It used to be that blogs looked like blogs and websites looked like websites. You could easily tell the two apart.
Then the WordPress CMS came along and changed all this. Now, it’s becoming harder to tell the difference between what tools are being used to build the two. Not so much in terms of what the sites are being used for, but in terms of web design and also being able to tell what’s under the surface.
(It’s Getting Harder To Tell Websites Built With Web Development Tools Vs ‘Blogging’ Software!)
For website owners, understanding the difference between a Content Management System application like WordPress and other website-building tools is huge, not so much in terms of the technical differences, but more importantly, regarding the areas that matter to most website owners, such as web development costs, ease of use, ability to maintain the website up-to-date, managing web content, etc.
Think about this …
Which of these options would you choose?
A) An eye-catching, professional-looking website that is expensive to build, or
B) The same eye-catching, professional-looking website, but for a fraction of the cost of getting option ”A” built.
If you picked option “B”, then you need to learn more about WordPress, why WordPress can provide you with a beautiful website that will typically end up costing you far less to build than websites which use a website building application … and how to tell these two types apart!
WordPress is the world’s leading online publishing platform and content management system (CMS). It is a flexible and powerful CMS platform that is ideally suited for ”non-techy” website owners.
Whether your reason for having a digital presence is for personal blogging or business use, WordPress is easy enough for a novice with no technical skills to use, and offers many helpful functions that make your website more effective when it comes to getting your content published and indexed by search engines, promoting visitor interaction, generating business leads and sales, enhancing your site’s functionality, scalability, etc.
With almost one in every five websites around the world being powered by WordPress, chances are that if you already own a website, your site is also driven by WordPress.
And if you don’t have a website yet, or are considering getting a website built, then wouldn’t it be great to be able to show your web developer an existing website with the design and layout that you like, know that it was built with WordPress and that you can, therefore, get a similar site built for your business for very little cost?
Does My Website Run On WordPress?
Do you need to know if your website uses WordPress? Maybe you’ve come here because you’ve heard or read about WordPress, and you’re now wondering if your site was built using the WordPress software, or some other website application.
Also, have you ever looked at a competitor’s website and wondered what they’re doing to try and get better results online?
Knowing if your competitor’s site is built with WordPress can tell you a few things about their strategies and methods, such as what themes or plugins they are using.
Here are some simple ways to tell if a website is running on WordPress:
Look At The Page Source Code
If you know how to view the source code of a web page (e.g. Firefox Menu > Web Developer > Page Source if using Firefox, or Google Menu > More Tools > View Source if using Google Chrome), you can look for a tell-tale footprint …
(View the web page source code in Firefox)
Let’s say that you are surfing the web and you come across a website that you like, and you’re wondering if the site was built using WordPress …
First, bring up the site’s source code on your screen, using the methods described above.
Once the source code of the site loads on your screen, search for the words “wp-content” either by scanning the code …
Or use the browser’s “Find” function …
(Use the Firefox browser ‘Find’ function)
This will quickly tell you if the site runs on WordPress or not.
Note: If you do not see “wp-content” in the page source code, it does not mean that this is not a WordPress site.
There are other ways to find out if the site runs on the WordPress software, as we will soon discuss.
As the point of this post is to try and help non “techies”, however, below you will find a number of easier ways to check if your web site is built using WordPress other than viewing the source code.
Simply Ask Your Webmaster
While this may seem like the obvious thing to do, many web development companies, for whatever reason, may build clients a website and not tell them it’s WordPress.
If you have an existing web site and you can’t tell what application was used to build it, just ask your webmaster or whoever built your website if your website was built using WordPress.
That was simple, huh?
Okay … what if you can’t reach your webmaster, or what if you’ve come across a website that you really like while surfing the net and want to know if the site was built using WordPress?
Powered By WordPress
If the site uses a WordPress theme where the theme templates have not been edited, you can often see a “Powered by WordPress” notice displayed below the footer section …
(Powered by WordPress)
If these simple methods haven’t helped you, here are some other ways of identifying WordPress sites …
Online Tools That Can Tell You If A Website Was Built Using WordPress
Here are a couple of tools that can tell you if your website uses WordPress or not, and what themes or plugins the site uses …
Is It WordPress?
(Is It WordPress?)
IsItWP.com is a free online tool that can check very quickly if a site runs on WordPress or not.
Using this tool is very easy. Just type the URL of the website into the search field and click the button.
It will go through the URL files and tell you if the site was built using WordPress, and if so, it will even tell you which version of WordPress it is currently using …
If the site was not built using WordPress, you will get a message similar to the one below …
To use this tool, go here:
Advanced WP Theme Checker by Satori
(WordPress Theme Detector)
WordPress Theme Detector by Satori Studio is a free tool that can help determine whether or not a website uses WordPress as its CMS engine; it will also tell you which theme the site is using and provide a link to the theme’s official page.
To use this tool, paste the URL of a web page (it doesn’t have to be the home page) into the ‘Enter website URL’ field and click on the ‘What WordPress theme is that?’ button …
(Enter website URL and click the button)
The Detector will automatically scan the website and output its theme information …
(WordPress Theme Detector displays theme results)
If a website is built with WordPress but the theme is too customized to contain any traces of its origins, the Detector will still let you know it’s a WP site by outputting a message on the right.
(Modified WordPress theme message)
If the website is not using WordPress at all, the tool will also let you know …
(This website is not WordPress)
You can try the Detector yourself by visiting this link:
Wappalyzer – Web Browser Add-On (Firefox / Chrome)
(Wappalyzer)
If you browse the net using either Firefox or Google Chrome and would like to be able to know if the sites that you are visiting are powered by WordPress, then Wappalyzer is a very useful extension to add to your browser.
Wappalyzer helps you identify what software is installed in the sites you are visiting.
According to their website …
“Wappalyzer is a browser extension that uncovers the technologies used on websites. It detects content management systems, eCommerce platforms, web servers, JavaScript frameworks, analytics tools and many more.”
Wappalyzer is also an easy extension to install.
After installing Wappalyzer, icons will display in your web browser, in the URL field allowing you to see which technologies are being used by the sites you are visiting …
If you see the WordPress icon displayed on your browser menu (as the above screenshot shows), then the site has been built with WordPress.
(A WordPress site!)
Go here to install the Wappalyzer add-on:
SpyBar
(SpyBar – Browser Addon For WordPress)
SpyBar is a browser addon that lets you ‘reverse engineer’ any WordPress site you visit and see which WordPress plugins and themes are being used, right inside your web browser …
(SpyBar – Discover WordPress Plugins And Themes Used By Your Competitors)
SpyBar can be installed as a browser extension on Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox and is compatible with PC and Mac.
To download or learn more about SpyBar, go here:
Plugin Sniper
(Plugin Sniper – Find out what plugins a WordPress site is using)
Plugin Sniper lets you find out what plugins a WordPress site is using. This is a useful tool if you want to know what WordPress plugins are being used by your competitors.
Plugin Sniper is also a useful tool for researching what kinds of plugins businesses in certain niches are using …
(Search WordPress sites by categories and location)
To download or learn more about Plugin Sniper, go here:
We hope you have found the above the information in this tutorial useful.
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"I have used the tutorials to teach all of my clients and it has probably never been so easy for everyone to learn WordPress ... Now I don't need to buy all these very expensive video courses that often don't deliver what they promise." - Stefan Wendt, Internet Marketing Success Group