Paste any URL above and our WordPress theme detector will tell you exactly what theme and plugins the site is running. You get the theme name, whether it's a parent or child theme, the author, a store link, and a full list of active plugins — all from a single scan.
Here's what a WordPress scan returns:
Not sure the site is even WordPress? That's fine — the tool checks first and tells you. If it's a different platform, we'll point you toward the right detector.
This tool has two core detection functions. Understanding each one helps you get more out of your scans:
WordPress powers over 40% of the web, which means a large share of the sites you're researching are built on it. Whether you're doing competitor research, vetting a developer's work, or looking for inspiration, knowing what theme and plugins a site uses gives you a complete picture of how it was built.
To use this WordPress checker, enter the full URL (including https://) in the field above and click detect. Results typically appear within a few seconds.
What is WordPress? WordPress is the most widely used content management system in the world, with over 40% market share and growing. It powers everything from personal blogs to enterprise e-commerce stores and news publications. One of the reasons it's so popular is the massive library of themes and plugins available for it.
A WordPress theme controls the visual layout of a site — the page structure, typography, color scheme, and overall design. A WordPress plugin extends the site's functionality, adding features like contact forms, SEO tools, e-commerce capability, and more.
When you find a well-built WordPress site and want to understand how it was put together, the fastest path is running it through a WordPress theme detector. You'll have the theme name in seconds rather than digging through source code yourself.
Before you build a new site for a client or for yourself, it pays to look at what's already working for competitors. When you find a site that looks the way you want yours to look, the first question is: what WordPress theme is that?
Most of the themes you see on professional sites are available for purchase or download. Once you know the theme name, you can buy it directly and use it as a starting point. You can also use it as a clear creative brief for a developer — "I want something close to the [Theme Name] theme, customized like this" is far more useful than describing a look from memory.
Our WordPress theme detector finds the theme name by reading the site's front-end code. WordPress sites almost always expose the theme folder name in their stylesheet path (/wp-content/themes/{theme-name}/style.css), and we extract that along with version, author, and related metadata from the theme's own files.
For more on what to do once you have a theme name, see our guide on how to find what theme a website is using.
We've been detecting WordPress sites for years, and we maintain the detector as WordPress configurations change. A simple theme name isn't enough anymore — site builders and developers want context.
Here's what the WordPress theme checker returns for each scan:
Some themes are stripped of identifying markers by security plugins or custom configurations. When that happens, we note it and return whatever partial information is available rather than returning a blank result.
The plugin list is often more valuable than the theme name. A theme determines the look of a site; plugins determine what it can do. When you find a site with features you want to replicate — a particular type of review widget, a specific checkout flow, a pop-up behavior — the plugin list tells you exactly what's powering those features.
Think of a WordPress theme as the shell of a house: it sets the layout and the look. The plugins are everything inside — the electrical, plumbing, and fixtures that make it actually function. Two sites can run the same theme and look completely different because of how they've used plugins to add and modify functionality.
Our WordPress plugin detector identifies active plugins by reading the site's front-end code. Plugins often leave fingerprints in scripts, stylesheets, and HTML comments that make them identifiable without any server access.
When you scan a WordPress site with our tool, you get the theme name and a list of plugins side by side. That combination gives you the full picture.
Some plugins are undetectable because they work entirely server-side and leave no front-end trace. Payment processors, certain backup tools, and server-level security plugins often fall into this category. Our plugin checker returns what is detectable; it doesn't claim to catch every plugin in every configuration.
For each detected plugin, you'll see the plugin name and, where available, the version. This is useful for security audits — an outdated plugin version is a common entry point for attacks on WordPress sites.
Sometimes you're looking at a site and you're not sure it's WordPress at all. Some themes are heavily customized enough that the usual visual cues aren't obvious. Some sites deliberately obscure the fact that they're running WordPress.
Our WP detector handles this before attempting theme detection. It checks the site's front-end code for WordPress-specific markers — script handles, REST API endpoints, login page paths, and other indicators that confirm a WordPress installation. If the site is WordPress, detection continues. If it isn't, we tell you the platform we think it is instead, and you can run it through our CMS detector for a broader scan.
This is particularly useful when you find a well-built site and aren't sure whether to research WordPress themes or look at another platform entirely.
The theme name is the starting point, not the end point. If your goal is to build a site that looks and works like a competitor's, focus on the plugins as much as the theme. The visual design often comes from the theme, but the functionality — the things that make the site genuinely useful or effective — usually comes from the plugins.
Pay attention to what each detected plugin does. If a site has strong product filtering, there's probably a filter plugin in the list. If it has a live chat widget, a chat plugin will be there. Building a similar experience means replicating both the theme and the key plugins that power the features you want.
For a full breakdown of detection methods — including manual source-code techniques and browser DevTools approaches — see our guide on how to find what theme a website is using.
