Ever wished you could tell which WordPress theme a website is running?
We frequently receive requests from readers asking us to identify a theme they saw on another person's website. They can now utilize the exact same theme on their own WordPress website as a result.
We'll explain how to identify the WordPress theme a website is using in this article.
Why Find Which WordPress Theme a Site Is Using?
Selecting a theme for your WordPress website is one of the most important choices you will have to make.
Choosing the ideal WordPress theme requires careful consideration and can quickly become overwhelming. This can be a great way to find the perfect theme quickly if you adore the features, layout, and design of someone else's website.
Certain websites make use of unique themes, which are most likely not accessible to other website owners like you. Nonetheless, a lot of websites use well-liked premium themes or free WordPress themes.
The theme's name can then be easily found, and you can download or purchase it yourself.
Method 1: Use an Online Theme Detector Tool
Figuring out what theme a website is using is a fairly popular pursuit. As such, multiple search engines have been created to answer this question. All you’ll need is the URL of the site you’re curious about.
Your first step will be choosing an online tool that fits your needs. For this walkthrough, we’ll be using What WordPress Theme Is That:
We’re fond of this tool because it also returns a list of the plugins installed on the site as well. This can help you find creative ways to use themes and plugins together. Nevertheless, there are other quality tools available to you, such as WPThemeDetector and BuiltWith.
Once you’ve decided on a tool, enter the URL of the website you want to know the theme of. The results should look something like this:
Within seconds, What WordPress Theme Is That returns substantial information on the site. In addition to its theme’s name, the tool will also try to return other useful details such as the author and home page.
Nevertheless, your results may not always look like those shown above. For instance, searching for a site that uses a highly customized theme or a proprietary solution may not work. In that case, you can always try the other methods below.
Method 2: Search the Site’s Source Code
You can also discover a site’s active theme by examining its source code. This wall of code might be intimidating, but fortunately, you won’t have to do much with it. You can simply access and search it like a text document.
To get started, navigate to the site you’re curious about. Once there, right-click anywhere on the page. Select View page source near the bottom of the menu that appears. This will open a page similar to this one:
Next, search for the line of code that looks like this:
https://website.com/wp-content/themes/themename/style.css?
Here, website.com will be the URL of the site you’re visiting and themename will be the title of the theme it’s currently using. This code will also include a link. You can follow it if you want more information:
You’ll find the theme’s name at the top of the resulting screen. Below it will be some more information, such as the version it’s running on and the license in use.
Method 3: Reach Out to the Site Owner
If you’re not interested in either of the previous methods, or if you’ve tried them without success, there’s also another option – contact the site owner. The WordPress community is full of users who are often happy to share their tricks of the trade. A message is an easy way to get an answer.
Even a simple email with “What theme is this website using?” in the subject line can get the job done. Reaching out can also be a valuable opportunity to network with other professionals in your niche.
Once you’ve found the theme and applied it to your site, you may want to take steps to personalize it as much as possible. Popular designs are often a smart choice, but they can also make it harder to stand out from the crowd. Consider using a custom color scheme or changing your site’s font to mix it up.