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The WordPress wp-config.php File Explained

The WordPress wp-config.php file is one of the most important files in your WordPress installation. Without the wp-config file, your WordPress website simply couldn't function. In this post, we'll cover an overview of the contents of the wp-config.php file, how to edit wp-config.php and several advanced options supported.

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SolidWP Editorial Team

The WordPress wp-config.php file is one of the most important files in your WordPress installation. Without the wp-config file, your WordPress website simply couldn’t function. In this post, we’ll cover an overview of the contents of the wp-config.php file, how to edit wp-config.php and several advanced options supported.

Regardless of what your role is in managing your WordPress website, it’s crucial to understand exactly what the wp-config.php file is and how it works to power your site. In this guide to the WordPress config file, we’ll explain not only what this important WordPress core file is, but how to use it, and even go over some real-world example files. Let’s go!

Whether you have one small blog that you host on the WordPress content management system (CMS) or you’re tasked to manage multiple WordPress sites, chances are that you’ll at least have one contact with the WordPress configuration file. Just how much experience you have with the wp-config.php file likely depends on how technical of a role you have.

What is the wp-config.php File?

The wp-config.php file provides the base configuration details for your WordPress website.

The wp-config.php file is a WordPress core file that contains the necessary information to make your WordPress website operate, including:

  • Your WordPress database MySQL connection settings
  • WordPress salts & keys
  • WordPress database table prefix
  • ABSPATH (the absolute path to the WordPress directory
  • (Optional) WordPress debugging mode

Out of the many files in the root of your WordPress site, the WordPress config file is so important that your site cannot operate without one. This file has a specific syntax that must be followed, and there are many different variables that can be set within it. In short, this file is used to tell WordPress how to behave in different scenarios and will look vastly different for different sites.

WordPress wp-config.php file

WordPress Config File Explained

Though we’ll look at actual code example wp-config.php file later in this guide, let’s investigate deeper into what the WordPress config file does and what types of variables it sets.

First, the wp-config.php file critically sets up database access. Your WordPress database is essentially a MySQL database to store most (but not all) of your content, including posts, comments, your user base, passwords (encrypted and salted), and more. The connection to the database itself is also established, and this typically comprises the first “block”, or section of code, of this file.

Other settings included in the WordPress config file include “salting” (making it even harder for hackers to take advantage of your database, should they be able to steal it).

Note: Use a WordPress security plugin in addition to taking common-sense measures to ensure that you and your visitors’ data remain secure.

Next, other variables are set in the code. For example, developers can set the WP_DEBUG variable to ‘1’ or ‘true’, making it so that the site runs in debug mode, allowing advanced diagnostics.

The Contents of the WordPress wp-config.php File

The contents of the wp-config.php file are evaluated every single time a page on your site that is not cached is loaded. That means that every time you receive a new visitor, the contents are reloaded, making it absolutely crucial that you keep this file current and correct.

The file will look like a huge series of function calls to core WordPress functions. Also, it is considered a best practice to thoroughly comment any code you place in this file. While it may be obvious to you why you did things a certain way, it may not be obvious to another developer who later works on the project!

The following gives an overview of the basic contents of your WordPress wp-config.php file.

NOTE: The contents of the wp-config-sample.php file are in a specific order. Rearranging the contents of the file may create errors on your website.
wp-config.php file

MySQL Database Settings

WordPress websites operate by using a MySQL database. Your database stores the content of your blog, such as posts, comments, etc.

Database information can usually be retrieved from your host. If you manage your own web server or hosting account and have access to cPanel, you can access this information as a result of creating the database and user. From cPanel, visit the MySQL databases section.

LineExplanation
define('DB_NAME', 'database_name_here');The name of the database for WordPress. Replace 'database_name_here' with the name of your database, e.g. MyDatabaseName.
define('DB_USER', 'username_here');The MySQL database username used to access the database. Replace 'username_here' with the name of your username e.g. MyUserName.
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password_here');The MySQL database password used to access the database. Replace 'password_here' with the your password, e.g. MyPassWord.
define('DB_NAME', 'database_name_here');The MySQL hostname. Replace 'localhost' with the name of your database host, e.g. MyDatabaseHost. A port number or Unix socket file path may be needed as well. Try installing with the default value of 'localhost' and see if it works.
define('DB_CHARSET', 'utf8');Database Charset to use in creating database tables. As of WordPress 2.2, DB_CHARSET was made available to allow designation of the database character set to be used when defining the MySQL database tables. The default value of utf8 (Unicode UTF-8) is almost always the best option. UTF-8 supports any language, so you typically want to leave DB_CHARSET at utf8 and use the DB_COLLATE value for your language instead.
define('DB_COLLATE', '');The Database Collate type. As of WordPress Version 2.2, DB_COLLATE was made available to allow designation of the database collation (i.e. the sort order of the character set). In most cases, this value should be left blank (null) so the database collation will be automatically assigned by MySQL based on the database character set specified by DB_CHARSET. An example of when you may need to set DB_COLLATE to one of the UTF-8 values defined in UTF-8 character sets for most Western European languages would be when a different language in which the characters that you entered are not the same as what is being displayed.

WordPress Salts & Keys

WordPress uses cookies (or information stored in your browser) to verify the identity of logged-in users and commenters, so WordPress also includes secret authentication security keys and salts in the wp-config.php file. Essentially, these WordPress security keys are additional passwords for your site that are long, random, and complicated—so they’re nearly impossible to break.

The four keys are required for enhanced security. The four salts are recommended but are not required, because WordPress will generate salts for you if none are provided. They are included in wp-config.php by default.

LineExplanation
define('AUTH_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here');Security key for better encryption of information stored in the user's cookies. Added in WordPress 2.5.
define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here');Security key for better encryption of information stored in the user's cookies. Added in WordPress 2.5.
define('LOGGED_IN_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here');Security key for better encryption of information stored in the user's cookies. Added in WordPress 2.5.
define('NONCE_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here');Security key for better encryption of information stored in the user's cookies. Added in WordPress 2.7
define('AUTH_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');Corresponding salt to 'AUTH_KEY'.
define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');Corresponding salt to 'SECURE_AUTH_KEY'.
define('LOGGED_IN_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');Corresponding salt to 'LOGGED_IN_KEY'.
define('NONCE_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');Corresponding salt to 'NONCE_KEY'.

WordPress Database Table Prefix

The $table_prefix is the value placed in the front of your database tables. Change the value if you want to use something other than wp_ for your database prefix. Typically this is changed if you are installing multiple WordPress blogs in the same database as is done with the multisite feature. Use only numbers, letters, and underscores.

LineExplanation
$table_prefix = 'wp_';The WordPress database table prefix.

WordPress Language

WordPress 4.0 introduced the option to change the language in your WordPress administration dashboard instead of in wp-config.php. Change the language directly from the WordPress dashboard by visiting Settings > General and selecting site language.

ABSPATH Absolute Path to the WordPress Directory

LineExplanation
if ( !defined('ABSPATH') )
define('ABSPATH', dirname(__FILE__) . '/');
This line defines the absolute path to the WordPress directory.
require_once(ABSPATH . 'wp-settings.php');Sets up WordPress vars and included files.

Advanced wp-config.php Options

The following section contains advanced options for wp-config.php. Changes could result in unforeseen issues for your website, so be sure to make a WordPress backup before adding or modifying these settings.

For a full list of wp-config.php settings options, visit the WordPress Codex.

OptionExplanationLine
WordPress Address (URL)WP_SITEURL allows the WordPress address (URL) to be defined. The value defined is the address where your WordPress core files reside. It should include the http:// part too. (Do not put a slash "/" at the end.) Setting this value in wp-config.phpp overrides the wp_options table value for siteurl and disables the WordPress address (URL) field in the Settings > General page of your WordPress dashboard.define( 'WP_SITEURL', 'http://example.com/wordpress' );
Modify AutoSave IntervalWhen editing a post, WordPress uses Ajax to auto-save revisions to the post as you edit. You may want to increase this setting for longer delays in between auto-saves, or decrease the setting to make sure you never lose changes. The default is 60 seconds.define( 'AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL', 160 ); // Seconds
Disable Post RevisionsWordPress, by default, will save copies of each edit made to a post or page, allowing the possibility of reverting to a previous version of that post or page. The saving of revisions can be disabled, or a maximum number of revisions per post or page can be specified.define( 'WP_POST_REVISIONS', false );
Specify the Number of Post RevisionsIf you want to specify a maximum number of revisions, change false to an integer/number (e.g., 3 or 5).define('WP_POST_REVISIONS', 3);
Set Cookie DomainThe domain set in the cookies for WordPress can be specified for those with unusual domain setups. One reason is if subdomains are used to serve static content. To prevent WordPress cookies from being sent with each request to static content on your subdomain you can set the cookie domain to your non-static domain only.define('COOKIE_DOMAIN', 'www.askapache.com');
Enable Multisite / Network AbilityWP_ALLOW_MULTISITE is a feature introduced in WordPress Version 3.0 to enable multisite functionality previously achieved through WordPress MU. If this setting is absent from wp-config.php it defaults to false.define('WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true);
Redirect Nonexistent BlogsNOBLOGREDIRECT can be used to redirect the browser if the visitor tries to access a nonexistent blog. Example: http://nonexistent.example.com or http://example.com/nonexistent/.define('NOBLOGREDIRECT', 'http://example.com');
DebugThe WP_DEBUG option controls the display of some errors and warnings. If this setting is absent from wp-config.php, then the value is assumed to be false. NOTE: The true and false values in the example are not set in apostrophes (') because they are boolean values.define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG', false);
Disable Javascript ConcatenationTTo result in a faster administration area, all Javascript files are concatenated into one URL. If Javascript is failing to work in your administration area, you can try disabling this feature.define('CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS', false);
Increasing memory allocated to PHPThe WP_MEMORY_LIMIT option allows you to specify the maximum amount of memory that can be consumed by PHP. This setting may be necessary in the event you receive a message such as "Allowed memory size of xxxxxx bytes exhausted". This setting increases PHP Memory only for WordPress, not other applications. By default, WordPress will attempt to increase memory allocated to PHP to 40MB (code is at beginning of wp-settings.php), so the setting in wp-config.php should reflect something higher than 40MB. WordPress will automatically check if PHP has been allocated less memory than the entered value before utilizing this function. For example, if PHP has been allocated 64MB, there is no need to set this value to 64M as WordPress will automatically use all 64MB if need be. Note: this setting may not work if your host does not allow for increasing the PHP memory limit. Contact your host to increase the PHP memory limit. Also, note that many hosts set the PHP limit at 8MB.Increase PHP Memory to 64MB
define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '64M');   Increase PHP Memory to 96MB
define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '96M');
CacheThe WP_CACHE setting, if true, includes the wp-content/advanced-cache.php script, when executing wp-settings.php. By default, the current versions of WordPress have modified this WP_CACHE setting to simple enable caching concepts to be initiated by “other” code (plugins/custom functions) to hook into the Caching API that WordPress provides.define('WP_CACHE', true);
Alternative CronThis setting is helpful if scheduled posts are not getting published. This alternate method uses a redirection approach, which makes the users browser get a redirect when the cron needs to run, so that they come back to the site immediately while cron continues to run in the connection they just dropped. This method is a bit iffy sometimes, which is why it's not the default.define('ALTERNATE_WP_CRON', true);
Empty TrashThis setting controls the number of days before WordPress permanently deletes posts, pages, attachments, and comments, from the trash bin. The default is 30 days:define('EMPTY_TRASH_DAYS', 30 ); // 30 days
Automatic Database OptimizingAdded with Version 2.9, there is automatic database optimization support, which you can enable by adding the following define to your wp-config.php file only when the feature is required. The script can be found at {$your_site}/wp-admin/maint/repair.php
Please Note: That this define enables the functionality, The user does not need to be logged in to access this functionality when this define is set. This is because its main intent is to repair a corrupted database, Users can often not login when the database is corrupt.
define('WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true);
Disable the Plugin and Theme EditorOccasionally you may wish to disable the plugin or theme editor to prevent overzealous users from being able to edit sensitive files and potentially crash the site. Disabling these also provides an additional layer of security if a hacker gains access to a well-privileged user account.define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT',true);
Disable Plugin and Theme Update and InstallationThis will block users being able to use the plugin and theme installation/update functionality from the WordPress admin area. Setting this constant also disables the Plugin and Theme editor (i.e. you don't need to set DISALLOW_FILE_MODS and DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT, as on it's own DISALLOW_FILE_MODS will have the same effect).define('DISALLOW_FILE_MODS',true);
Require SSL for Admin and LoginsFORCE_SSL_LOGIN is for when you want to secure logins so that passwords are not sent in the clear, but you still want to allow non-SSL admin sessions (since SSL can be slow).define('FORCE_SSL_LOGIN',true);
Cleanup Image EditsBy default, WordPress creates a new set of images every time an image is edited. When you restore the original image, the edits are stored on the server. Defining IMAGE_EDIT_OVERWRITE as true changes this behaviour. Only one set of image edits are ever created and when you restore the original, the edits are removed from the server.define( 'IMAGE_EDIT_OVERWRITE', true );

Where is the wp-config File Located?

In a complete, operational WordPress site, the wp-config.php file is located in the "root" of the site. In most cases, unless you're using a customized shared hosting solution, this means that you connect to your site using a secure FTP client, navigating to the public_html folder, and the file will be in this location.

However, if you've just installed WordPress or are just tinkering around with your WordPress server, you have probably noticed that no such file exists. Have no fear, for your file still exists! With a fresh WordPress installation, the wp-config file is just named wp-config-sample.php instead, and for good reason. Continue reading to find out why.

WP Config Location

When WordPress is initially installed, a sample file for its configuration is included to give you an idea of what the file should minimally include. Most importantly, it shows you how to connect to a MySQL database to power your WordPress site. Keep in mind that having a database created in and of itself is not enough! You will need to follow the common-sense security measures as you'll observe in the sample file provided by WordPress.

The actual wp-config.php file can be easily created in the root by renaming the already existent wp-config-sample.php file to that. Keep in mind, however, that this will prevent your site from working without some modifications.

This is because "dummy" information is placed in the sample. Of course, there's no way that WordPress can possibly know what server you're going to use for your database. If you have a small site or your web host has not given you an address for a database server, you can probably leave "localhost" as the host.

However, you will need to create a new database named whatever you choose to call your database in the file, create a new user in MySQL with only the most basic permissions needed to access information, and put all of this access information in the file.

How Do I Edit the wp-config.php File?

You can edit the wp-config.php file in a few different ways. But in order to edit your WordPress config file, you'll need access to the files on your server.

  • First, you’ll need to download and install an sFTP client such as FileZilla (completely free and works perfectly on all operating systems). This will allow you to directly access the WordPress files.
  • You’ll then need to connect to your website’s server via the FTP client with the credentials you were given by your website host. If you aren’t familiar with what your credentials are, talk to your hosting provider.
  • You can also use the File Manager provided by your WordPress host. The most common file manager platform is cPanel. From the cPanel File Manager, you can access your website's files, including the wp-config.php file.
Note: If you have a fresh WordPress install, you will first need to rename the wp-config-sample.php file so that you even have a file with the correct name. This can usually be done through any FTP client.

Once you've renamed the sample file, it's tempting just to use a host-provided text editor. However, the best practice, in this case, is to download the file, edit it locally, verify that all your changes are correct, keep a backup of the original, and then re-upload the modified version. This will ensure that your site will be able to continue working if you make a mistake that renders the file unusable.

Remember, all that's technically required is the MySQL database information for your site to operate. We will go into the other advanced options you can set in this file a bit later on.

Editing the wp-config.php File

NOTE: Before modifying any WordPress core files or code on your WordPress website, be sure to make a backup. We recommend using a WordPress backup plugin such as BackupBuddy.
NOTE: Only use a text editor to edit WordPress files. Never use a word processor such as Microsoft Word or Pages.
  • 1. Make a complete backup of your WordPress website. Make sure you know a method for WordPress backup and restore in the event something goes wrong.
  • 2. Locate the wp-config.php file in the base directory of your WordPress installation.
  • 3. Open the file using a text editor.
  • 3. Carefully make changes, noting the syntax of PHP. Double-check the values in the WordPress Codex.
  • 4. Be sure to check for leading and/or trailing spaces around any of the values you entered. DON'T delete the single quotes!
  • 5. Before you save the file, double-check that you have not accidentally deleted any of the single quotes around the parameter values. Be sure there is nothing after the closing PHP tag in the file. The last thing in the file should be ?> and nothing else. No spaces.
  • 6. To save the file, choose File > Save As > wp-config.php and save the file in the root of your WordPress install.
  • 7. Refresh your WordPress website in your browser to ensure everything is working as expected.

How The wp-config.php File Can Be Further Customized

You'll want to keep pretty much all of the functions that are called in the file provided courtesy of the sample wp-config.php file provided by WordPress. You might be wondering how else you could use this configuration file.

Generally speaking, you can accomplish just about anything when you take advantage of the WordPress core define() function within the configuration file. For example, you can ensure that visitors who try to visit a bad URL are just redirected to your home page.

For a complete and up-to-date list of the further edits you can make to wp-config to make it a more customized solution for your site, we recommend taking a look at the WordPress recommendations for editing wp-config.php. Keep in mind that not all of these edits are harmless, so ensure that you've thoroughly researched each function before you deploy it!

About wp-config File Permissions

Although WordPress is made to be quite user-friendly, it doesn't do a great job explaining how you need to set permissions on your server for files like the wp-config.php file.

How WordPress File Permissions Work

In case you aren't familiar, WordPress file permissions effectively say who is allowed to access what files, and how they can access them.

When we're working with file permissions, we have three types of users:

  • User - this is the webmaster, essentially
  • Group - a bit outdated, but it means the group of people within the "domain" with some sort of administrative access
  • World - This means everyone else across the earth who can access your site.

There's another set of three actions that are just as important to know. This set contains the three types of actions that a "user", "group", and/or "world" may or may not be allowed to do.

  • Read - This means to see the contents of a file
  • Write - This means being able to both see and edit the contents of a file
  • Execute - This means being able to run a file on the server-side but not be able to see the source

Given that most important WordPress files are in PHP, we will need to let pretty much everyone execute most files. Keep in mind that if we give permission to read a file, we're letting people see the actual contents of a file. This probably isn't the best idea to allow if we're going to have sensitive database information contained in a file!

Permissions are set in a few ways, but the easiest way is utilizing three numbers. "777" means completely open permissions for everyone across the world. Your permissions should not be set to this for wp-config. These numbers are come up by using the binary system, which we won't go into right now.

In short, your numeric permissions for this file should be "444" per WordPress's advice. You should be able to set this utilizing whatever web-based file management system or FTP client you have. At worst, if you have access to a linux terminal, you can simply utilize chmod to enact this change.

Debugging WordPress with wp-config.php

As we mentioned earlier, while the main configuration file for our WordPress site must have our database connection information, it also is used to set advanced options, including debugging.

Even if you aren't a developer, you may want to see why a certain error is popping up or display more information than you're currently getting about each error you're seeing.

In order to do this, you'll need to set a certain variable after you ensure that your permissions on the file are set to "444". Go into the file and simply add this line below all of your database information:

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );

This simply enables the debug mode. We will want to keep the debug mode from preventing pages from loading so visitors aren't turned away from the site. That means we'll need to add this line:

define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );
@ini_set( 'display_errors', 0 );

We're almost done, but at this point, debug mode would be on, users are able to access the pages, but we still won't see the information output by WordPress's debugger. In order to do this, we'll need to have the information written to a log file. To have it written to a file called /wp-content/debug.log, just add this final line of code:

define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );

Note: After performing actions that don't return the data expected, you'll need to refer to the .log file at that location to see what went wrong.

Example WordPress Config File

As we discussed, WordPress includes the file called wp-config-sample.php file to give newer users an idea of how the regular WordPress config file should look.

Let’s take a look at this example WordPress config file included with every standard installation of WordPress, and talk about possible additional options. Take a look at the comments in the file for more information about what each line actually means.

The wp-config-sample.php File

To give you a wp-config.php example file, WordPress comes pre-loaded with a sample configuration file. When you first install WordPress using the manual method, you'll need to update the information in this file and then rename the file back to wp-config.php.

<?php
/**
The base configuration for WordPress
*
The wp-config.php creation script uses this file during the
installation. You don't have to use the web site, you can
copy this file to "wp-config.php" and fill in the values.
*
This file contains the following configurations:
*
* MySQL settings
* Secret keys
* Database table prefix
* ABSPATH
*
@link https://wordpress.org/support/article/editing-wp-config-php/
*
@package WordPress
*/
// ** MySQL settings - You can get this info from your web host ** //
/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define( 'DB_NAME', 'database_name_here' );
/** MySQL database username */
define( 'DB_USER', 'username_here' );
/** MySQL database password */
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'password_here' );
/** MySQL hostname */
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );
/** Database Charset to use in creating database tables. */
define( 'DB_CHARSET', 'utf8' );
/** The Database Collate type. Don't change this if in doubt. */
define( 'DB_COLLATE', '' );
/**#@+
Authentication Unique Keys and Salts.
*
Change these to different unique phrases!
You can generate these using the {@link https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/ WordPress.org secret-key service}
You can change these at any point in time to invalidate all existing cookies. This will force all users to have to log in again.
*
@since 2.6.0
*/
define( 'AUTH_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here' );
define( 'SECURE_AUTH_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here' );
define( 'LOGGED_IN_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here' );
define( 'NONCE_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here' );
define( 'AUTH_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here' );
define( 'SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here' );
define( 'LOGGED_IN_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here' );
define( 'NONCE_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here' );
/*#@-/
/**
WordPress Database Table prefix.
*
You can have multiple installations in one database if you give each
a unique prefix. Only numbers, letters, and underscores please!
*/
$table_prefix = 'wp_';
/**
For developers: WordPress debugging mode.
*
Change this to true to enable the display of notices during development.
It is strongly recommended that plugin and theme developers use WP_DEBUG
in their development environments.
*
For information on other constants that can be used for debugging,
visit the documentation.
*
@link https://wordpress.org/support/article/debugging-in-wordpress/
*/
define( 'WP_DEBUG', false );
/* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */
/** Absolute path to the WordPress directory. */
if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) {
define( 'ABSPATH', DIR . '/' );
}
/** Sets up WordPress vars and included files. */
require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-settings.php';
Note: Your version of the WordPress config flie may look a bit different, depending on your settings.

How Do I Rename wp-config-sample.php?

In short, first, you should make sure that wp-config-sample.php is exactly what you want the true file to look like.

Next, you should ensure that permissions are properly set to "444" so that hackers can't get unauthorized access.

Note: Before you make any changes to the files on your WordPress site, you should backup your WordPress site. Having a backup means that all your data is retained regardless of what errors that might pop up.

Once this is done, simply remove the -sample from the file's name, ensure it's in the root directory, and you're good to go! You can use one of a countless number of FTP programs to do this if your host doesn't provide an easy online file manager that allows you to rename files.

How Secure Is The wp-config.php File?

The wp-config.php file is exactly as secure as you make it. Just adding simple database details won't cut it. Make sure that you set up all the security measures, such as the hash salting that's already in the example wp-config.phpp file. If you're looking to take shortcuts, this file is certainly not the place to do it!

The most common security problem surrounding this file is a failure to utilize the correct permissions. Remember, the numeric permissions you set for this file are simply "444". This lets everyone access and execute the file who needs to. Under no circumstances should users be able to view the actual contents of this file, unless you want your database(s) stolen!

Given that you have all this work of creating a MySQL database, user, password, etc., it seems like it would be easiest just to use the default database name, username, and password, right?

Wrong. Doing this could quite possibly be the worst mistake a webmaster could make. There are tools designed for attacking WordPress sites that literally go from site to site and try these default credentials. The best way to fool these offensive hacking tools is to name your database something totally random (but still have the required "wp_" prefix before the name) to throw it off even more.

If everything is utilized properly, wp-config should be quite secure. Assuming you have adequate attack protection, you regularly update all software, and you use secure passwords, all should be well as you continue on your WordPress development journey.

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Wrapping Up with the WordPress wp-config.php File

The WordPress wp-config.php configuration file is easy to understand once you understand where it is located, what it contains, and how to edit it. This important configuration file for WordPress helps you get your website up and running quickly and easily ... so you can focus on more important things.

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