Once upon a time and not so long ago, blogs looked like blogs and websites looked like websites. One could easily tell the difference.
Then WordPress came along and changed everything. Now, it’s getting increasingly more difficult to tell if a site is running on “blogging” applications like the WP CMS, or if it’s been created using web-building software. 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 kind of web application is actually powering the site.
(It’s Getting Harder To Tell Websites Built With Web Development Tools Vs ‘Blogging’ Software!)
For many website owners, understanding the difference between a CMS tool like WordPress and other website-building software is huge, not so much in terms of the technical differences, but more importantly, in terms of the areas that matter to most website owners, like web development costs, ease of use, ability to maintain the site 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 actually expensive to build, or
B) The same eye-catching, professional-looking website, but at a cost that turns out to be significantly less than the cost of getting site ”A” above built.
If you picked website “B”, then you need to learn more about the benefits of using WordPress, why WordPress can provide you with a beautiful website that could turn out to be much less expensive to build than websites built using traditional website editor tools … and how to tell these apart!
WordPress is the world’s most popular online publishing platform and content management system (CMS). It is a powerful and easy-to-use CMS application suitable for most business needs.
Whether your reason for having a web site is for personal blogging or business use, WordPress is easy enough for a newbie with no technical knowledge to use and manage, yet it offers an array of helpful functions that make your web presence highly effective in terms of getting your content published and indexed by search engines, promoting visitor interaction, generating business leads and sales, enhancing your site’s functionality, 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 powered by WordPress.
And if you don’t have a website yet, or are thinking of getting one built, then wouldn’t it be great to be able to show your web developer an existing site with the design and layout that you like, know that it was built with WordPress and that you can, therefore, get something similarly built for your business for a much smaller cost?
Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Web Site And WordPress-Checking Tools
Do you need to know if a website uses WordPress? Maybe you’ve come to this page because you’ve heard or read about all of the great advantages of using WordPress, and you’re now wondering if your site was built using WordPress, or some other CMS.
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 site is running on WordPress:
Search Your Source Code For A Tell-Tale WordPress Footprint
If you know how to access 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 telltale footprints that the site was built with WordPress …
(Viewing the web page source code in the Firefox browser)
Suppose that you are surfing the web and you visit a website that you like, and you wonder if the site was built with WordPress …
First, bring up the site’s source code on your screen, using the methods described above.
After the source code of the page loads on your screen, search for words like “wp-content” either by visually scanning the code …
Or use your browser’s “Find” function …
(Use the Firefox browser ‘Find’ function)
This will tell you if the site runs on WordPress or not.
Note: If you are unable to see “wp-content” in the source code, it doesn’t mean that the website is not a WordPress site.
There are other ways to tell if the site runs on WordPress, as we will soon see.
As the point of this post is to try and help non “techies”, however, below you will find a number of easy ways to check if your web site is built with WordPress other than scanning the source code.
Simply Ask Your Webmaster
While this may seem like the most logical thing to do, some website development companies, for whatever reason, will build clients a website and not tell them it’s WordPress.
If you employed the services of a website developer or got somebody else to build your website, just ask your web developer or whoever built your web site if it was built with WordPress.
That was easy, huh?
Okay … what if you can’t reach the person who looks after your website, or what if you’ve come across a site that you really like while surfing the net and need to know if it was built using WordPress?
Check Below The Footer
If the site uses a WP theme where the web them template has not been modified, you will often find a “Proudly powered by WordPress” notice showing below the footer area …
(Proudly Powered by WordPress)
If the simple methods above aren’t helpful to you, here are some other ways of identifying WordPress sites …
Tools That Tell You If A Website Uses WordPress
Here are a some sites that can tell you if your website uses WordPress or not, and what themes or plugins the site uses …
IsItWP.com
(Is It WordPress?)
Is It WP? is a free tool that tells you if a website runs on WordPress or not.
Using this tool is super simple. Just type in or paste in the address of the website into the URL 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, which version of WordPress it is currently using …
If the web site is not a WP-powered site, you will see a message similar to the one shown in the screen shot below …
To visit this site, 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.com)
If you browse the net using either the Firefox or Chrome web browsers and would like to be able to tell if the sites that you are visiting use WordPress, then Wappalyzer is a useful extension to install on your browser.
Wappalyzer tells you what type of 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 to install and very easy to use web browser extension.
After installing the Wappalyzer add-on on your browser, icons will appear in your web browser menu identifying which software is being used by all the sites you are visiting …
If you see the WordPress icon on the browser menu (as the above screen shot shows), then the site has been built with WordPress.
(This is a WordPress site!)
To learn more, go here:
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, visit the site below:
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.
***
"Learning WordPress has been a huge stumbling block for me. I've been looking for something that covers absolutely everything but doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Thank you so much ... you have just provided me with what I have been looking for! Truly appreciated!" - Tanya