If you’re a website owner or simply a WordPress enthusiast, you may have wondered how to tell if a website is WordPress or not. Knowing if your favorite websites or other website owners are using the most popular content management system can help you identify its strengths and weaknesses, and tailor your marketing efforts accordingly. But how can you tell if a website is built on WordPress? Fortunately, there are a couple of ways that we can get this valuable information.
Popular WordPress Detection Tools
When it comes to detecting if a website is built with WordPress, there are several online tools available. Here are some popular WordPress detection tools that you can use:
BuiltWith
The first of many different methods to check if a website is built on WordPress is with BuiltWith.
BuiltWith is a web technology profiler tool that can help you identify the technology behind different websites. It provides a comprehensive report on the website’s technology stack, such as google analytics, any website builder or a specific WordPress theme used as well as the CMS.
To use BuiltWith:
1. Go to the BuiltWith website.
2. Simply type the URL of the website you want to check into the search bar and click “Lookup”.
3. From there, scroll down to the “Content Management System” section to see whether it lists WordPress or not.
Not only can you use their website, you can get the BuiltWith add-on that can be installed as a browser extension.
BuiltWith Google Chrome Extension
BuiltWith Microsoft Edge Extension
WPThemeDetector
WPThemeDetector is a free online tool that can help you detect the WordPress theme and plugins used by a website. It provides information on the theme name, the latest version of wordpress their using, author, as well as the plugins used by the website. Not only that, it has each providers info to give you a good idea of the type of website they are. Their domain name as well as the following url.
To use WPThemeDetector:
1. Go to the WPTD website.
2. Simply enter the website’s URL in the search bar, and click “Experience the magic of WPTD!”.
3. From there, scroll down to the “Additional Information About The Site Section” at the bottom of the page so see the details.
Netcraft
Netcraft provides a range of services aimed at protecting businesses and individuals from online threats, but they also have a tool that can identify information about your website.
To use Netcraft:
1. Go to the Netcraft website.
2. Scroll down to “What’s that site running?” section.
3. Simply enter the website’s URL in the search bar, and click “Analyze”.
5. Scroll down to the “Blog” Section to see what platform you are using.
False Positives and Limitations
It’s important to note that these great tools may not always provide accurate information. There could be several different reasons that the tool you use may not show the CMS. One of those causes could be for security reasons. This can happen if the website owner has used security plugins or other tools to hide that the website is built on WordPress from the public view.
A web developer may put in certain security measures such as changing the default URL of the WordPress login page to block access to the WordPress dashboard to mitigate malicious attacks who target the default url’s which are /wp-login and /wp-admin.
The Best Way is via Source Code
Personally as a web designer, the easiest way I identify a specific website is to inspect the source code of the website. To do this, right click anywhere on the website and select “View Page Source”. Once view source is open, look for the presence of “wp-content” or “wp-includes” in the html code. These directories contain the files and assets associated with a WordPress site, including themes and plugins. If you see these directories in the source code, the site is definitely built with WordPress.
There’s a good chance you may even see the current WordPress version number as you can see with the the example shown below from my own WordPress website.
Best Methods without tools to see if a website is built on the WordPress platform
Checking the footer credits at the very bottom of the page: Many WordPress websites include a wordpress credit link in the footer that usually has a default message of something along the lines of “Powered by WordPress”. If you see this link, it is likely that the website is built on WordPress.
Viewing the website source code: You can view the website source code by right-clicking anywhere on the website and selecting “View Page Source”. Look for lines of code that include terms like “wp-content” or “wp-includes”. These are a clear strong indication that the site is using WordPress.
RSS Feed Check: Another way to check if a website is built on WordPress is to look at its RSS feed. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way for websites to distribute their content to other websites or readers. Many WordPress websites have an RSS feed that includes a reference to WordPress. To check if a website is built on WordPress using this method, simply add “/feed” to the end of the website’s URL and look for any references to WordPress.
By following these above methods, you now know how to tell if a website is WordPress.
If you liked this post, I recommend reading my guide on How to Change Copyright in WordPress or How to Delete Pages in WordPress
