Hey there, fellow WordPress user! If you‘re reading this, chances are you‘ve forgotten your login password and are feeling a bit stressed about it. First off, take a deep breath and relax. You‘re not alone.
Research shows that the average person has to reset 37 passwords per year. A survey by Digital Guardian found that 70% of people admit they have forgotten a password at least once. Even tech giants like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg have had their accounts hacked due to weak, reused passwords.
The good news is that WordPress makes it super easy to securely recover your lost password and get back into your site in no time. Just follow the simple steps below and you‘ll be back to creating awesome content faster than you can say "I forgot my password again!"
Step 1: Don‘t Panic!
I know it‘s easier said than done, but try not to freak out if your WordPress password suddenly slips your mind. It happens to the best of us. Stressing out will only make it harder to think clearly and work through the recovery steps.
Instead, take comfort in the fact that WordPress is designed with forgetful users in mind. The platform has a built-in password reset feature that is quick, easy, and most importantly, secure.
You don‘t need to be a tech genius to use it either. If you can click a link in an email and create a new password, you‘ve got all the skills necessary to get back into your WordPress account.
Step 2: Access the Password Reset Page
To kick off the password reset process, you‘ll need to visit your WordPress login page. This is usually located at your site‘s domain followed by /wp-admin. So if your website is www.yourwebsite.com, the login page would be www.yourwebsite.com/wp-admin.
Once you‘re there, look for the "Lost your password?" link just below the login form. Give that a click.
Step 3: Enter Your Username or Email
After clicking "Lost your password?", WordPress will ask for your username or email address. This is so it knows where to send the password reset link.
If you have multiple email addresses and can‘t remember which one you used to set up your WordPress account, don‘t sweat it. Just enter your username instead.
Once you‘ve typed in either your username or email, click the "Get New Password" button. If the information you provided matches what WordPress has on file, you‘ll see a success message letting you know that a password reset email is on the way.
Step 4: Check Your Email
Now open up your inbox and be on the lookout for an email from WordPress. The subject line should say something like "[Your Website Name] Password Reset."
If you don‘t see it right away, give it a few minutes. Sometimes emails can take a bit to make their way through cyberspace. While you‘re waiting, check your spam or junk mail folder too. Occasionally, overzealous filters can mistake legitimate WordPress emails for junk.
When the reset email arrives, open it up and look for a link that says something along the lines of "Click here to reset your password" or "Reset my password." Go ahead and click on that to open up the password reset page.
Step 5: Choose a Strong New Password
Now comes the key part: selecting a new, secure password for your WordPress account. WordPress will automatically suggest a strong password, but it will look like a garbled mess of random letters, numbers and symbols. Something like xrT!a9$zBq4#mQu.
While a password like this would be incredibly hard for a hacker to crack, it‘s also nearly impossible for a human to remember. That‘s why I recommend coming up with your own strong password using a passphrase.
A passphrase is a long string of ordinary words that are easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess. For example, something like "monkeylunchpurplerocketsaturday" would be an excellent passphrase.
According to password strength tester tools, that passphrase would take a computer 41 trillion years to crack! Yet it‘s far easier to remember than a shorter password like "mLp%R0ck3t!"
| Password | Time to Crack |
|---|---|
| mLp%R0ck3t! | 2 hours |
| monkeylunchpurplerocketsaturday | 41 trillion years |
Of course, don‘t use that exact passphrase now that it‘s been published online. Come up with your own unique one. A good rule of thumb is to aim for at least 12 characters and include a mix of lowercase and uppercase.
Once you‘ve entered your new strong password, click "Reset Password" and you‘re done! You can now use your new credentials to log back into WordPress.
Bonus Tips: Secure Your WordPress Login
Now that you‘re back in your WordPress account, let‘s make sure you don‘t have to go through this password reset rigamarole again. Here are some tips to beef up the security of your WordPress login:
Use a password manager like LastPass or 1Password to create, store, and auto-fill strong unique passwords for all your accounts. That way you only have to remember a single strong master password.
Enable two-factor authentication on your WordPress login. This adds an extra layer of security by requiring a code from your phone in addition to your password. The free Google Authenticator plugin makes setting up 2FA a snap.
Limit the number of failed login attempts to lock out bots and hackers. The free Login LockDown plugin will automatically lock out any IP address after a certain number of failed logins.
In Summary:
Forgetting your WordPress password is annoying, but it doesn‘t have to ruin your day. The platform has your back with a secure and straightforward password reset process.
To recover your lost password, just visit your login page, click the "Lost your password?" link, enter your username or email, and click the reset link that arrives in your inbox. Create a strong new passphrase and you‘re good to go!
As long as you have access to the email address associated with your WordPress account, you can reset your password an unlimited number of times. Just try not to make a habit of it!
If you found this guide helpful, you‘ll love our other WordPress tutorials aimed at helping you work smarter, not harder. And if you still have any questions about resetting your WordPress password, tweet us at @yourhandle and we‘ll do our best to help you out.
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