I hang out in various and sundry Facebook groups, forums, etc. where blogging is often a topic of discussion. Without fail, there are many folks in said groups that will ask, “What theme is such-and-such site using?”
Here are a couple of tips for determining what WordPress theme a site is using. They aren’t foolproof, but they will help you determine the theme in roughly 94.26% of cases (yeah, I made that stat up. I don’t know the exact number. It’s the vast majority though…)
Look in the Footer
Many times the theme will be linked to or mentioned right there in the footer of the site in question. On this very site for example, you will see this:
This site is running the Weaver theme by WPWeaver.info.
Now you know.
Look in the Source Code
Some bloggers will remove the reference to the theme in their footer. (Why, I don’t know. It doesn’t take up much real estate and it’s a nice thing to do to recognize the theme developer. But to each their own.)
If there isn’t a footer reference, look in the source code.
Every modern browser has a way to view a web pages source code. Typically it’s done by right clicking anywhere on the page and selecting an option like “View page source”. Here’s how a right click on this site looks in the Chrome browser:
Here’s what it looks like in Firefox:
I don’t care what it looks like in Internet Explorer, because IE is the suck and you really should be using a better browser. For the sake of completeness though, on IE you right click and then select, “View Source”.
Once you open a page’s source code, do a search for “wp-content/themes” (without the quotes). To search source code, just type ctrl-f and a search box will pop up. Type wp-content/themes into the search box. Chrome and Firefox will highlight any matches. I assume IE does too. Of note, ctrl-f is a PC function. Macs have some similar thing, but I don’t know what it is. I’m (sadly, most of the time) a PC guy.
On this blog, this is what you’ll see:
See where it says “2010-weaver”? There’s your clue as to what theme is being used. You may need to do a little research using the greatest site on the internet to get the exact theme:
There you go!
Some sites use a WordPress Framework and a child theme. This can make looking at the source code a little trickier. Here is the source code for that amazing real estate blog, Phoenix Real Estate Guy:
So is TPREG running on PlatformPro, or PlatformBase?
Both really. PlatformPro is the framework and PlatformBase is the theme. A child theme won’t work without the framework, so just Google either term (it often helps to Google the term along with the words “wordpress theme”) and you’ll find the page for the theme.
Who Cares?
Maybe no one cares. But I sure see “what theme are they using?” being asked frequently. Now you know how to find the answer, most of the time. If neither of these options work, you can always contact the blogger and ask them. I don’t know very many bloggers that won’t share what theme they are running. Just stroke their ego and gush, “I just LOVE the look of your amazing blog! Can you tell me what theme you are using?” Of course the site you are looking at in admiration, awe and envy may well have an extensively modified / customized theme that may look nothing like the theme that comes straight out of the box. But hey, it’s a start…
Great advice. Those are the most common ways…if you still don't see what the framework or theme is, a flattering.."hey your site looks great is it custom or what theme is it?" sort of comment will work at least 4% out of the remaining 5.74% of cases.
Most people are more than willing to let you know what they used.
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Jay: MAC's use Command-F as the PC equivalent to the PC's Ctrl-F
Jay,
It's nice when it's extremely easy to find but if you do some digging it seems like it's always pretty easy to find it. Thanks for laying it out in simple lamens terms.
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I also find that some websites will rename the theme (very easy to do) which makes it more difficult. But in that case you can usually look at the source code, then find the CSS file for the theme where most authors will include the theme information.
Eric's way might be the easiest, unless the other person isn't responsive or had the site built by a 3rd party.
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Thanks for the time-saverJay, I didn't know about ctrl-F. I usually just pull up the source code and scroll and scroll searching for what I"m looking for until my head hurts. duh.
OK, I'll stop asking people what theme they use;-) I didn't know about the control F delio thingy. thanks.
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If all else fails, email the site and ask. The WordPress community is generally very nice and should be able to help you out.
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Travis is right, if you still encounter an error sending email to administrator of the site will definitiely help. And Jay is always giving such an amazing information. Thanks Jay!
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Thanks for sharing valuable tips. Knowing the different WordPress themes will surely allow people to manage blogging better.
It's always important understand how the theme is working, sometimes is necessary to make some changes in the source code to get some benefits
Thanks for this informative post Jay,the only way i was aware of was by using Firefox.
and since i mostly use Google Chrome now,these methods will come real handy.
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Thanks for valuable sharing! Truly whatever you exposed really informative. I would like to use this wordpress theme and knowing about new wordpress theme is always help to use it perfectly. Thanks mate and keep it up!
That's not actual factor though I like word press theme. It's really great platform for the wonderful templates and designs. Thanks! : )
Warm regards for sharing valuable exposed! I'm totally impressed to read this post. It's really a great stoppage wonderful templates and designs. Thanks dude…!
Yep, you're right about the Phoenix Real Estate Guy site being great.:) On a different note, I have a lot of friends who recommend WordPress for my blogs. Are there any distinct advantages to having a WordPress blog over Activerain or Trulia profiles? When I got into real estate, I didn't realize I'd have to do all this technical stuff! You seem to have it all down.
The easiest way to discover the WordPress theme (and plugins) is to use http://whatwpthemeisthat.com/
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I will stop asking about what theme they use… ok!!
Mostly i use Google Chrome now,these methods will come real handy.
I really like this guy and all his posts. I have recently been reading your posts and I think they are educational for me, to say the least. As someone interested in real estates, I would love to read a lot more from you.
What a nice way to take a look at a site's wordpress theme. Thanks for the tip!
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