How to Change the WordPress Admin Email (3 Methods)

How to Change Your WordPress Admin Email (Step by Step)
Your WordPress admin email is a crucial setting for your website. It‘s the email address associated with your main administrator account and where you receive important notifications about your site.

However, there are many reasons you may need to change your WordPress admin email address. Perhaps you want to use a more professional email or switch to a different email provider. Or maybe you no longer have access to the original email account.

Fortunately, changing your WordPress admin email is a relatively straightforward process. In this guide, we‘ll walk you through how to do it step by step.

Why Change Your WordPress Admin Email?
There are a few key reasons to change the admin email in WordPress:

1. You‘re using a personal email and want to switch to a branded business email.
2. You‘ve changed email providers and need to update your email across all your accounts.
3. The original admin email is no longer active or accessible.
4. You want to forward admin notifications to a different team member.
5. You‘re transferring ownership of the WordPress site to someone else.

Ultimately, it‘s important that your WordPress admin email is up-to-date and that you have access to it. Otherwise you could miss critical messages about your site‘s functionality and security.

Before You Change Your Admin Email
Prior to changing your WordPress admin email, there are a few prerequisites to take care of:

1. Choose your new admin email address. Ideally, it should be a professional, branded email at your own domain (you@yoursite.com). Avoid using generic free email services for better security and credibility.

2. Ensure you can send and receive emails from your WordPress site. Your hosting provider may have specific requirements or limitations. Consider using a plugin like WP Mail SMTP to improve email deliverability.

3. Back up your WordPress site. It‘s always a good idea to make a full backup before making any significant changes. That way, you can easily restore your site if something goes wrong.

Once you‘ve completed these steps, you‘re ready to change your WordPress admin email. Here‘s how to do it via the WordPress dashboard.

How to Change Your Admin Email in WordPress

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
2. Go to Settings > General.
3. Scroll down to the "Administration Email Address" field.
4. Enter your new admin email address.
5. Click the "Save Changes" button at the bottom of the page.

WordPress will now send a verification email to the new email address. Open the email and click the link to confirm the change. The verification link will expire in 48 hours, so be sure to complete this step promptly.

After you verify the new email address, it will become the new WordPress admin email for your site. You should start receiving admin notifications at this address.

Note that changing the admin email only affects the site-level notifications. It does not automatically update the email associated with your user account. To change that:

1. Go to Users > All Users.
2. Hover over the administrator account and click "Edit."
3. Update the email address in the "Contact Info" section.
4. Click "Update User."

You‘ll receive another verification email to confirm the user email change. This ensures that each administrator has access to their account.

What If You Don‘t Receive the Verification Email?
In some cases, you may not receive the admin email verification message. This could be due to server issues, plugin conflicts, or the email getting caught in spam filters.

If you don‘t receive the confirmation email within a few minutes, try the following:

• Check your spam or junk mail folder in case the email was flagged as spam.
• Ensure that your inbox is not full, which could cause incoming messages to bounce.
• Resend the verification email by going to Settings > General and clicking "Save Changes" again.
• Reach out to your hosting provider to ensure their servers can send emails properly.
• Try using an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP or Post SMTP to improve email reliability.

If you still can‘t verify the new email address, you may need to use an alternative method. Let‘s look at how to change the WordPress admin email using a plugin.

How to Change the Admin Email Using a Plugin
If the default email change process isn‘t working, you can use the free Change Admin Email plugin to update the email address without verification.

To use this method:

1. Install and activate the Change Admin Email plugin.
2. Go to Settings > General.
3. Enter the new email address in the "Administration Email Address" field.
4. Check the box for "Force Change."
5. Click "Save Changes."

The new admin email will be updated immediately without the need for verification. However, it‘s still a good idea to test that you can receive emails at the new address.

Changing the Admin Email via the WordPress Database
If you‘re still having trouble changing the WordPress admin email, you can update it directly in the WordPress database. However, this method should only be used as a last resort and by advanced users who are comfortable working with databases.

To change the admin email in the database:

1. Log in to your hosting control panel.
2. Open the phpMyAdmin tool.
3. Select your WordPress database from the left sidebar.
4. Click on the "wpoptions" table (the "wp" prefix may be different).
5. Find the row where "option_name" is "admin_email."
6. Click the "Edit" link for that row.
7. Update the "option_value" field with the new email address.
8. Click "Go" to save the change.

The admin email will now be updated in the WordPress database. However, you still need to update the email for your admin user account by editing the row in the "wp_users" table.

Be extremely careful when editing the WordPress database directly as incorrect changes can break your site. Always make a backup first.

Security Considerations When Changing the WordPress Admin Email
Whenever you change an important setting like the admin email, it‘s crucial to keep security in mind. Here are some tips:

• Always use a strong, unique password for the admin email account.
• Enable two-factor authentication on the email account for an extra layer of security.
• Ensure the new email account has a good reputation and isn‘t associated with spam.
• Keep the number of admin accounts to a minimum and regularly audit user permissions.
• Make sure other administrators update their accounts if you change the main admin email.

By taking these precautions, you can help prevent unauthorized access to your WordPress site through the admin email account.

Updating Other Accounts and Links
After changing your WordPress admin email, there are a few other places you may need to update the old email address:

• Email marketing lists (unsubscribe from the old email and re-subscribe with the new one).
• Notification settings for plugins, themes, or third-party services.
• Links to email addresses in your WordPress content, templates, or email signature.
• Gravatar profile (for blog post author images).
• Social media profiles.

Taking the time to update your email address across all your accounts will ensure a smooth transition and that you don‘t miss any important communications.

Testing the New WordPress Admin Email
Once you‘ve updated the admin email everywhere, it‘s important to test that it‘s working correctly. Here are a few things to try:

• Request a password reset for an administrator account to ensure you receive the email.
• Test a contact form submission and check that the notification reaches the new address.
• Leave a blog post comment using the new email address and verify that you receive moderation emails.
• Send a test email from your WordPress site using a plugin like Check Email.

If you encounter any issues with sending or receiving WordPress emails, reach out to your hosting provider for assistance. They can help troubleshoot server settings that may be blocking your emails.

WordPress Admin Email Best Practices
To wrap up, here are some best practices to keep in mind for your WordPress admin email:

1. Use a professional, branded email address instead of a generic free account.
2. Keep the admin email address up to date, especially if you change email providers.
3. Limit the number of people with access to the admin email account.
4. Enable two-factor authentication for added security.
5. Regularly test that you can send and receive emails from your WordPress site.
6. Use a reliable SMTP server or plugin to improve email deliverability.
7. Monitor the admin email inbox for important notifications about your site‘s performance and security.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your WordPress admin email is secure, reliable, and serves its important purpose for your website.

Conclusion
The WordPress admin email is a small but mighty setting that plays a key role in your site‘s functionality. By keeping it up to date and following best practices, you can stay on top of important notifications and maintain the security of your site.

Fortunately, changing the WordPress admin email is a relatively simple process that you can complete through the WordPress dashboard, a plugin, or directly in the database. Use the method that works best for your situation and technical comfort level.

If you have any trouble along the way, don‘t hesitate to reach out to your hosting provider or consult the WordPress support forums. With a little persistence and the right tools, you‘ll have your new admin email set up in no time.

Was this guide helpful for updating your WordPress admin email? Let us know in the comments!