3 Quick Ways to Find Out Who Hosts Your Website

Web hosting service providers let you lease server spaces where you can store your data safely and get your website up and running online.

Given the scope of the services, web hosts play a pivotal role in helping businesses and individuals establish an online presence. As such, one must practice prudence while selecting a web host and committing to their services. However, you cannot make this choice if you’re unaware of what your web host name is in the first place.

We’ve listed down below different ways to name check who hosts a website.

How to Find Out Who Hosts Your Website?

Check your billing

Considering that you may have leased or purchased server space from your web host, there may be some paper trail for the financial arrangement to reimburse this service.

Whether you paid a lump sum amount or a recurring fee, you would still have proof of this transaction. So, if you’re unable to recall your web host, you can check out your business emails to find any records related to the purchase or registration of this web-hosting service. You can find the name of the web host in the invoice.

In case you can’t find any information related to web hosting, you can contact your website developer and request them to share the web host details.

READ: 9 Facts to Consider Before Getting Web Hosting

Search the ICANN records 

While registering a domain name for your website, you may have noticed that you’re required to enter basic website-related details. These may include your identification details, administrative or technical information, and more. 

Domain Tool WHOIS is a comprehensive data repository containing website ownership details. It is the brainchild of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – a non-profit organisation that maintains, coordinates, and updates this information system.

You can use a lookup table to search through this public directory and map the website host using the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP).

All you need to do is visit lookup.icann.org and enter the URL of your website. You’ll be presented with a list of information, including the web host details. Alternatively, you can run the “whois <website.com>” command in the command prompt to access this information.

What does the WHOIS information contain?

Name of the Hosting Provider 

The WHOIS details address your immediate question – who is hosting this website/domain? It’ll contain the name of the company managing the server. It’ll also include the contact details of the hosting provider.

IP Address 

Every device that connects to the internet has a unique Internet Protocol address or IP linked to it. As such, the WHOIS information will also contain the IP address of the server hosting the website.

While it may be possible to reverse engineer web host providers using the IP, the results may not be as accurate if you have IP masks or service reroutes.

Owner Details 

Apart from sharing information about the web host, a WHOIS query will also detail the site owner’s details, such as their name, contact information, and registration date.  

While some fields of this information may be kept private, the contact details are usually available.

Nameservers 

Nameservers are responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses. Given this link, the records will also show the nameservers linked to the website. You can even consider digging through the nameserver details to locate the web host.

Use third-party tools 

Given that there are several variations of the WHOIS website, one may be hesitant to check them out. Plus, the RDAP results may not yield up-to-date information on the registration data. 

In this case, third-party tools like Site Checker and Rishavapps can be your go-to source for accessing web host information.

If you have availed of WordPress hosting services, you can also use tools like WordPress Theme Detector to gain insights about your website host.

Closing Thoughts

No matter the purpose of checking out web host details, you can achieve your goals in more ways than one. Once you have identified your web host, you can read up more about the services they offer and how you can improve them.

In case you’re unhappy with your web host, you can even use this information to research alternatives and figure out how to go about making this switch.