How to change the
wP Admin URL on your site
If you have a WordPress site I can tell you exactly where you log in…yourdomain(dot)com/wp-admin How do I know that? Because that is the login for every WordPress website. It’s also the first place a hacker will go to trying to muscle their way into your site. That is why I recommend that everyone change the login to their website to a different URL. Yes! You can do that!
I hear you asking “well, what do I change it to?”
Well, that’s actually up to you. It will still start with yourdomain(dot)com but you’ll be getting rid of the ubiquitous “wp-admin” part. You can change that part to anything you want. Don’t worry it doesn’t need to be 8-15 characters with a number a symbol and two vowels. It can be something that makes sense to you, a place you love, or even some random words that you think up like wind-cake. As long as it is something you can remember and is hard to guess. I generally recommend bookmarking the page once you change the link and writing it down somewhere.
“Um, why should I change it anyway?” Well, you might not like the answer…security. You are tired of dealing with privacy settings and security authentication and corporations spying on your data. It’s easier to leave things the way they are than make changes that are going to be hard to get used to. (Because change is hard) And who is going to want to hack your site anyway? Well, hackers.
And there are a lot of different reasons why they would do it.
They might do it to speed malware, to use up bandwidth on your hosting to get at another site, or for practice. But whatever the reason you can bet once they are in there they are going to mess with things. Plus, many people use the same username and/or password for a lot of things. So getting into your site could give them a head start on getting into your bank account. (side note: please don’t’ do this! Use different usernames and passwords for as much stuff as possible!)
The best time to change your admin link is now. Seriously, go open your wp-admin link in a new tab and follow along because this is going to take like five minutes and you are going to feel so much better once it’s done. If you happen to be reading this on your phone or not able to get to your site then save this post and make the change as soon as possible. As the old saying goes “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second-best time is today.”
So how do you change this piece that is oh so crucial and integral to your website?
So how do you change this piece that is oh so crucial and integral to your website? Well, there are a couple of ways. One of them involves getting into the files of your site and editing the .htaccess file. That is NOT the one I am going to tell you about today. The one I’m going to share with you is as simple as installing a plugin. I know what you are thinking. “I’m supposed to worry about the security of my site and you want me to use a PLUGIN?!” Yes, yes I do. If you can use a plugin to moderate comments, connect to your email program, and back up your website you can use one for this. Buckle up, let’s go!
First, you are going to log into your website and go to your dashboard, then click on Plugins. Then way at the top, click “add new”. In the search bar search WPS Hide Login.
Click “Install Now” and then “activate”. Once you have done that you can scroll down your plugins page until you get to WPS Hide Login and click “settings”. At the bottom will be a place to add the login URL ending and what page you would like to forward someone to if they try to go to the wp-admin page (maybe one that says “sorry hackers! I’m on to you!”). Go ahead and change the ending of your admin URL and click save. Don’t forget to bookmark your new login page and write it down somewhere. Ta-da! Now you can have peace of mind knowing you have taken one more step to keep your site secure! Time to celebrate!
