What platform is my website built on? How to tell

You can usually tell what platform your website is built on in five minutes, without asking anyone. Scroll to the very bottom of your home page and read the small print, then open the page source and search it for a few telltale names: wp-content means WordPress, wix means Wix, squarespace means Squarespace, wsimg means a GoDaddy builder, shopify means Shopify. If those clues disagree or come up empty, a login address or your card statement settles it.

Why the platform matters to you

The platform is the software your site runs on. It decides where you sign in to make changes, who you pay every year, what you can take with you if you leave, and who to call when something breaks.

Owners lose track of it more often than you would think. A nephew set the site up years ago, a designer retired, the business changed hands, or the bill just renews quietly on a card nobody looks at. Knowing the platform is the first step to making sure the site is under your control, not someone else's memory.

Clue 1: the footer

Open your website on a computer and scroll all the way down. Many sites carry a line such as "Powered by Squarespace", "Proudly powered by WordPress", "Made with Wix" or "Powered by Shopify". Some designers add their own name instead, which tells you who built it but not on what.

A free Wix site shows a Wix banner at the top or bottom of every page. If you see one, you are on Wix and on its free plan.

No footer line does not mean much. Paid plans let you remove it, and many designers do.

Clue 2: the page source

Every web page has a behind-the-scenes text version that your browser reads. You can look at it safely; you cannot break anything by reading it.

1. Open your home page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer.
2. Right-click an empty part of the page and choose View page source. On Windows, Ctrl+U does the same; on a Mac in Chrome, it is Option+Command+U.
3. A new tab opens full of code. Press Ctrl+F (Command+F on a Mac) to search inside it.
4. Search for each of these words in turn and note which ones turn up.

What each one points to:

• wp-content or wp-includes: WordPress. This is the most common answer for sites built by a designer.
• wix or parastorage: Wix.
• squarespace: Squarespace.
• wsimg: a site made with GoDaddy's own website builder.
• shopify or cdn.shopify: Shopify, usually a store.
• weebly or editmysite: Weebly, which is part of Square.
• Generator: some pages announce themselves in a line near the top that includes the word "generator" followed by the software's name, such as Joomla or Drupal.

If none of these appear, the site may be hand-coded by a designer, built with a less common tool, or so old that it predates the big builders. That is useful to know too.

Clue 3: the login address

Most platforms have a sign-in page at a predictable place. Typing it after your own address is harmless; it only shows a login form.

• yourbusiness.com/wp-admin or /wp-login.php opens a WordPress sign-in screen if the site is WordPress.
• yourbusiness.com/config opens a Squarespace sign-in on Squarespace sites.
• Wix and GoDaddy builders have no login on your own address. You sign in at the company's own website with the email used to create the site.
• Shopify stores sign in through Shopify's own login page.

If a WordPress login screen appears, that settles the platform but not the next question: who has the username and password? Do not guess passwords repeatedly; many sites lock you out after a few tries.

Clue 4: the host, when the site is WordPress

Wix, Squarespace and Shopify run your site on their own computers, so the platform and the host are the same company. WordPress is different: the software is free and runs on a host you choose, such as Bluehost, GoDaddy, SiteGround or a designer's server. To fix or move a WordPress site you need both the WordPress login and the hosting account.

Our guide on how to find who hosts your website walks through the lookups that reveal the host, including the free domain lookup and what the DNS records say.

When the clues point somewhere you cannot reach

The detective work usually ends in one of three places.

You find the account and can sign in

Good. Change the password to one only you know, make sure the account email is one you will still read in five years, and turn on two-step sign-in if the platform offers it. Write down the platform, the login address, the account email and the renewal date.

The account belongs to your designer or a past employee

This is common and usually fixable. Ask in writing to be added as an owner or administrator, or for the account to be handed over to your email. WordPress lets an administrator add you as a second administrator in a minute. Wix and Squarespace both let an owner invite a collaborator or transfer the site. Our guide on getting access to a website you didn't build covers how to ask and what to do if nobody answers.

Nobody knows

Then the domain is your thread back. Whoever controls the domain controls where the site appears. Check that first with who owns my domain, how to check, because a domain in your name gives you options even when the site itself is a mystery.

What the answer means for you

Each platform has its own trade-offs once you know which one you are on.

• WordPress: flexible, and you can take a full copy with you. It also needs updates to its plugins and theme, and an old WordPress site that nobody updates is a common target for hackers.
• Wix: easy to edit, but a Wix site cannot be exported and moved to another platform. You can take your text, photos and domain; the design stays.
• Squarespace: tidy and easy to edit. It can export some content, such as basic pages and one blog, but not the whole design.
• GoDaddy builder: simple, and tied to GoDaddy. Like Wix, the design does not move elsewhere.
• Shopify: built for selling online. Worth keeping if you sell products; heavy if you mostly take calls and enquiries.

None of these is wrong. What matters is that you know which one you have, that the login is yours, and that you are paying for something you actually use.

What to do this week

• Scroll to your footer and note any "powered by" line.
• View the page source and search for wp-content, wix, squarespace, wsimg and shopify.
• Search your card statements for the platform or host name.
• Try to sign in, and if you cannot, write to whoever can.
• Write the platform, login address, account email and renewal date on one page and keep it with your business records.

Once you know what you have and who holds the keys, you can decide calmly whether to keep it. If you are curious what a fresh version could look like before you change anything, you can see your site rebuilt first.