How can you detect which web hosting a website is using?

Updated Written By Christoffer

Finding which web hosting a website uses isn’t as tricky a task as it sounds.

With proper guidance, anyone should be able to find this information.

In this article, we will show you how to check or (at least) get solid clues on which web host provider a website uses.

We’ll start with some basic yet simple hosting provider checks.

1. Basic checks

Let’s start with some basic checks that anyone can start with.

Basic checks include viewing the website WHOIS information, checking the domain name servers, and analyzing the IP address.

Let’s go through each of them.

Viewing a Website’s WHOIS Information

Viewing a website’s WHOIS information is one of the simplest ways to uncover details about its hosting provider, registrar, and ownership.

  1. Go to ICANN WHOIS.
  2. Type in the domain you want to check.
  3. Check the Registrar Information. You can find where the domain is registered (e.g., Bluehost, One.com).
The Registrar Information on Stackcrawler.
The Registrar Information on Stackcrawler.

Checking the Domain’s Name Servers

This is quite similar if you familiarize yourself with the previous step (checking the website WHOIS information).

  1. Go to ICANN WHOIS.
  2. Type in the domain you want to check.
  3. Instead of going to the Registrar Information, you can check the name of the registered servers. This shows which DNS servers the domain is pointing to.
The Domain Information on Stackcrawler, where we can see where the DNS servers the domain is pointing to.
The Domain Information on Stackcrawler, where we can see where the DNS servers the domain is pointing to.

Analyzing the IP Address

This method is a bit more technical, but with good guidance, it should be doable.

Follow these steps:

  1. Go to DNS Checker.
  2. Type in the domain you want to check.
  3. Copy the IP address.
  4. Paste it into ARIN to check who owns the IP block.

In the last step, you find out who owns the IP block.

If you see Cloudflare or Succuri, the server might be hidden behind these services.

2. Additional Clues

If you want to dig even deeper, there are some other clues you can look for.

Looking for Hosted Emails and MX Records

Many smaller sites bundle their web and email hosting under one provider, so matching MX records to a known hosting service can strongly indicate the site’s overall host.

Here is how you can check it:

  1. Go to DNS Checker.
  2. Type in the domain and select MX in the dropdown on the left.
  3. Check the MX records and where it is hosted.

This might give you MX records revealing the hosting provider, but it doesn’t always show this.

Check the IP address of Stackcrawler to identify the website hosting used
Check the IP address of Stackcrawler to identify the website hosting used.

Checking Certificates and SSL Providers

Specific hosting providers partner with certificate authorities and issue branded or specialized certificates.

Seeing the same name repeatedly in the certificate details could mean the host is providing it as part of its service.

  1. Click on the padlock icon in your browser’s address bar (if the site uses HTTPS).
  2. View the certificate details (issuer, common name).
  3. Look for clues in the certificate issuer or subject alternative name that might lead back to the hosting platform (e.g., “*.examplehost.com”).

Checking Website Footers and Administrative Pages

This is a quick and straightforward check.

Many small businesses or bloggers keep the default footer or disclaimers the hosting platform provides.

Here is how you can check it:

  1. Go to the website you want to check.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the website and see if there’s a mention like “Hosted by [Company]” or “Powered by [Company].”
  3. Look at the site’s Terms of Service or Privacy Policy pages. Sometimes, these pages mention service providers.

Checking Server Headers

Checking the server headers is simple, and anyone can do it. Two methods exist: 1) Use an online tool or 2) check it manually.

Method 1) Use an online tool like our web hosting detector. It is free, fast and reliable.

If you want to check it manually, follow the steps below.

Using the manual method, we’re going to inspect the browser as it is quick to do:

  1. Open DevTools in your browser: Press F12 to access DevTools.
  2. Identify the server header: Go to Network Tab and refresh the page. Click on the first row. (usually with the domain name). Click on Headers and look for Server. Look for Apache, nginx, LiteSpeed, IIS etc.
  3. Inspect the x-powered-by: x-powered-by can reveal the underlying technology, but it is often hidden. Look for PHP/7.4, ASP.NET, Express.
  4. Look for CDN or Proxy Indicators: Often, we can find values like CF-Cache-Status, CF-RAY, or Server: cloudflare that indicates Cloudflare. X-Sucuri-ID or Server: Sucuri/Cloudproxy might show Sucuri. AWS CloudFront may show Via: 1.1 cloudfront or X-Amz-Cf-Id. These might hide the actual web host.

Why should we care about a website hosting provider?

There are many reasons why we should care about a web host provider.

Beneath are four good reasons why a website’s hosting provider matters.

Competitor research

If we can determine the hosting of a website, we can get insights into our competitor’s technical setup.

We can determine if the competitor uses a low-budget shared plan, premium hosting, or a special cloud provider.

Knowing a competitor’s infrastructure lets us gain insight into our technical setup.

It can also be advantageous for investors to research website hosting providers.

Brand trust

When a website is using a trusted hosting provider, it might give customers and investors a signal that the website is serious.

On the contrary, if a low-budget provider hosts a website, it might give customers and investors a hint that reliability and data protection might be at risk.

Performance

Different hosting providers offer varied performance guarantees—some have faster server setups, more robust hardware, or better connectivity.

Pinpointing the host can highlight factors affecting page speed, uptime, and user experience.

Security & Compliance

Certain hosting companies specialize in security-hardening or compliance with industry standards (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR).

Knowing the host can help you assess the level of security or compliance a website can (or should) maintain.

Conclusion

Following these steps, you can check which hosting provider a specific website uses.

You can reveal something about website hosting almost every time, but it isn’t always revealed easily. E.g., Cloudflare and Succubi might hide the actual server information.

These steps should be enough to give you some direction on where the website is hosted.

Article by

Christoffer Pettersen

Founder, Web developer

Pettersen is the founder of Stackcrawler, a platform that helps analyze tech stacks. He is passionate about new trends and technologies in the software industry.