Top Free WordPress Theme Detector Tools Tested and Compared

WordPress is currently powering more than 42%  of websites of Internet, Surely there must have been times that you really wanted to know what WordPress theme a site is using, who is the author, what are the plugins installed. Because you really want check those themes and plugins out but you don’t know to do that. There are handful of WordPress theme detector tools available and today I will compare these tools to let you know which tools works best.  Tools that would simply do just this specific task. There are myriads of tools but not every one of them is good. We have free online WordPress theme detector, theme checker, browser add-ons, WordPress theme check plugins and CMS checker. I will test all and at the end of this article I will give you my recommendation. Jump at the end of this article if you are in hurry.

But before testing out the tools, you should know that there’s a manual way of detecting WordPress themes and plugins without using any WordPress theme detector tools.

Manual way of checking theme :

• Open the website you want to know about using your browser ( preferred – Firefox, Chrome)
• Right click anywhere on the page and choose “View Page Source” from the dropdown option
• A new page will pop up. Now press “Clt + F” to open the search tool
• Type “style.css” and the browser will find a line like this one –

http://wpplugindirectory.org/wp-content/themes/wpplugindirectory/style.css?ver=4.6.1

• Click on the file
• You will be redirected to a new file containing theme Name, author, theme version

WordPress theme detector tools will be tested on these 5 websites  –

1. https://asphaltthemes.com
2. wpplugindirectory.com
3. http://www.sonymusic.com/
4. http://www.bata.com/
5. http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Online WordPress Theme Detector Tools –

1. whatthemeisthat.com

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No. Messaged Showed – “WordPress detected, but the specific theme details could not be determined. It is probably using a customized or proprietary theme.”

Plugins Detected – Social Warfare, W3 Total Cache, PricingTable

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Detected theme name but no indication of whether it’s a custom one or not.

Addition Details Detected – Theme Description, version, Author, Author homepage

Plugins Detected- casePress upvote

For – http://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – No, “WordPress detected, but the specific theme details could not be determined.
It is probably using a customized or proprietary theme.”

Detected plugin – W3 Total Cache

For – http://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – No. “WordPress detected, but the specific theme details could not be determined.
It is probably using a customized or proprietary theme.”

Detected plugin – Captcha, Validated Field For Acf

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes, Showed bbcamerica URL as theme homepage with site screenshot as theme screenshot

Detected plugins – Bbca App Banner, Amcn Dfp Manager, Amcn Intercept, Amcn Limelightpurge, Bbca Livestream, Amcn Common Analytics, Amcn Janrain, Amcn Sweeps, Amcn Mvpd Auth, Bbca Theplatform,  Amcn Video Share, Amcn Theplatform Shortcode, Amcn Carrington, Adi, W3 Total Cache

Looks like BBC America use lots of custom made plugin.

2. whattheme.com

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No. “We were unable to identify the theme asphaltthemes.com is using”

Addition Details Detected – Showed the site using 4.6.1 version of WordPress.

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes, right on spot showing it’s built on custom theme.

Addition Details Detected – Author, Author URL, Version, Description, WP version

For – http://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes, “It seems like www.sonymusic.com is using a custom theme”

Addition Details Detected – Author, Author URL, Version, Description

For – http://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – No, “We couldn’t find more details about the theme.”

Addition Details Detected – WordPress version 4.4.2

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes, “It seems like www.bbcamerica.com is using a custom theme.”

Addition Details Detected – Theme URL, Version, Text-domain, Description

3. themesinfo.com

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No.

Detected plugin – PricingTable

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition Details Detected – Theme Name, Theme Folder, Theme Used on Websites, Version, Author, Author homepage, Description.

Detected plugin – casepress upvote

For – http://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition Details Detected – Theme Name, Theme Folder, Theme use on Websites, Version, Author, Author Hompage, Description

For – http://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – No.

Detected plugins – Captcha by BestWebSoft, Advance Custom Fields :Validated Field

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition Details Detected – Theme name, Theme Homepage, Version,  Description

Detected plugins -Bbca App Banner, Amcn Dfp Manager, Amcn Intercept, Amcn Limelightpurge, Bbca Livestream, Amcn Common Analytics, Amcn Janrain, Amcn Sweeps, Amcn Mvpd Auth, Bbca Theplatform,  Amcn Video Share, Amcn Theplatform Shortcode, Amcn Carrington, Adi

4.

scanwp.net

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – Nope, Message showed – “We could not find the theme which asphaltthemes.com/ was built with”

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes, Scan message showed “wpplugindirectory.org is built withwpplugindirectory”

Detected plugin – casepress upvote.

Addition Detected Information – People that Visited wpplugindirectory.org have also visited, Organic Keywords this Site Ranks for,  This Site’s Top Competitors on Search Results,  Estimated Traffic for the Past Year

For – http://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition Details Detected – Screenshot, Author, Author URI

Addition Detected Information – Organic Keywords this Site Ranks for, This Site’s Top Competitors on Search Results

For – http://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes

Addition Details Detected – Theme price, Theme Store (Themeforst), Theme Tags, Theme URL

Detected Plugins – SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam, validated field for acf

Addition Information – Organic Keywords this Site Ranks for, This Site’s Top Competitors on Search Results

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect –Yes

Addition Theme Details Detected – Theme name, Screenshot, Version

Detected Plugins – bbca app banner, amcn dfp manager, amcn intercept, amcn limelightpurge, bbca livestream, amcn common analytics, amcn janrain, amcn sweeps, amcn mvpd auth, bbca theplatform, amcn video share, amcn theplatform shortcode, amcn carrington, Leadin

Addition Information – Organic Keywords this Site Ranks for, This Site’s Top Competitors on Search Results

6. 5.

   wpthemedetector.com

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No, “It was not possible to detect the WordPress theme in https://asphaltthemes.com, although WordPress was detected in that website.”

Detected plugins – Social Warfare, PricingTable, W3 Total Cache

Additional Information About the Site – Global Alexa Ranking, Site Host, site Screenshot,

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes, right on spot.

Addition Details Detected – Description, version, Author, Author Homepage,

Detected plugin – casepress upvote.

Additional Information About the Site – WP Configuration, Theme Changes, Site Popularity (Global Alexa Ranking)

For – http://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – No.

For some unknown reason sony’s site wouldn’t run wpthemedetector site. I tried over 20 times on random days, I gave up trying.

For – http://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect –Yes

Addition Details Detected – Theme name, Screenshot, Version, Author

Plugins Detected – Captcha, Advance Custom Field: Validated fields

Addition Information – Theme Change, Gloabl Alexa Ranking, Site Hosting

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect –Yes

Addition Theme Details Detected – Theme name, Screenshot, Version, Author, Description,

Detected Plugins – bbca app banner, amcn dfp manager, amcn intercept, amcn limelightpurge, bbca livestream, amcn common analytics, amcn janrain, amcn sweeps, amcn mvpd auth, bbca theplatform, amcn video share, amcn theplatform shortcode, amcn carrington, Adi, W3 Total Cache

Addition Information – Theme Change, Gloabl Alexa Ranking

7. theseotools.net/wp-theme-detector

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No, “This does not look like a WordPress Site, It maybe a highly customized theme.”

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition theme details detected – Theme name, Description, Version, Author, Author Homepage, Theme Homepage

Detected plugin – casepress upvote.

For – https://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

For – https://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Detected plugin – Captcha by BestWebSoft, Advanced Custom Fields: Validated Field

Addition Information detected – WordPress Version 4.4.2

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition theme information detected – Theme name, Theme homepage, Description, Version, Text- Domain, Screenshot

Detected plugin – bbca app banner, amcn dfp manager, amcn intercept, amcn limelightpurge, bbca livestream, amcn common analytics, amcn janrain, amcn sweeps, amcn mvpd auth, bbca theplatform, amcn video share, amcn theplatform shortcode, amcn carrington, Adi, W3 Total Cache

7. Theme Detector

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No, “This website doesn’t use WordPress or has been heavily modified”

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition theme details detected – Theme name, Description, Version, Author, Author Homepage

For – https://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition theme details detected – Theme name, Description, Version, Author, Author Homepage

For – https://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – No, “This website doesn’t use WordPress or has been heavily modified.”

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – No, “This website doesn’t use WordPress or has been heavily modified.”

8. Free WordPress Theme Detector Tool

is an easy-to-use tool that helps you find the theme used on any WordPress website. It is the best tool for discovering the theme name and version. It helps you to find whether the website is made with WordPress.It’s a must-have tool for website developers and designers.

Chrome Extensions:

1. Scan WP – Detect WordPress Themes and Plugin

 For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No.

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Detected plugin – casePress upvote.

For – https://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Additional theme details detected – Screenshot, Author.

For – https://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes. (It’s a themeforest theme name “bata” at $48)

Additional theme details detected – Screenshot, Author, Version, Author URI, Theme tags, Price.

Detected plugins – Captcha by BestWebSoft, Advanced Custom Fields: Validated Field

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Additional theme details detected – Screenshot, Author, Version, Author URI.

Detected plugins – bbca app banner, amcn dfp manager, amcn intercept, amcn limelightpurge, bbca livestream, amcn common analytics, amcn janrain, amcn sweeps, amcn mvpd auth, bbca theplatform, amcn video share, amcn theplatform shortcode, amcn carrington, Adi

2.WPSNIFFER

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No.

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes, but no indication of whether it’s a custom made or not.

For – https://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes, but no indication of whether it’s a custom made or not.

For – https://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes, with no indication of custom made.

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes, but no indication of whether it’s a custom made or not.

3. WordPress Theme and Plugins Detector

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No. Only detected the WordPress version of the site which is 4.6.1

Plugins detected – WP limit logins, PricingTable

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition details detected – Author, Author URI, Theme version, Description, WP version

Plugin detected – casePress upvote

For – https://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes

Addition details detected – Author, Author URI, Screenshot , Description

For – https://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – No.

Addition details detected – WP version

Plugins detected – Captcha by BestWebSoft, Advanced Custom Fields: Validated Field, Formidable forms

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes, stating it’s a custom made theme for BBC America.

Addition details detected – Screenshot, Version, Description

Firefox Browser Add-ons:

1. WP Theme And Plugin Detector

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect – No

Addition Theme Details Detected – WP Version.

Detected Plugins – PricingTable, WP Limit Login Attempts

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition Details Detected – Theme version, Author, Author URI,  and WordPress version, Description.

Detected plugin – casePress upvote.

For – https://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes

Addition Details Detected – Theme Name, Author, Author URI, Description, Screenshot

For – https://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – No, I don’t know why but the wp theme detecting icon didn’t show up on browser, even after refreshing the tab repeatedly.

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes

Addition Details Detected – Theme Name, Description, Screenshot, Theme Version

Opera Extensions:

WordPress Theme and Plugins Detector

For – asphaltthemes.com

Theme Name Detect –No, the browser icon didn’t show up despite trying several times.

For – wpplugindirectory.org

Theme Name Detect – Yes.

Addition Theme Details Detected – Theme version, Author, Author Homepage and WordPress version.

Detected plugin – casePress upvote.

For – https://www.sonymusic.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes

Addition Details Detected – Author, Author URI, Description, Screenshot

For – https://www.bata.com/

Theme Name Detect – No, only detected the WP version which is 4.4.2

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Theme Name Detect – Yes

Addition Details Detected – Theme Name, Description, Screenshot, Theme Version

Bonus:

WP Plugin Checker

For – asphaltthemes.com

18 Installed Plugins – 2Checkout for Easy Digital Downloads, bbPress, BoxZilla, Contact Form 7, Disqus Comment System, Easy Digital Downloads, Formilla Live Chat, If Menu, Inspectlet – User Session Recording and Heatmaps, PricingTable, SG CachePress, Social Warfare, UpdraftPlus – Backup/Restore, W3 Total Cache, weDocs, WordPress HTTPS, WP Limit Login Attempts, Yoast SEO

Detected 4 plugins – WordPress SEO by Yoast, Contact Form 7, W3 Total Cache, UpdraftPlus Backup and Restoration for WordPress

For – wpplugindirectory.org

17 Installed Plugins – Advanced Custom Fields, Akismet, CasePress UpVote, Check Email, Cronjob Scheduler, Database Browser, DeBogger, EasyCron, Limit Login Attempts, ManageWP – Worker, Query Monitor, SSH SFTP Updater Support, Super Socializer, SysInfo,WordPress Backup to Dropbox, WordPress Importer, WP-Optimize

Detected 5 Plugins – Akismet, WordPress Importer, WP-Optimizer, W3 Total Cache, Advance Custom Fields

Comment – W3 Total Cache is not installed, it really weird to show up on plugin checker.

For – https://www.sonymusic.com/

Detected 3 Plugins – Akismet, Wordfence Security, W3 Total Cache

For – https://www.bata.com/

Detected 9 Plugins – WordPress SEO by Yoast, W3 Total Cache, Akismet, WordPress Importer, Captcha, MailChimp for WordPress, TinyMCE Advanced, Google Analytics for WordPress, Regenerate Thumbnails

For – http://www.bbcamerica.com/

Detected 0 Plugins – “Doh! We couln’t find any plugins.”

Conclusion :

1. https://asphaltthemes.com –  Running on modified Version of Optimizer theme but none of the theme checker could identify it. I’m not sure what’s the reason, may be the minify/caching plugins to blame here.
2. wpplugindirectory.com –  Custom made Theme
3. http://www.sonymusic.com/ –  Custom made Theme
4. http://www.bata.com/ – Custom made Theme
5. http://www.bbcamerica.com/ –  Custom made Theme

It’s hard to suggest one tool. Using only one would give you partial results therefore I would recommend you to use combination of these tools . Both of these will help you to find out the specification you are looking for. Both of the tools detected the theme with more consistency comparing to others. In addition to that you will get additional theme details and even extra website information like global Alexa rank, hosting and plugins.

It took me quite some time to finish up checking these WordPress theme detecting tools but I have enjoyed doing it and hope you have learned too. What are the tools you use for theme checking ? Did I miss any tools ? Be sure to comment and I will include them.