It used to be that blogs looked like blogs and websites looked like websites. One could easily tell blogs and websites apart.
Then the WordPress CMS came along and changed all this. Now, it’s getting almost impossible to tell blogs and websites apart. Not so much in terms of what the sites are being used for, but in terms of website 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 Content Management System tool like WordPress and other website-building software is huge, not so much in terms of the technical differences, but more importantly, regarding the areas that many website owners care about, such as web development costs, ease of use, ability to keep the website up-to-date, managing web content, etc.
Think about this …
Which of the options below would you choose?
A) An eye-catching, professional-looking website that is actually expensive to build, or
B) The same eye-catching, professional-looking site, but for a tiny fraction of the cost of getting option ”A” above built.
If you picked web site “B”, then you need to learn more about WordPress, why WordPress can provide you with an eye-catching website that will probably turn out to be far less expensive to build than websites which are built using website-building software … and how to tell these two types apart!
WordPress is the world’s most used online publishing platform and content management system (CMS). It is a powerful and easy-to-use CMS application suitable for all businesses and non-technical users.
Whether your reason for having a website is for personal blogging or business use, WordPress is easy enough for a novice with no programming skills to use, yet it offers an array of helpful tools that make your website extremely effective in terms of getting your content published, promoting visitor interaction, generating business leads and sales, enhancing your site’s capabilities, 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 thinking of getting one 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 something similarly built for very little cost?
Tell-Tale Signs It’s A WordPress Site And WP-Checking Tools
Do you need to know if your website is powered by WordPress? Maybe you’ve come to our site 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 content management system.
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 web site is running on WordPress:
Search Your Source Code For The 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 obvious telltale footprints …
(Viewing web page source code using the Firefox web browser)
Suppose that you are surfing the web and you visit a website that you like, and you wonder if the site runs on WordPress …
First, bring up the site’s source code on your screen, using the methods described above.
In the source code, search for the words “wp-content” either by visually scanning the code …
Or using your browser’s “Find” function …
(Using the Firefox web browser ‘Find’ function)
This will tell you if the site is powered by WordPress or not.
Note: If you are unable to locate “wp-content” in the page source code, it doesn’t mean that this is not a WordPress site.
There are other ways to find out if a site was built using WordPress, as we will soon see.
As the focus of this article is to try and help non “techies”, however, we have listed below a number of easier methods you can use to check if your site is built using WordPress other than scanning the source code.
Ask Your Webmaster
While this may seem like the logical thing to do, a number of web developers, for whatever reason, may build their clients a website and not tell them it’s been built with WordPress.
If you used a website developer or got somebody else to build you a website, just ask your web developer or whoever built your site if the web site runs on WordPress.
That was easy, huh?
Okay … what if you can’t reach your website developer, or what if you’ve come across a site that you really like while browsing the net and you really would like to know if it was built using WordPress?
Check Below Footer
If the site uses a WP theme where the web them template has not been modified, you can often find a “Proudly powered by WordPress” notice showing at the bottom of the site …
(Powered by WordPress – footer section)
If these simple methods haven’t helped you, here are some other ways of identifying WordPress sites …
Tools That Tell You If A Website Has Been Built With WordPress
Here are a some online applications that can tell you if your website uses WordPress or not, and what themes or plugins the site uses …
Is It WordPress?
(IsItWP.com – WordPress Website Checking Tool)
Is It WP? is a free online tool that lets you quickly check if a website runs on WordPress or not.
Using this site is really easy. Just add the URL of the website into the search field and click the button.
It will search 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 site is not a WordPress site, you will get a message like 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 Theme 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.com
(Wappalyzer – Add-On For Firefox / Chrome Browser)
If you browse the net using either Firefox or Chrome and want to be able to see if the sites that you are visiting are WordPress-driven, then Wappalyzer is a great extension to add to your web browser.
Wappalyzer tells you what software is installed on the sites while you are browsing.
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.”
It’s also an easy browser extension to install and use.
After installing the Wappalyzer add-on on your web browser, icons will display in your browser allowing you to see which software is being used by all the sites you visit …
If the WordPress icon displays on the browser menu (as shown in the screenshot above), then the site has been built with WordPress.
(It’s a WordPress site!)
Visit the Wappalyzer browser extension site 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, visit the site below:
I hope you have found this tutorial useful.
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"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