What Is This Website Built With? How to Find the Platform, CMS, E-commerce Builder and Tech Stack of Any Site

The fastest way to see what a website is built with is a technology lookup tool such as Wappalyzer or WhatRuns (browser extensions) or BuiltWith (website lookup). They detect the CMS or website builder (WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Framer), frameworks (React, Next.js), analytics, hosting and plugins. You can also check manually by viewing the page source and looking for telltale URLs and code.

Method 1: Use a technology lookup tool

Detection isn't perfect: custom or heavily optimised sites may hide signals.

Method 2: Check the page source manually

Right-click › View Page Source (or Ctrl/Cmd+U) and search (Ctrl/Cmd+F) for these clues:

Method 3: Other clues

• Footer credits: "Powered by Shopify", "Built with Webflow", "Designed by [agency]"
• Login URLs: /wp-admin (WordPress), /admin (Shopify redirects), /user/login
• Checkout pages: Shopify checkout URLs and styling are recognisable
• Browser DevTools › Network tab: see which domains assets load from
• HTTP headers (via online header checkers): server, CDN (Cloudflare, Vercel, Netlify)

How to tell what e-commerce platform a site is using

1. Run Wappalyzer or BuiltWith
2. Add a product to the cart and look at the checkout URL and design
3. Search source for shopify, woocommerce, bigcommerce, magento, squarespace-commerce, wix-ecommerce
4. Check the payment and shipping apps detected

How to detect "under construction" or parked websites

• Page shows "coming soon", "under construction" or a registrar's parked page
• Source contains maintenance plugin names (e.g., "coming-soon", "maintenance")
• Very little content and no internal links
• WHOIS/RDAP lookups show domain registration dates (recently registered)
• The site returns HTTP 503 (maintenance) status
• Tools like BuiltWith show few technologies

Agencies and freelancers sometimes look for businesses with outdated, parked or under-construction sites as potential clients.

What to do with this information

• Choose your own platform based on sites you like (see What is the best website builder?)
• Competitive research: see what tools competitors use for analytics, chat, reviews, booking
• Find the designer/agency behind a site you admire (see How to hire a web designer)
• Estimate costs to build something similar (see How much does a website cost?)

Remember: the platform matters less than design, content, speed and how well the site converts.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find out what a website is built with?

Use Wappalyzer, WhatRuns or BuiltWith, or view the page source and look for platform-specific paths such as /wp-content/ (WordPress) or cdn.shopify.com (Shopify).

How can I tell if a site is WordPress?

Look for /wp-content/ or /wp-includes/ in the page source, a WordPress generator meta tag, or try visiting /wp-admin.

How do I know if a website uses Shopify?

Search the source for cdn.shopify.com or myshopify.com, or use Wappalyzer. Shopify checkout pages are also distinctive.

What platform is this website built on if tools show nothing?

It may be custom-built, use a headless setup, or hide signatures. Check network requests, headers and footer credits for clues.

Is BuiltWith free?

BuiltWith offers free basic lookups of individual sites; detailed lead lists and historical data require paid plans.

Can I copy a website's design if I know its platform?

You can use the same platform and draw inspiration, but copying design, content or code directly can infringe copyright; create your own original design.