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How to Login to WordPress? (Ultimate Guide for Beginners)

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How to Login to WordPress?

Are you new to WordPress and wondering how to login to WordPress? Or have you forgotten your WordPress user login credentials? Then, this guide is for you.

Without logging into your site’s WordPress dashboard, you won’t be able to do anything. It’s where all the magic happens. There, you can add, manage, and control your content the way you like!

That’s the reason, it’s important to keep your WordPress login URL safe and secure. To guard your site against hackers and malware.

So, in this guide, we’ll explain how to find your WordPress login URL and how to sign in. We’ll also show the ways to protect your WordPress login security. Let’s start!

A. What is WordPress Login? Why is it Important?

First, let’s have a quick look at what a WordPress login is and its significance.

After installing WordPress, the first thing you would like to do is log in to WordPress. For that, you should find your WordPress website’s login page.

A WordPress login page is a door that keeps you from accessing the management dashboard of your WordPress site.

What is WordPress Login
What is WordPress Login?

Once you’ve logged in, you’ll come across your dashboard. The WordPress dashboard is the main admin area from where you can add content, change your templates, and add plugins. It also lets you make other customization to your site.

So, creating and customizing a site would be impossible if you can’t log into your dashboard. Hence, it’s crucial that you know your WordPress login URL and have the login credentials.

As we’re talking about the login page, two user login credentials make it possible to access the admin area. They are username and password. Hence, remember these two fields and keep them safe somewhere where nobody else can have access to them.


B. How to Login to WordPress? (Ultimate Guide)

Always remember that WordPress admin login credentials are set during the WordPress installation. Now, let’s see how to find your WordPress login URL and log in.

Logging in to WordPress is pretty simple. Enter your site address or the domain name in your browser’s address bar. Add ‘/wp-login.php’ at the end of your site’s URL and load the page.

For instance, if your domain is ‘www.example.com‘, then your website login URL is ‘www.example.com/wp-login.php‘. Once you load your login URL, you’ll find your WordPress login page that looks like the screenshot below.

WordPress Login Page
WordPress Login Page

Alternatively, you can also add ‘/login/’ or ‘/wp-admin/’ at the end of your WordPress site URL to log in. Hence, a WordPress login URL can look like any of the examples below.

  • www.example.com/wp-login.php
  • www.example.com/login/
  • www.example.com/wp-admin/

These URLs will take you to your WordPress login page from where you’ll enter your username and password. Then click the ‘Log In‘ button. That’s all, now you’ll be logged in!

i. Accessing the WordPress Admin Dashboard

Once logged in, you’ll reach the admin dashboard of your site. It looks like the screenshot below.

WordPress Dashboard
WordPress Dashboard

If you don’t see the dashboard, then you can also access the admin page by entering these URLs:

  • www.example.com/admin/
  • www.example.com/wp-admin/

Once you find the WordPress admin dashboard, you can start using it. Like customizing your website settings, changing themes, adding plugins, creating content, and publishing them.

ii. Logging into WordPress on a Subdomain

The above method for WordPress login is helpful when WordPress is within the root of your domain. Meaning when the main domain uses WordPress. But if you’re using WordPress only for a subdomain, then you’ll have a different login URL.

A subdomain is an additional part of your main domain that organizes and navigates to different pages of your website. You can create multiple subdomains on your main domain.

For instance, if your domain name is ‘www.example.com‘, then you can have subdomains like these: www.store.example.com, www.blog.example.com, www.uk.example.com, etc.

Now, if your WordPress site is on a subdomain, then you should add ‘/wp-login.php‘ after your subdomain URL to log in.

For instance, if your WordPress site subdomain is ‘www.store.example.com‘, then your login URL will be: ‘www.store.example.com/wp-login.php‘.

WordPress Login on a Subdomain
WordPress Login on a Subdomain

Hence, the login URL for WordPress on a subdomain can be like below.

  • www.subdomain.example.com/wp-login.php 
  • www.subdomain.example.com/login/
  • www.subdomain.example.com/wp-admin/

iii) Logging into WordPress on a Subdirectory

A subdirectory is a part of the URL that houses a particular subset of content. In other words, it’s a child directory that stays under the parent directory as a subfolder.

Subdirectories or subfolders are the most straightforward way to organize related pieces of your site’s content. Also, they’re useful if you like to style a section of the same site differently.

For example, if you want a ‘Blog‘ section on your website, then you can place the blog as a subdirectory. So if you wish a different design for your Blog page from that of the root directory then, you would like to install WordPress separately and apply the desired theme to it.

So, if your main website address is ‘www.example.com‘, then you can have a subfolder ‘www.example.com/blog/‘ with a different WordPress installation.

To log in to WordPress on a subdirectory, you can add the ‘/wp-login.php‘ to your subdirectory URL. For instance, ‘www.example.com/blog/wp-login.php‘.

WordPress Login on a Subdirectory
WordPress Login on a Subdirectory

Likewise, you can also add ‘/login/‘ or ‘/wp-admin/‘. So, your WordPress login link for the subdirectory would be like the below:

  • www.example.com/subdirectory/wp-login.php
  • www.example.com/subdirectory/login/
  • www.example.com/subdirectory/wp-admin/

C. How to Remember Your WordPress Login URL?

Honestly, we tend to forget our WordPress login link, and then we start pulling our hair to recollect where we’d have saved it. And once we can’t remember it, we start babbling around like a wild GOAT!

Therefore, there are some ways to remember your login URL without having to remember it by heart. Let’s take a look at the different ways below:

1. Bookmarking the URL

You can easily remember your WordPress login URL using your browser’s Bookmark feature. This saves your login URL as a bookmark. Most of the web browsers today have this facility.

Here are the required steps for the respective browsers you’re using:

  • Chrome:  Click on the “Bookmark/Star” icon at the end of the address bar. Or, simply press Ctrl + D. Or go to Options > Bookmarks > Bookmark this tab.
  • Safari: Go to Bookmarks > Add Bookmark. Or, hit ⌘ Cmd + D.
  • Firefox: Go to the star located at the right end of the address bar, so that it’ll turn blue.
Adding WordPress Login Page as Bookmark on Chrome
Adding WordPress Login Page as Bookmark on Chrome

Once you’ve bookmarked your login URL, you can directly access the link to your site’s login page. That too without having to remember your WordPress login URL off the top of your head. 

2. Adding the Login Link to the Menu

Alternatively, you can also remember your link to your login page by adding a login link to your menu.

Simply, you can follow these steps to add a link to your menu. But if you want to create a dropdown menu, then you can use this guide instead.

Step 1: Go to Appearance > Menus.

Open WordPress Menus after Login
Open Menus

Step 2: On the menu editor page, first select a menu or create a new menu. If you’re creating a new menu, then don’t forget to add a recognizable name and save it.

Select Menu or Create a New Menu
Select Menu or Create a New Menu

Step 3: Now, the next step is to add your WordPress login link as a menu item. Click on ‘Custom Links’. Enter your login URL and provide the menu item a name (Link Text). Next, click on ‘Add to Menu‘.

Adding Login URL to Menu as a Custom Link
Adding Login URL to Menu as a Custom Link

Step 4: After that, you’ll see the menu item added under the ‘Menu structure‘. Next, select ‘Display Location‘ for your menu and click on the ‘Save Menu‘ button.

Choose Display Location and Save Menu
Choose Display Location and Save Menu

If your theme shows a footer menu by default, then you can see it on your website automatically. Clicking on your new menu item will take you to the login page.

But if your template doesn’t have one, then you must customize and add that menu to the site.

Note: Please note that it’s not recommended if your website holds very important information. That’s because the login URL leads to your site’s admin area. Displaying it publicly can attract bad guys to try to break into your site.

3. Adding Login Link to the Sidebar or Footer

Another alternative is to use the meta widget. WordPress comes with a default Meta widget that allows you to add a link to the login page. Also, it links to your site’s RSS feed and a link to the WordPress.org website. 

You can add that link within the sidebar, footer, or the other widget-ready area in your theme. Here are the required steps:

Step 1: Go to Appearance > Widgets.

Open Widgets after WordPress Login
Open Widgets

Step 2: Select or drag the Meta widget to the widget area where you want to add it.

Drag Meta Widget
Drag Meta Widget

Step 3: Enter a Title you want to use for the widget. You can give any name, like ‘Meta’ itself. After that, click on the ‘Save‘ button.

That’s all! It’s pretty simple.

Note: Adding a login link to the menu and widget is not recommended if your site contains important information about yourself and your users. Because it’s making the login page public which is making it easier for hackers.  

For beginners, read guides on what a WordPress plugin is and how to install a WordPress plugin!


D. How to Save Login Credentials of the Login Page?

Sometimes, even after you somehow remember your login URL, there’s a high chance that you might also forget your password. So to deal with it you can use Remember Me.

i) Use Remember Me

On your WordPress login page, you may have seen a checkbox labeled ‘Remember Me‘ just under the username and password field. Check that box before you log in.

It’ll then save your username and password for up to 14 days and allow you to remain logged in without the necessity to log in on your subsequent visit.

Remember Me option
Remember Me option

ii) Use a Password Manager Tool

Another easy and secure way to save your WordPress login credentials is by using a password manager tool.

For example, you can use LastPass. Visit the website and create an account.

After that, you can add its browser extension to your web browser and save your passwords on it. The LastPass extension is available on all major browsers including Google Chrome, Edge, Firefox, etc.

Once saved, it’ll provide you the username and password every time you’re on the login page.

Using LastPass to Save Your WordPress Login Details
Using LastPass to Save Your WordPress Login Details

E. How to Protect Your WordPress Login Security?

It’s very important to protect your WordPress login page. If you don’t, then others can steal user information, install malicious software, and even distribute malware to your users. This could cause severe damage to your business and reputation.

There are several ways in which you can secure your WordPress login page. Ultimately, this secures your website overall. Hence find the methods:

1) Use a Strong Password

Simple yet most effective way to protect your WordPress login page is to use strong password. It means creating a difficult password that hackers can’t easily guess or know.

A strong password should have a minimum of 15 characters. And the combination should contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols or special characters like &, @, $, etc.

Strong Password
Strong Password

You can combine the said character types and create strong passwords yourself. Or use online tools to generate strong passwords.

If you’re using a password management tool like LastPass, you can also find that feature. For example, check the image below in which we show how to generate strong password with LastPass Chrome extension.

Generating Strong Password with LastPass Chrome Extension
Generating Strong Password with LastPass Chrome Extension

Plus, there are tools such as Strong Password Generator that would automatically generate the password for you.

Just like in the image below, you only need to set the password length and kinds of characters you want in your password.

Strong Password Generator
Strong Password Generator

Most people seem to use simple and short passwords for their websites. As they find it easier to remember it and may sometimes use the same password for every other account. But this is often not a good practice to follow because it makes the job of the hacker so much easier.

Hence, you need to always create a really strong password to secure a login page. See the image below to find out what a strong password is and what is not.


2) Limit the Login Attempts

Nowadays, hackers attempt to hack into your website by guessing some combination of usernames and passwords. Such types of attacks are called brute force attacks.

To protect your website from such attacks, you can limit the number of login attempts on your WordPress login page. It’s a very simple and straightforward yet highly effective way of keeping your website secure.

For example, you can set users to have three chances to enter the credentials correctly. If they fail in three attempts, then they might be locked out of their account.

You can implement this feature using different WordPress security plugins. Here, let’s see how you can enable this on the free Wordfence plugin and Solid Security plugin.

Limiting Login Attempts with Worfence

If you haven’t installed the Wordfence plugin, install using this tutorial.

After you’ve installed the plugin, go to “WordPress >> All Options” from your WordPress dashboard. Then, find the “Brute Force Protection” tab on the page. Open the tab and you’ll see options like shown in the screenshot below.

Brute Force Protection Options on Wordfence Security Plugin
Brute Force Protection Options on Wordfence Security Plugin

Step 1: Enable brute force protection by clicking the “On” option.

Step 2: Set the number of login failures after which users get locked out. Additionally, you can also set the number of forgot password attempts, the amount of time a user is locked out, etc.

Step 3: Save your changes. Then you can go to your login page and try it yourself.

Limit WordPress Login Attempts with Solid Security

Solid Security is yet another powerful all-in-one WordPress security plugin. It provides you with different login security features.

First of all, go to the “Security >> Firewall” page from your WordPress dashboard. After that, click on the “Configure” tab. Next, go to “Local Brute Force” and then enable the option by clicking the toggle.

Brute Force Protection Settings by Solid Security
Brute Force Protection Settings by Solid Security

After that, you can see the number of maximum login attempts per IP, per user, and minutes to remember bad login.

With these settings, you can control brute-force attacks by hackers.

Also, there are other plugins like Login LockDown and Limit Login Attempts Reloaded to assist you with similar options.

Unless you’re using any exclusive feature on these other plugins, using an all-in-one security plugin like Wordfence is a better option.


3) Upgrade Your Site to HTTPS

Another thing you’ll do is upgrade your website to HTTPS. You can do so by adding an SSL certificate to your website’s domain.

SSL Enabled Secure Site Example SiteSaga
SSL Enabled Secure Site Example SiteSaga

When you upgrade your website to HTTPS, it’ll automatically keep the hackers far away from going to your website. That’s because it encrypts a connection between your server and your browser.

Hence, this encryption makes it harder for hackers to appear around and steal your personal information.

Not only that it’ll also solve your site showing “not secure” on the web address bar issue.

Here’s a list of the best website hosting providers with free SSL for a secure connection.

4) Use Two Factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication is a two-step verification that’s used to protect your online account from unauthorized access by adding a layer of security.

Once you have 2FA enabled on your site, just having your login username/email and password won’t allow you login access. You should also enter another set of codes for authentication. Hence, it’s called 2-step verification.

So, even if a hacker guesses your credentials, they’d still have to enter the one-time code to access your site. And that’s just available to you. Hence, it’s a secure way to protect your website.

You can easily set up two-factor authentication on your WordPress login using security plugins, like Wordfence and Solid Security.

Setting Up 2FA on WordPress Login with Wordfence

Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to “Wordfence >> Login Security“. After that, you can see a 2FA setup screen just like below.

Two Factor Authentication for WordPress Login using Wordfence
Two-Factor Authentication for WordPress Login using Wordfence

Step 1: Scan the QR code shown above with the Google Authenticator app on your mobile device. Install the app if you don’t have it already. Once you scan the code, your app will start generating codes.

Step 2: Enter the code generated by your Authenticator app in the field above (123XXX entered as an example above). Then, click the “Activate” button.

You can also download the backup codes and place them safely on your local device.

Once the above steps are complete, you can visit your login page again and see whether 2FA is enabled. For more details, check this documentation.

Setting Up 2FA with Solid Security

Solid Security plugin also lets you add Two-Factor Authentication to protect your WordPress user login page.

To enable the setting, go to “Security >> Settings” from your dashboard. After that, click on the “Features” tab and then “Login Security“. You’ll see the “Two-Factor” option, enable that using the toggle.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication Setting in Solid Security
Enable Two-Factor Authentication Setting in Solid Security

Once the Two-Factor setting has been enabled, you should set up the authentication for your WordPress user profile.

Go to the “Users >> Profile” page from your dashboard. Scroll down to the “Security” section at the end and then click on the “Two-Factor Authentication” tab.

Configure Two-Factor Authentication for Your WordPress User Profile with Solid Security
Configure Two-Factor Authentication for Your WordPress User Profile with Solid Security

After that, click on the “Configure” button.

On the next screen, you’ll find available two-factor authentication options. As you can see on the screenshot, you can set up your email to receive a one-time code every time you log in. Or use backup codes. Or set up with an authenticator app.

Two Factor Authentication Methods in Solid Security
Two-Factor Authentication Methods in Solid Security

You can set up the authenticator app just like we did with the Wordfence plugin. It’s pretty simple to so.

5) Set Up CAPTCHA

Adding a CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) to your WordPress login page strengthens security by presenting a challenge that distinguishes between genuine users and automated bots.

CAPTCHA prompts users to complete a task, like identifying distorted text or images, preventing automated programs from gaining unauthorized access.

This extra step significantly reduces the risk of brute-force attacks, where hackers try multiple password combinations, thus enhancing the overall security of your WordPress site.

You can easily add CAPTCHA to your WordPress login URL using security plugins.

Adding CAPTCHA to WordPress Login with Wordfence

Login to your WordPress dashboard and go to “Wordfence >> Login Security“. After that, click on the “Settings” tab.

Login Security Settings on Wordfence
Login Security Settings on Wordfence

After that scroll down to “reCAPTCHA” settings. Now, you need the reCAPTCHA V3 Site Key and Secret Key.

Setting Up reCAPTCHA on Wordfence
Setting Up reCAPTCHA on Wordfence

For that, you need to add your site to Google reCAPTCHA admin. You can read this documentation for the help.

Adding CAPTCHA with Solid Security

You can set up the CAPTCHA settings in quite a similar way. Go to the “Security >> Firewall” page first and then click on the “Configure” tab. After that, click on the “CAPTCHA” option.

CAPTCHA Settings in Solid Security
CAPTCHA Settings in Solid Security

Enable the CAPTCHA option by clicking the toggle. Then, you need to enter the site key and secret key as shown before. That’s it!

6) Inactive Logout

It’s a typical habit that the majority of us leave our accounts open and unattended. Sometimes something may close the browser without logging out of our accounts.

Overall, this bad habit of ours can pose a security risk. Because hackers may find a chance to change your passwords or make unwanted changes to your account.

Hence, you must always remember to sign off when you’re inactive. Also, if you’re using a public computer or unsecured public Wi-Fi, then you must be even more alert.

Unlike e-banking websites, WordPress doesn’t have an auto-logout option when users are inactive. So, you need to implement this security measure using plugins like Inactive Logout.

Inactive Logout WordPress Plugin
Inactive Logout WordPress Plugin

As this plugin is free and straightforward to install, upon activation, you’ll need to go to Settings> Inactive Logout. Then, simply set the idle timeout and add a logout message.

Inactive User Logout Setting
Inactive User Logout Setting

E. How to Add a Custom Login Page?

If you’re running an online store or any site, then you would possibly need to create and use a custom login page.

When you use a custom login page on your site, you’ll make it look professional and help to create a promising brand for your users. You can also customize the login page by changing background colors and adding your logo to it. 

Using Theme My Login to Create Login Page

The Theme My Login is free and easier to use a plugin for creating a custom login page on your WordPress site. All you have to do is install and activate the Theme My Login plugin. You can install it from Plugins > Add New from your WordPress Plugin Directory.

Theme My Login
Theme My Login

Upon activation, it’ll automatically create URLs for your custom dashboard, login, log out, register, lost password, and reset password actions.

ThemeMyLogin Setting
Theme My Login Setting

To customize your WordPress login URL you want to go to Theme My Login > General. Then, look for the ‘Slugs‘ section where you’ll modify the URLs for the given actions.


G. Troubleshooting Most Common Login Issues

Sometimes when you’re logging into your WordPress admin page, you’ll experience various issues. Here are some solutions to some common ones:

i. Incorrect Password

Certain times you’ll remember your email address correctly, but the password you just entered can’t seem to work. Then you can’t log in to your WordPress website. In that case, you’ll click on ‘Lost your password?’ just below the login form.

Lost your password option
Lost your password?

Firstly, WordPress will ask you to enter either your username or email address related to your account. Secondly, a link to change your password will be sent to your corresponding email.

ii. Database Connection Error

If you’re experiencing the “Error Establishing a Database Connection” error, then there’s nothing to stress about as it is a pretty common issue.

This usually happens when your site is unable to retrieve and display information from the database. This may prevent you from logging into your WordPress admin dashboard.

WordPress Login - Database Connection Lost
Database Connection Lost

You can fix this issue by checking your login credentials. And then, confirm that they match the login credentials in your wp-config.php file with those in your MySQL Database. 

iii. Cache and Cookies

Cookies are small files stored in your browser’s directory that store information like the website’s name and a unique ID that represents you as a user. So, sometimes you might not be able to log in due to cookies-related issues.

Hence, you might get the following error:

Error: Cookies are blocked or not supported by your browser. You must enable cookies to use WordPress.

Similarly, if your browser cache isn’t updated regularly, then you’ll view older versions of some files that support WordPress.

Fixing these issues is damn easy. Firstly, you would like to enable the cookies in your browser. Secondly, you would like to clear both your browser cache and cookies. You’ll clear browsing data by pressing Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + Del in Windows, and ⌥ Opt + ⌘ Cmd + E in Mac.

Then, attempt to log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.

Find out WordPress cache plugins and WordPress cookie consent plugins if you’re interested in them.

iv) WordPress Login Disabled

Sometimes when you’re making too many failed attempts to log into your dashboard, WordPress would automatically disable you from further logging in. If it’s happening because you have forgotten your password then, simply attempt to reset it.

Finally, read our article on how to make a website if you’re a beginner.


Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you with how to login to WordPress. We believe that you can now remember your WordPress login URL. Hopefully, you also have some ideas on how to protect your WordPress login from other intruders.

If you’ve any further queries about WordPress login, then please leave a comment below. We’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible. 

Further, read our other blogs on the best Captcha WordPress plugins and how to backup a WordPress site for free.

If you like this article, then please share it with your friends and colleagues. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Some of the links on this article/page are affiliate links. If you click on such an affiliate link and purchase the product, we’ll earn a specific percent commission from the seller. But it won’t at all affect the price you’ll pay.
Written By Sunita Rai
Sunita Rai is the Head of Ideas and Chief Editor at SiteSaga. She's a seasoned content marketer, boasting over 7 years of WordPress expertise, and she's penned articles for leading blogs like WPBeginner and ThemeGrill.

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