Logging in to WordPress for the first time

Logging in to WordPress for the first time

Go to your site URL with /wp-admin or /wp-login.php on the end, for example https://example.com/wp-admin. If you are logged out, /wp-admin sends you to the login form and, once you sign in, straight to the Dashboard. On day one, set your site title and tagline, choose a permalink structure, set your timezone, and decide how comments should work. Leave the WordPress and Site Address fields alone.

This guide assumes WordPress is already installed and your site loads in a browser at your domain. If you do not have that yet, complete installation and DNS first.

Before you start

• Your domain needs to point to your hosting. If you host with us, set nameservers to ns1.serverworld.uk, ns2.serverworld.uk, ns3.serverworld.uk and ns4.serverworld.uk at your registrar, then allow DNS to propagate. Until it does, https://yourdomain/wp-admin may not reach the right server.
• If WordPress lives in a subdirectory, add it to the address, for example https://example.com/blog/wp-admin. If you run WordPress from one directory but display the site at the domain root, follow the official guidance for that setup when working with paths.
• Do not change WordPress Address (URL) or Site Address (URL) in Settings on day one. Getting these wrong is a common way to lock yourself out.
• Changing permalinks affects URLs. On a brand new site this is fine. On an established site, plan redirects before you change them.
• You do not need screenshots for this. Menus in WordPress move over time. Look for the section names listed here rather than a specific button shape.
• If you get stuck at any point, open a support ticket. We will help you get logged in and finish the setup.

Step 1: Go to your login page

What this does: Takes you to the WordPress login form or straight into wp‑admin if you are already authenticated.

1. Visit https://yourdomain/wp-admin. If you are logged out, WordPress sends you to /wp-login.php. If you are logged in, it opens the Dashboard.
2. Alternatively, go directly to https://yourdomain/wp-login.php.
3. If WordPress is installed in a subdirectory, include it, for example https://yourdomain/blog/wp-admin.

If you cannot log in:

• Click Lost your password? on the login page. Enter your username or email. WordPress emails a reset link to the account’s email. Follow the link to set a new password.
• If the reset email does not arrive, check junk mail. If mail to that address is not working, you can reset the password using the database, WP‑CLI or a temporary function in functions.php. Those methods are for when mail is not an option. If you want help confirming email delivery from your site or which mailbox the reset went to, open a support ticket.

To undo: To end the session, click your name at the top right in wp‑admin and choose Log Out. This returns you to /wp-login.php.

Step 2: Set your site title and tagline

What this does: Sets the text search engines and many themes use to identify your site. It appears in metadata and often in the header.

1. In wp‑admin, go to Settings → General.
2. Set Site Title to your business or site name.
3. Set the Tagline. You can leave this blank or enter a short strapline. Many businesses prefer to remove the default tagline.
4. Click Save Changes.

Why it matters: These values appear in page titles and previews in some themes. They also feed metadata many plugins use.

To undo: Return to Settings → General, change the fields, and save. This does not change your domain or folder structure.

Step 3: Set your timezone

What this does: Ensures scheduled posts, comment timestamps and time‑based features use your local time all year, including daylight saving.

1. In wp‑admin, go to Settings → General.
2. In Timezone, choose the nearest city, for example Europe/London or America/New_York. Prefer a city over a fixed UTC offset so daylight saving shifts are handled for you.
3. Click Save Changes.

To undo: Pick a different city or a UTC offset and save again. If scheduled items run at the wrong time, revisit this setting.

Step 4: Check your administration email and registration setting

What this does: Makes sure WordPress can reach you for critical notices and stops unwanted signups.

1. Go to Settings → General.
2. Review Administration Email Address. If you change it, WordPress emails the new address for confirmation. The change stays pending until the link in that message is clicked.
3. Leave Membership → Anyone can register unticked unless you need public user registration. If you enable it later, set the New User Default Role below it with care.
4. Save changes.

Why it matters: A pending admin email means alerts still go to the old address. Open registration without a plan invites spam accounts.

To undo: Change the admin email back and confirm the new message, or wait for the pending change to expire. Untick Anyone can register if you do not want public signups.

Step 5: Choose your permalink structure

What this does: Controls how your post and page URLs are built. Human‑readable URLs help users and are easier to work with.

1. Go to Settings → Permalinks.
2. Pick a structure. Post name is a common choice for simple, readable URLs.
3. Click Save Changes.

Important notes:

• Do not assume a default. WordPress documentation lists more than one default in different places. Always choose what you want here.
• Saving updates rewrite rules. If WordPress cannot write to .htaccess on Apache, it shows you the rules to paste into that file manually. On Nginx you must configure the rewrites in the web server.
• If pretty permalinks give 404s, you likely need Apache’s mod_rewrite enabled or the right Nginx rules. Enable the correct server config, then revisit Settings → Permalinks and save again to flush rules.

To undo:

• On a new site, switch back to your previous structure and save.
• On a site that is already public, changing structure later will break existing links. If you must change, plan redirects from old to new URLs before you switch. If changing has caused site‑wide 404s, revert to Plain to bring the site back up while you fix rewrites.

Step 6: Decide how comments and link notifications will work

What this does: Prevents unwanted comments and link notifications before you publish content.

1. Go to Settings → Discussion.
2. Set your preferences for who can comment, whether comments need manual approval, and what triggers moderation. If you do not want other sites to send link notifications, disable pingbacks and trackbacks.
3. Save changes.

Why it matters: Defaults can allow comments or link notifications you do not want. Set the policy now so new posts inherit the right behaviour.

To undo: Change the settings and save. For an individual post or page that needs a different rule, open it in the editor and adjust options in the Discussion panel for that item.

Step 7: Check Reading settings and search visibility

What this does: Controls what shows on the front page and whether search engines are asked to index the site.

1. Go to Settings → Reading.
2. Decide what your homepage displays. You can leave it as a list of posts or change it to a static page later when you have content ready.
3. Find Search engine visibility. If you are building the site privately, you can tick Discourage search engines from indexing this site. It is a request rather than a block. When you go live, make sure it is unticked.
4. Click Save Changes. Look for the confirmation that your settings have been saved.

To undo: Change the option back and save. If you left Discourage search engines on by mistake, untick it as soon as you are ready to be found.

Step 8: Edit individual page and post slugs where needed

What this does: Lets you control the exact URL fragment for key pages, for example turning /about-our-company-123 into /about.

1. Open a page or post in the editor.
2. Look for the URL or Permalink field in the sidebar. You can edit the slug when your permalinks are set to something other than Plain.
3. Save or update the content.

Why it matters: Clean slugs are easier to share. Keep them short and descriptive.

To undo: Edit the slug again and update. Changing a slug after publishing alters the URL, so incoming links to the old URL will break unless you add a redirect.

Step 9: Leave these settings alone on day one

There are settings you should not touch yet.

• WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) in Settings → General. Changing either to the wrong value commonly locks you out or breaks the front end. If this happens, the official recovery methods are to set the correct values in wp-config.php using WP_HOME and WP_SITEURL, use the RELOCATE flag, or fix siteurl and home in the database. If you are unsure, open a support ticket and we will help you recover access safely.
• Anyone can register in Settings → General. Leave this off unless you specifically need public signups. Turning it on without a plan for roles and protection leads to spam accounts.

To undo: If you changed the site addresses and locked yourself out, stop, do not keep guessing. Use the documented recovery methods in the order above or contact us for guidance. If you enabled public registration and it caused spam, disable it immediately.

Step 10: Test the front end

What this does: Confirms your settings behave as expected.

1. Visit your homepage and a couple of pages or posts. Check the title in the browser tab and any visible tagline. Confirm comment forms appear or do not appear as you expect.
2. Create a quick test post and confirm the URL structure matches your permalink setting.

To undo: Remove the test content or change the relevant setting and test again.

What next

You now know where to log in and have the day one settings in place. If you prefer a click‑by‑click path in our panels, use our support articles in the how‑to section for cPanel. If anything here does not match what you see, that is normal across WordPress versions. The menu names in this guide are the ones to look for.

If your current hosting is too limited for your plans, WordPress runs well on a VPS with proper resources. See our VPS guides and our UK location Linux VPS page for options. If you need help at any point, open a support ticket so we can assist.