What CMS is A Website Using: 4 Methods to Identify a Website's CMS

The CMS made content publishing easier than ever for a website! Therefore, new website owners want to know how to tell what cms is a website using to overcome its competitors. There are more than 4 methods to identify the CMS behind websites. 

Before knowing the best methods, read why CMS is significant in daily operations. It will drive your CMS implementation in the right way. So dive into our guide so that you can check what CMS is being used by others and decide which one to use.

CMS stands for Content Management System. Website owners can install specific CMS to create and manage web page content. CMS is popular because users can operate it without any prior technical knowledge. It’s a completely codeless process. 

Currently, 43% of websites use WordPress as their main CMS, according to the usage statistics by W3Techs. But more authoritative websites use more advanced CMS for continuos content publishing. 

How does CMS Work?

A CMS is like a digital building kit. It provides a user-friendly interface to create, manage, and publish website content without coding. You can think of it as a platform to design page layouts, add text, images, and videos, and organize content into different sections. 

• Design page layouts for web pages following your website theme.

• Add different types of text and paragraphs to the articles posted on websites.
• Add mages into blogs and web pages and align them.
• Add or embed videos directly on the web page for more engagement.
• Manage sections, tags, categories, etc., for easy navigation.

The CMS stores all this information in a database and then generates web pages on-the-fly when visitors access your site. 

Example of CMS

You need to know CMS so that you can publish content effortlessly. Otherwise, you would have made individual static HTML files and uploaded them on the server. Uploading HTML files is a pain when you make any mistakes. Only expert web developers can work in this code-based process. 

But CMS is a universal method that anyone can use. From web development to SEO benchmarking, CMS is a useful way to audit and fix web pages. CMS is a translator that lets you create and update pages just with basic word processing and HTML formatting options.

We have enough free tools and resources online to look up the CMS of any website. Follow the list and adopt your favorite one. But remember, these free tools cannot provide in-depth information.

1. SEOMator: SEOMator’s website technology checker tool has been popular for years.
2. WhatCMS: WhatCMS’s website checker can find the CMS, hosting provider, WordPress theme, and Shopify theme.
3. SiteChecker: SiteChecker’s CMS detector is an efficient tool for checking website language.
4. CMSDetect: CMSDetect’s CMS finder can show all the languages used in a website in a pie chart.

Method 1: Elements Inspection

Manual inspection is a cornerstone of CMS identification. You can rely on examining a website's HTML, JavaScript, and URL structure to uncover clues about its underlying CMS. Just look for patterns in class and ID names, file paths, and URL formats. Comments and meta tags might also reveal valuable information. Common CMS indicators include specific file paths (e.g., /wp-admin) and meta generator tags.

Method 2: Checking CMS Files and Paths

There are scrutinizing specific files and paths you can discover while identifying a website's CMS. For instance, CMS platforms like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal have unique configuration files such as—

• wp-config.php
• configuration.php

Additionally, default administrative paths like /wp-admin or /administrator can be strong indicators, too. You can accurately pinpoint the CMS powering a website by carefully examining these elements.

Method 3: Reverse IP Lookup

Reverse IP lookup is a technique to uncover the connection between IP addresses and CMS platforms. When you identify the IP address of a website's server, you can often determine the CMS used. The hosting providers allocate specific IP ranges to popular CMS like WordPress. You can get help from online tools in this process. 

Method 4: Using Browser Extension

Wappalyzer stands out in every tool we have tested among the CMS detection tools. It provides detailed insights into website technologies, including CMS, programming languages, databases, etc. As a user, you can easily export results as CSV files. Compatible with major browsers, Wappalyzer offers a convenient solution for frequent CMS detection tasks.

New companies use SEO for small businesses. If you are entering into the digital world, your main target is ranking the website on top of search engines. But you would not know what is the best CMS for SEO. Here comes the assistance from our popular digital marketing and SEO service!

How does VISER X Help?

At VISER X, a dedicated team can audit your website, inspect business niches, and determine the content publishing frequency to select the best CMS for you. Not all CMS is effective for you, no matter how advanced it is. We could develop custom CMS for websites on the watch of industry leading software developers.

In 2023, we realized that our website was backdated, and we needed to make it dynamic. Hence, we identified the CMSs used by top-ranked companies like ours. It was the only way to keep our reputation similar to the pioneering companies. 

So, if you need your website to thrive among the top competitors, you must identify the CMS of your counterparts. Primarily, you can use online tools, but it is recommended to contact a web and SEO service provider agency like VISER X. Contact us for more details.

Does every website need CMS?

If you want to create and update content regularly with interaction, you definitely need a CMS. Both static and dynamic websites require CMS for their content management. In case your website has a few pages that will be unchanged for years, you might avoid getting a CMS.

How to Install CMS for Websites?

Follow 5 steps to install the best CMS for your website. First, contact a web development agency. Second, let them decide the best CMS for you. Third, learn about the hosting and control panel. Fourth, log into the CMS dashboard. Fifth, practice and manage the contents.

What is the most used CMS platform?

WordPress is definitely the most used CMS platform these days. It has a fully functional control panel system. You can simply download and install WordPress-supported themes, plugins, and tools from the stores. It has all the essentials to manage blogs, magazines, news, forums, and e-commerce websites.