How to Find Out Who is Hosting a Certain Website (3 Ways)

As an experienced webmaster, I can tell you that identifying a website‘s hosting provider can give you valuable insights. But you may be wondering—why would I need to find out who is hosting a particular website in the first place?

There are actually many good reasons for uncovering hosting details:

• Fixing site problems on your own sites when you‘ve lost track of the host
• Researching where competitors host their sites
• Identifying high-performing hosts based on fast sites you encounter
• Sending DMCA takedown notices to sites stealing your content
• Simply satisfying curiosity about sites you visit

According to 2022 stats from Datanyze, the 5 most popular hosting providers are:

• Amazon AWS – Hosts 30% of websites
• GoDaddy – Hosts 10% of websites
• Bluehost – Hosts 7% of websites
• Hostinger – Hosts 7% of websites
• Namecheap – Hosts 5% of websites

This data shows that identifying a site‘s hosting provider also reveals key information about their market share and technology stack.

Now let‘s get into the best methods for uncovering hosting details for any website you come across online.

Method #1: Use Hosting Detector Tools

As a webmaster myself, the fastest way I check a website‘s host is using dedicated hosting detector tools. They analyze domain records and server identifiers to reveal the associated hosting provider.

My two favorite detectors are:

WPBeginner‘s Theme Detector

WPBeginner‘s Theme Detector is a phenomenal tool for WordPress sites. Enter a URL, click Analyze, and it displays:

• Hosting provider
• Theme and version
• WordPress version
• Total plugins
• Active plugins

For example, here it quickly identifies DreamHost as the provider:

I like this tool because it acts as an all-in-one site profiler for WordPress sites. In most cases, it provides the hosting info you‘re looking for in seconds.

IsItWP

IsItWP is another great detector service focused solely on WordPress sites.

To use it:

1. Enter a URL
2. Click "Check Website"
3. Check the Hosting Provider result

It also detects the theme, WordPress version, total plugins, and security plugins.

For example, here‘s a report it generated identifying Bluehost as the host:

The benefit of tools like these is the speed and convenience—no need to dig through various records when the provider is fetched automatically for you.

However, detector tools don‘t always work, such as when sites use CDNs which mask the true host. But they should be your first go-to option.

Method #2: Do a WHOIS Lookup

If detector tools come up short, the next method I use is a WHOIS lookup. WHOIS provides registration details for domain names, including name server records pointing to hosting providers.

Here is how to find the host with WHOIS:

1. Go to Domain.com‘s WHOIS lookup
2. Enter the root domain name—for example, blogcadre.com
3. Search the results for "name server" or "NS" records

For example, a WHOIS for blogcadre.com shows:

Name Server: ULR1.UNIFIEDLAYER.COM
Name Server: ULR2.UNIFIEDLAYER.COM

Which reveals the host as Unified Layer.

The benefit of WHOIS is accessing raw DNS records. But it requires more domain knowledge to interpret. WHOIS can also be limited if name servers point to CDNs or proxy services instead of the host.

Method #3: Use Reverse IP Lookups

When other methods fail, I leverage reverse IP lookups to match sites hosted on the same server.

Follow these steps:

1. Use a site like IPLocator to find your target website‘s IP address
2. Take the IP and enter it into a reverse IP lookup tool like YouGetSignal
3. Review the list of sites on the same server to identify the common hosting provider

For example, a reverse IP lookup for 104.20.176.10 shows multiple sites likely hosted by Bluehost.

This reveals website associations you may not otherwise see. However, it requires piecing together connections between sites on the same server to find the common host.

Other Ways to Identify Hosting Providers

On tricky sites where the above methods fail, I‘ve had to get creative. Here are a few additional tactics:

• Check site footers and contact pages for hosting info
• Search forums related to the website for hosting discussions
• Use the Wayback Machine to see historical hosting references
• Review third-party reports from spy tools like Datanyze and Owler
• Email the website owners asking who they use for hosting

With the right combination of tools and some determination, you can unveil hosting details for even the most obscure website.

Key Takeaways: Finding Any Website‘s Hosting Provider

Based on my 15+ years as a webmaster, here are the core lessons for identifying a website‘s host:

• Start with detector tools like WPBeginner‘s Theme Detector and IsItWP for quick automated checks, especially on WordPress sites.
• Use WHOIS lookups as a manual backup to view raw DNS records pointing to hosting providers.
• Leverage reverse IP lookups to uncover hidden associations between sites hosted on the same servers.
• Combine various tools and techniques until you crack the hosting mystery.

Hopefully these tips will help you gain valuable intel on competitors, evaluate performance, fix your own site issues, or just satisfy curiosity by unmasking the hosting provider behind any website you encounter online.

Now that you know how to find it, go dig up some hosting details!