How to Tell if a Website Is WordPress

📚 Table of contents:

• Method 1: Use Wappalyzer and BuiltWith
• Method 2: Look at the site’s source code and login URLs
• Method 3: Check for blatant mentions of WordPress on the frontend
• Method 4: Contact the site owner

How to tell if a website is WordPress

With the following research methods, you can surmise which websites are utilizing WordPress. After which, you might even go further to find out which themes and plugins were used, helping you piece together the best course of action when designing your own website.

Keep reading 📖 to identify WordPress-built websites with just a few clicks.

Method 1: Use Wappalyzer and BuiltWith

Wappalyzer and BuiltWith are two separate services that tell you which technology gets used on websites you search. This can help with competitor analysis, market research, and of course, guiding your own website design.

The process is rather simple. Walk through the steps below for how to tell if a website is WordPress.

Step 1: Put any website URL into Wappalyzer

Copy the URL of the website in question. Go to Wappalyzer.com. Paste the copied URL into the main search bar. Click the Technology Lookup option to activate the search.

⚠ Note: Although Wappalyzer gives out free searches, you often have to sign up for a free account from the start. If so, create an account to receive 50 free searches per month.

Step 2: Check the CMS and Blogs sections

As the results populate onto the next page, you’ll see several categories for technology used on the website. You’re most interested in the CMS and Blogs sections for how to tell if a website is WordPress.

If the CMS (content management system) section says “WordPress,” the website is using WordPress! Otherwise, it’s built on something else (or the site owner is hiding the fact that they use WordPress). The Blogs section is another option, but that only focuses on the technology for the site’s blog. For example, a website could utilize Magento for its entire online store but have WordPress integrated for its Blog page.

Step 3: Check for WordPress themes and plugins for reassurance that it’s a WordPress site

If you scroll down on the Wappalyzer page, other sections give you hints on the extent of the site’s WordPress usage:

• The WordPress Themes section tells if a WordPress theme is installed and which one it is
• The WordPress Plugins section lists plugins installed on the site (helping you understand how certain features are achieved). It can’t detect all plugins on the site, but it will try to find as many as possible.

Note: Wappalyzer has browser extensions to complete site analysis while browsing the internet. Extensions are available for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.

Step 4: Paste the same site URL into BuiltWith

BuiltWith is similar to Wappalyzer, but it uses proprietary data scraping techniques and unique data technology analysis. That’s why we recommend running another test on BuiltWith as a second measure.

Go to BuiltWith.com, and paste in the same website URL. Click the Lookup button.

Step 5: Search for mentions of WordPress in the Technology Profile

Results appear on the following page. Under the Technology Profile tab, scroll down on the page to search for indicators of the website using WordPress.

The most useful section is called Content Management System. Here, you’ll see the installed content management systems. If WordPress is listed, the website is, in some way, using WordPress to operate (potentially all or part of their site).

Additional information about WordPress usage can be found under the Widgets and Frameworks sections. For instance, the CodeInWP site uses common WordPress plugins like OptinMonster and Contact Form 7, as well as plugins developed by Themeisle. These give you another indication that WordPress is installed.

And the Neve WordPress theme is listed underneath the Frameworks section.

You might also find mentions of WordPress under the Web Hosting Providers area, if the site owner pays WordPress.com for its hosting.

Method 2: Look at the site’s source code and login URLs

WordPress has unique login pages and coding directories that immediately tell you that a website is using WordPress.

The general public can search for mentions of those directories and login pages with a few clicks.

Step 1: View source code of the website

Go to the homepage of the website you’re curious about. Right click, then choose the View Page Source option in the dropdown menu.

Note: Some browsers have different names for this feature, such as “View Source” or “View Code.” You’re not interested in the “Inspect” option.

Step 2: Use the Find keyword shortcut to search for common WordPress directories

The result is a long list of code. To avoid scanning through all of it, use the Find keyboard shortcut (CTRL + F on Windows and CMD + F on Mac), then type in keywords for common WordPress directories, such as:

• /wp-content
• wp-includes
• /wp-admin

If the site is on WordPress, you’ll see multiple instances of those directories within the code. The Find shortcut make it significantly easier to jump to all mentions of that keyword.

Step 3: Test the login URLs as well

Many of those WordPress directories also produce frontend login pages unique to WordPress—in particular, /wp-admin and /wp-login.

Therefore, you can add those URL paths to the end of the site’s URL. If they work, you know it’s a WordPress site.

Here are some to test in your browser (replace “example.com” with the actual URL you’re testing):

• https://example.com/wp-admin
• https://example.com/wp-login.php

Here’s how to tell if a website is WordPress:

• If there’s a WordPress login page, it’s WordPress
• If there’s no login page, it’s either hidden or using a different website builder

Testing login URLs isn’t a perfect method, since many websites hide those URLs for security. So, not seeing a WordPress login page doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not WordPress. In that case, you’d simply turn to another method.

Method 3: Check for blatant mentions of WordPress on the frontend

By default, many WordPress themes have text in the footer that reads, “Powered by WordPress.” Some site owners even include their own footer details on which themes and plugins are working on the backend (usually when the website is selling those WordPress products).

Although this is an imperfect method on how to tell if a website is WordPress, it serves as a way to confirm your beliefs about a site.

Follow these steps to use this method:

Step 1: Go to the website in question and look for “Powered by WordPress” in the footer area

The footer is located at the bottom of a website. Every theme formats footers differently, so you may find the “Powered by WordPress” text to the right, left, center, bottom, or top of the footer.

Furthermore, the text might say something slightly different—depending on the theme developer—like “Proudly Powered by WordPress.”

Step 2: Check for mentions about WordPress themes and plugins

A WordPress plugin or theme developer may list their products in the site footer for promotional purposes.

For instance, the ThemeIsle footer states that the site is “Built Using Neve.” With a little more research, you’d discover that Neve is a popular WordPress theme, meaning that the ThemeIsle website most likely runs on WordPress.

⚠ Note: It’s common for site owners to remove the “Powered by WordPress” line for branding purposes, or for the theme developer to completely exclude it in the first place. Therefore, the “Powered by WordPress” text is not always shown. You must also remember that it’s just text, so this isn’t fully reflective of the technology used on the site. It could be a remnant from a previous theme that was never removed.

Method 4: Contact the site owner

Maybe you still can’t figure out how to tell if a website is WordPress, or perhaps you’d like to understand which parts of a site are truly built using WordPress (like the blog or online store). In those cases, it’s best to reach out to the site owner and ask.

Here are some ways to reach out to a site owner:

• Use Who.is to find contact information about the site owner (keep in mind, this data might be outdated)
• Find a contact form on the website and send an email
• Search for an email associated with the domain
• Send a message through the company’s social media pages

When contacting a site owner, be polite and tell them that you’re curious about which elements of the website run on WordPress. It helps to explain who you are to ensure you’re not a competitor trying to discover information about their company.

More research on how to tell if a website is WordPress

For how to tell if a website is WordPress, it’s best to rely on Method 1, since those analyzers scan site code for the most factual data available. Occasionally, however, sites like Wappalyzer and BuiltWith fail to deliver results when websites are custom-built or block the data scrapers used to deliver such results. In those cases, you should turn to methods 2 and 4. Method 3 is mainly for confirming information found in other methods, since a “Powered by WordPress” message in the footer is not a guarantee that WordPress is installed on the website.

If you need any clarification about how to tell if a website is WordPress, please let us know in the comments section below!