesome the first time I set up a WP blog, like, Cool, I’m the administrator of a website!

So why am I telling you to change your login? Because if all of us know that “admin” is the default, so do hackers. No matter how small your blog is, you’d be surprised how many people get a kick out of breaking into WP and replacing the content with a big “YOU’VE BEEN HACKED!” image.

Here’s how to prevent unauthorized access to your WordPress blog:

1. Go to your Dashboard and go to Users > Add New.

2. Fill in all the fields. Make your login name something you’ll remember - not your first name, unless you don’t use your first name at all on your blog. You’ll need to use a different email address than the one for your admin login (but you can change it in a minute). MAKE SURE you set the Role as administrator and not subscriber.

3. Log out of WordPress and log in with the new credentials you set up.

4. Go to Users > All Users and delete the admin account. All your posts will be credited to the new login you just set up.

5. Go to your new user profile and change your email address to the one you originally set up for your blog.

6. Smile knowing that you’ve taken an easy step to protect your blog!