03 Jan How to Find Your WordPress User ID Number

When working with WordPress, there are times you may need to locate specific internal data, such as your user ID number. Whether you’re setting up custom user experiences with code, applying role-based permissions, or integrating with plugins that require targeting individual users, knowing how to find this ID becomes important. Unfortunately, WordPress doesn’t make this information very obvious in its user interface, especially for beginners.

TL;DR

The easiest way to find your WordPress user ID is to access the Users section of the WordPress Dashboard, hover over the username, and check the URL in your browser status bar or address bar. Alternatively, you can click into a user profile and look at the URL — the user ID will be visible as a number in the query string. There are also plugins and code-snippet approaches for those who prefer advanced methods.

Why User ID Numbers Matter in WordPress

WordPress assigns every user a unique, non-editable number — the user ID. This ID serves as a consistent internal reference used by WordPress core, themes, and plugins to identify each user across the system.

Here are a few instances where you might need a user ID:

• Assigning authorship or custom permissions for a user
• Displaying user-specific content using shortcodes or templates
• Targeting users with automation or membership plugins
• Debugging issues related to specific accounts

Method 1: Find a User ID Using the WordPress Admin Dashboard

This is the most straightforward and safe method, requiring no additional plugins or coding.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Log in to your WordPress Admin area.
2. In the left-hand menu, go to Users > All Users.
3. Hover your mouse over the username of the user whose ID you want to find.
4. Look at the bottom of your browser to preview the URL — it will contain a query string like this:

https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/user-edit.php?user_id=3

The number at the end (3 in this example) is the WordPress User ID.

You can also click into the user’s profile to see the same user ID in the URL of the address bar.

Method 2: Find User ID via the Database (Advanced)

If you’re comfortable working directly with the WordPress database, you can use phpMyAdmin or a database client to look up user information. This method is especially useful when you don’t have access to the Dashboard or are working with user data programmatically.

Steps to locate it via phpMyAdmin:

1. Login to your hosting control panel (like cPanel).
2. Open phpMyAdmin.
3. Select your WordPress database.
4. Find and select the table called wp_users.
5. Browse the table — the ID column represents each user’s User ID.

Note: If your WordPress installation uses a custom table prefix, the table may be named xyz_users instead of wp_users.

Method 3: Using a Plugin

If you’re not comfortable editing code or browsing databases, plugins provide an easy way to reveal user IDs on-screen. There are several plugins that extend the Users interface to show the ID field directly.

Recommended plugins include:

• Reveal IDs: Shows IDs for users, posts, pages, and more throughout the admin dashboard.
• Show User ID: Adds a column to the Users table in the admin area displaying the ID number.

To get started with a plugin:

1. Go to Plugins > Add New from your Dashboard.
2. Search for one of the above plugin names.
3. Click Install, then Activate.
4. Go to Users > All Users and you’ll see a new column named ID.

This method is ideal for non-technical users who need quick and easy access to user IDs without touching any code.

Method 4: Programmatically Retrieve User ID in Code

Developers building custom themes or plugins may need to find a user ID using code. WordPress provides a number of global functions to retrieve user object data.

Here are common examples:

// Get user ID by username
$user = get_user_by('login', 'exampleusername');
$user_id = $user->ID;

// Get current logged-in user ID
$user_id = get_current_user_id();

Be sure to wrap these functions inside conditional checks to ensure the user object isn’t empty before using the ID.

Security Considerations When Working with User IDs

While it’s usually harmless to know or display a user ID within the admin area or backend development tools, broadcasting user IDs publicly on your site or in the browser can expose your site to unnecessary risks.

Security best practices include:

• Never displaying raw user IDs in URLs for public-facing pages.
• Using nonce tokens when referencing users in API calls to validate identities securely.
• Protecting user data with role-based access controls and robust authentication layers.

Although knowing a user ID doesn’t inherently lead to a vulnerability, in combination with other discovered weaknesses, it can contribute to targeting specific accounts.

How WordPress Assigns User IDs

WordPress uses auto-incrementing integers in the wp_users table to assign each new user a unique ID. The first user usually has ID 1 (often the administrator), and the count increases sequentially. Deleting users doesn’t recycle IDs, so if a user with ID 5 is removed, the next new user will still get ID 6.

Using this predictable pattern, you might be tempted to assume user IDs — but doing so in live plugins or front-end forms is discouraged for security and accuracy reasons.

Conclusion

Finding your WordPress User ID is a straightforward task once you know where to look. Whether you prefer a code-free, plugin-based solution or want to retrieve it via the database or programmatically, multiple methods are available depending on your experience level and needs.

Understanding how to locate and use User IDs strengthens your control over your WordPress environment and enables more precise customization and user management.

Choose the method that best aligns with your technical comfort level:

• If you’re a beginner, use the Dashboard or install a plugin.
• If you’re an advanced user or developer, access the database or use built-in WordPress functions in your code.

Now that you’re equipped with this knowledge, you can confidently work with user IDs to build a more powerful and personalized WordPress experience.