Changing a database table prefix is easy and here’s the simple step-by-step guide! For WordPress installations, it’s essential!

What you’ll need

1. Use random.org to generate a strong table prefix
2. Access to the database via cPanel or PHPMyAdmin
3. A text editor
4. 2 minutes

How to change a prefix

1. In your text editor, change database_name, old_prefix_ and new_prefix_ to the required values:

   SET @database   = "database_name"; SET @old_prefix = "old_prefix_"; SET @new_prefix = "new_prefix_";   SELECT     concat(         "RENAME TABLE ",         TABLE_NAME,         " TO ",         replace(TABLE_NAME, @old_prefix, @new_prefix),         ';'     ) AS "SQL" FROM information_schema.TABLES WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = @database;

2. Run the query in cPanel or PHPMyAdmin on your WordPress database
3. The output will be a series of SQL queries that will rename the tables for you
4. Run the output
5. Done!

How to add a prefix

If your database doesn’t have a prefix at all, follow the steps above but use the below query that’s been slightly modified for this purpose:

Conclusion

See how easy that was? Isn’t it great when articles just get straight to the point? :)