The default WordPress login URL is simply the designated URL for the admin login page in WordPress websites. It follows a standard format and is typically a predictable format.
For example, you can find the login page of any WordPress site by simply typing either of the following into your browser’s address bar:
- example.com/wp-admin
- example.com/wp-login.php
For the majority of cases, adding either /wp-admin or /wp-login.php to the main website URL, you’ll be directed straight to its WordPress login page.
If you try the above technique, accessing any website’s login page through the default URL takes just a few seconds.
That’s why it’s wise to change your WordPress login URL to a custom login URL. Let’s look at how you can do that in the next section.
How to Change Default WordPress Login URL to Custom URL?
Changing the WordPress login page URL isn’t complicated, especially when you have incredible WordPress plugins at hand.
One such plugin is User Registration, which allows you to create a custom login page URL and replace the default URL.
An alternative method is to hide the default URL entirely and replace it with a new one using the WPS Hide Login plugin. In that case, anyone trying to access your login page through the default URL will be shown a 404 error.
We’ll discuss both methods in detail so that you can implement the one that best suits you on your website. Let’s begin!
1. Create a Custom Login URL With the User Registration Plugin
We’ll first discuss creating a custom login URL with the User Registration plugin.
To provide a brief introduction, User Registration is one of the leading registration form builder plugins available in the WordPress marketplace.
It’s built with a user-friendly interface, enabling users to create and customize registration forms easily. The drag-and-drop builder, combined with unlimited customization options for individual fields and forms, provides an intuitive form-building experience.
This is in addition to the in-built login form and my account page that come with it. Most importantly, you get a handful of important features to protect your WordPress login page.
Intrigued? If so, let’s jump into the tutorial without any delay!
I. Install the Free User Registration Plugin
First and foremost, you must install the free version of the User Registration plugin on your website.
To do that, log into your WordPress website dashboard and navigate to Plugins >> Add New.
Here, search for User Registration in the search bar, and it’ll appear in the results. Simply click on the Install Now button, which initiates the installation process.
Then, press the Activate button to activate the plugin.
Immediately after, you’ll be greeted by a welcome page. From here, you can Get Started with the plugin setup.
You can even skip these options with the Skip to Dashboard button. Doing this will take you directly to your website’s admin dashboard.
For now, let’s look at the setup process. Simply press the Get Started button to start.
First, you’ll arrive at the Install Pages step. The plugin automatically installs the in-built Default Registration Form on your website. Once you hit the Install & Proceed button, the Registration Page and My Account Page will be installed as well.
The My Account page contains the shortcode for a beautiful user profile. In contrast, the Registration page displays the plugin’s default registration form.
Having them on your site means you won’t have to create brand new pages and just work with the pre-built user profile and registration form if you’re short on time.
After the installation, click Next to go to the General options.
Here, the Anyone can register option is kept on by default. This ensures that the custom front-end registration forms you make with User Registration are visible to the users and enable them to register themselves.
Afterward, you can choose a User login option and Prevent dashboard access to specific user roles.
Then, press Next to proceed to the Registration options. Repeat the same steps for Registration, Login, and My Account settings.
In the Final Step, you can choose to go to the dashboard, edit the default form, or create a new registration form from scratch.
Learn how to create a registration form easily with User Registration with this detailed guide.
II. Use the Sample My Account Page or Create a New Login Page
To replace your login URL, you have two options:
- Use the pre-built My Account page or,
- Create a completely new login page
The sample My Account page will display the in-built login form for logged-out users and the user profile for logged-in users.
If you view this page on the front end, you’ll see that its URL is yourdomain.com/my-account. You can use this URL to replace the default login URL. So, you can jump to the next step if you’re going to go this route.
However, if you want to create a new login page, we’ll show you how to do that as well.
Begin by navigating to Pages >> Add New. You’ll be taken to a new page in the Gutenberg block editor, where you can edit the page to your liking.
Start by giving the page a title, let’s say, Sign Into Your Account. Then, click the + icon and search for Login Form. Since we just need the login form now, choose Login Form.
Finally, hit the Publish button, and your new login page is ready. You can click Preview to check how the page appears on the front end.
III. Replace the Default Login URL with Custom URL
Creating a login page is not enough; your website will still display the core login page with the default WordPress login URL.
To change that, go to User Registration >> Settings. Under the General tab, open the Login Options.
Now, scroll down to find Disable Default WordPress Login Screen, which is toggled off by default. Enabling this feature will replace the default login page with a custom login page.
So toggle on, and you’ll be asked to choose the page to redirect the user to instead of the core login page.
Select the custom login page that you created in the above step with the new URL from the dropdown. Next, click Save Changes. It’s as easy as that!
Now, when your users visit the default login URL, they’ll be automatically redirected to the new login URL. Since the in-built User Registration form is only accessible from the frontend, the plugin lets you restrict any access to the backend.
On the other hand, you must replace the sample My Account page with the login page you just created. All you have to do is scroll down to the My Account Section in General Options.
Choose the custom login page you created from the My account page dropdown and save the changes.
However, that’s not all you can do with User Registration. There are plenty of other options categorized into General, Labels, Placeholders, and Messages sections.
You have total flexibility over which settings you want to customize for your login form. While you’re doing so, remember to save the changes by clicking the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page.
IV. More Login Options in User Registration Pro
All we’ve discussed until now are only features you get in the free version of User Registration. There are more advanced login options offered by User Registration Pro, a premium version that operates as a standalone plugin.
You just need to buy a premium plan from User Registration and log into your WPEverest account. From the Downloads tab, download the User Registration Pro file.
Then, open Plugins >> Add New >> Upload Plugin on your WordPress dashboard, and install the Pro file you just downloaded. Don’t forget to activate the plugin as well.
Installing the Pro plugin on your site will add 4 new options for your login form in General >> Login Options under User Registration’s Settings.
As you can see, you can do so much more with the premium version of User Registration. However, it’s up to you to decide whether the free version suffices your website or you need to upgrade to the premium version.
Either way, you’ll be able to change the default WordPress login URL to a custom URL easily. With that said, let’s move on to the next method of changing the default login URL.
2. Hide the Default Login URL With Custom URL
If you’d rather just hide the default login URL, that’s also possible. There are several WordPress security plugins like WPS Hide Login to help you achieve that.
All you have to do is install the plugin and hide the login URL with a new one.
So, let’s learn how to implement this method of login page protection on your site with the WPS Hide Login plugin. We’ll also talk about two other similar plugins you can use as an alternative to WPS Hide Login.
A. Hide Default Login URL with WPS Hide Login
WPS Hide Login is a lightweight and easy-to-use plugin, so hiding the default login URL is easy and quick. Just follow the steps detailed below and you should be able to hide the default login URL without a hitch.
First, install the WPS Hide Login plugin on your WordPress site. The steps are the same as for User Registration installation.
Search for the plugin from Plugins >> Add New, then install and activate it once you find it in the search results.
When the plugin is activated, it automatically adds a WPS Hide Login section in Settings >> General of your dashboard.
It has two options, namely, Login url and Redirection url.
In the Login url, enter the new login URL that you want to use to hide the default login URL.
Meanwhile, the Redirection url already points to a 404 error page. So, you don’t need to edit this option unless you want to redirect to another page.
Finally, click Save Changes to apply the changes you made to your website’s login URL. Now, only users who know the new login URL find the login page and access your site.
If they enter the old URL, i.e., example.com/wp-admin, your site will display a 404 error or another page based on the WPS Hide Login settings.
B. Similar Plugins You Can Use
Here are two more alternatives you can try if the previous plugin isn’t exactly what you’re looking for.
I. All in One WP Security and Firewall
All in One WP Security and Firewall is a complete solution to any security concerns you have on your website. So, you’ll be able to hide the WordPress admin login page with a new login URL easily.
At the same time, you can enforce its many login security features to protect user login from bots and hackers.
For example, you can defend your site against Brute Force Login Attacks by locking out specific IP addresses after too many login attempts.
Likewise, with this plugin, you can add Google reCaptcha protection, force logout of all users, monitor all user accounts, and more.
Hence, try All in One WP Security and Firewall if you need a plugin that’ll cover login and registration security, firewall security, database security, etc. Best of all, you get all these features completely free!
Key Features:
- Prevent spam comments
- Block fake Google bots from crawling your site
- Provides login honeypot feature
- Blacklist users through their IP addresses
- Schedule automatic database backups
Price: Free
II. Solid Security
Solid Security is another WordPress plugin with plenty of security features sufficient to protect websites of any scale and niche.
With this plugin, you can enable Two-factor Authentication (2FA) and set password requirements. Moreover, you get Local Brute Force Protection as well as Network Brute Force Protection against repeat offenders.
Most importantly, it allows you to hide the admin login URL from people with ill-intent. However, this is an advanced feature available only in iThemes Security Pro.
Thus, you’ll have to upgrade to a premium plan to use the hide login URL feature.
Key Features:
- Limit admin privileges to trusted devices only
- Allow passwordless logins
- Make Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connections compulsory
- Logs file changes
- Daily scans and patch fix
Price: Free or $99/year
Wrapping Up
Whether for branding or security purposes, WordPress login page URL change is always a good idea. So, you can customize the login page and forms as per your site’s needs while also securing your backend from hackers.
You can simply hide the default login URL and create a new URL with a plugin like WPS Hide Login. You may explore plugins.
Or, you can use User Registration to create a custom login page and replace the default login URL with it. Besides that, you get more advanced login options in User Registration Pro. You can even style your login forms with its premium Style Customizer add-on.
To learn more about User Registration, go through our blog with posts exploring the many incredible features of this plugin.
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