Last updated December 5th, 2023 23:06
If you’ve ever worked on the design of a WordPress website, you’ve probably spent hours choosing the right template. Let’s admit it, this is a crucial step in determining your design options. In this context, it’s safe to say that we all seek inspiration from places where a certain style and template are already successful. But the challenge arises when you know a site uses WordPress, yet you’re unsure about the specific template. The question many ask is, ‘Can you find out which template a foreign website uses on WordPress?’ And that’s precisely what we’ll explore: How to Find Out the Template a Foreign Website Uses on WordPress.
How To Find Out Template Which Foreign Website Uses On WordPress
There are several methods for discovering a website’s template, ranging from very simple to more technically demanding ones. We’ll showcase two: one is effortless using an online tool, and the other is more intricate involving the website’s source code.
WordPress Theme Detector
To easily determine the theme of any website’s appearance, you can try the online tool called WordPress Theme Detector. Simply input the target domain, and the detector will attempt to identify the template used by the website owner from its source code. I’ve tried it, and it works relatively well, even when the website owner uses a so-called child theme.
Once you input the domain name, the tool provides results within seconds. Let’s specifically examine my website. I’m using a child theme derived from GeneratePress. This tool scanned through my website’s source code and identified the template, despite stating it’s likely a ‘custom‘ template. And it’s accurate.
While I initially used GeneratePress as a base, I created the header, footer, and right menu myself using Elementor. However, the core is indeed GeneratePress. I randomly tried several other websites, and the detector almost always found the template. The only exceptions were websites that use truly customized solutions, such as creating a template entirely from scratch using tools like Figma.
Discovering the template using the source code
Every appearance template uses what’s called style.css. This CSS file contains, among other things, a header that communicates the template’s name, author, version, and many other crucial details to WordPress. This allows you to start searching for the template name directly in the source code. On the desired website, right-click and select ‘View Page Source.’
Using the keyboard shortcut CTRL+F, activate the code search and try to find the item:
link rel='stylesheet'
Once the search directs you to the correct lines, you can start looking for the template name within them. In this specific case, as shown in the image below, I was able to ascertain that the searched website uses the Astra template.
In this case, searching isn’t as straightforward as using a web detector, but there’s still a chance you’ll be able to find the template name.
How To Find Out Template Which Foreign Website Uses On WordPress
Conclusion
No technique is one hundred percent foolproof. If someone uses their custom-made template, created entirely from scratch, such information might be of no use to you. It’s not a publicly available template that you could download and use. However, these two methods serve as a decent foundation for seeking inspiration if you’re curious about the specific template a website uses. From there, you can further launch into inspiration for the type of template you might choose for your own website.
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