I'm locked out of WordPress admin

Try the normal password reset first

1. Open:

   https://yourdomain.co.za/wp-login.php
   

2. Select Lost your password?

3. Enter the administrator username or email address.

4. Check the inbox and spam folder.

5. Follow the reset link.

If the message does not arrive, the website may not be sending email correctly or the saved administrator address may be wrong.

Check that you are using the correct login address

The standard WordPress login addresses are:

https://yourdomain.co.za/wp-admin
https://yourdomain.co.za/wp-login.php

A security plugin may change or hide these addresses. Check your records or contact the developer who configured the website.

Reset the password through Softaculous

If WordPress was installed with Softaculous, Softaculous may let you reset an administrator password.

1. Sign in to your hosting control panel.
2. Open Softaculous.
3. Find the WordPress installation.
4. Open its management options.
5. Select the administrator account.
6. Set a new strong password.

On DirectAdmin, Extra Features → WordPress Manager by Softaculous lists your WordPress sites. If you don't see Softaculous, use the phpMyAdmin method below.

Reset the password with phpMyAdmin

Back up the database before editing it.

1. Open wp-config.php in File Manager.
2. Find the value of DB_NAME.
3. Open phpMyAdmin.
4. Select that database.
5. Find the table ending in _users. The default table is wp_users, but your site may use a different prefix.
6. Find the administrator's row.
7. Select Edit.
8. Find user_pass.
9. Choose MD5 in the function column.
10. Enter a new strong password as the value.
11. Save the change.
12. Sign in to WordPress with the new password.

WordPress will replace the temporary MD5 value with its normal password hash after a successful login.

Disable a plugin that blocks access

A security, login or two-factor authentication plugin may cause the problem.

1. Open File Manager.
2. Go to public_html/wp-content/plugins.
3. Find the suspected plugin's folder.
4. Rename it by adding -disabled, for example security-plugin-disabled.
5. Try signing in again.

Rename only the suspected plugin where possible. Disabling every plugin may affect the live website.

Check whether your public IP is blocked

Repeated failed control-panel, email or FTP logins can cause the server firewall to block your public IP. Customers cannot view or remove firewall blocks.

If the website works on mobile data but not on your usual connection:

1. Stop retrying.
2. Find your public IP address.
3. Open a Webway support ticket.
4. Include the public IP and the services that fail.

See My website works for others but not for me.

After restoring access

1. Set a unique password.
2. Confirm that the administrator email address is correct.
3. Review administrator accounts.
4. Re-enable plugins one at a time.
5. Enable two-factor authentication.
6. Update WordPress, its plugins and themes.

Still stuck?

Open a support ticket and include:

• Your domain name
• The login address you are using
• The exact error shown
• Whether the password-reset email arrives
• What changed before the problem began
• Any plugin folder you renamed
• Your public IP address if the site works from another network