How to Check If a Website Is Created by WordPress?

WordPress is the most popular content management system used to power websites across the world. Many people use WordPress to create blogs but it is also an all-around content management system that can be used to create websites, portfolios, and more. In this article, you will learn about some tips and tricks for determining whether or not a WordPress-based website is legitimate or a scam. By knowing how to check a website for WordPress, you will be able to identify and avoid websites that are likely scams and hone in on the good stuff – the legitimate, non-scam sites – so you can build your business or brand around.

Look At The Source Code

While it is not always easy to determine if a website is a scam or not, one of the best ways is to examine the source code of the website. If you are familiar with HTML, then this should be a walk in the park for you. Simply browse to the website’s source code directly on GitHub or similar site. You will see a whole lot of HTML code that looks like garbage to you but if you ever built a WordPress website then you will know exactly what all this means. In fact, if you ever ran a blog using WordPress before then this tutorial will look very familiar to you because all the codes are the same. This is not a scam as long as the official website of WordPress itself appears to be legitimate.

Look At The Design

Aside from checking the source code, another way to determine whether or not a website is a scam is to examine the design of the website. If you visit the website’s landing page, then you will see a lot of empty boxes with headlines and sub-headlines. This means that the website probably does not have much content but it looks like it because it is using headlines and sub-headlines in the design itself. These are not words that humans typically use to write entire articles or books so a scammer would not use them unless they are trying to mislead you.

WordPress itself is a legitimate website that generates millions of dollars in annual revenue so if you see a lot of these types of sites claiming to be affiliated with WordPress, then it is a scam.

Look At The Content

Besides examining the source code and design of the website, you can also check the content of a website to determine whether or not it is legitimate or a scam. Often, scammers will try to trick you into clicking on a link that takes you to a fake survey website where they ask you for your personal and financial information. Once you give that information to the scammers, they will never actually send you anything and if you ask them for a refund then they will tell you that the survey is expired and none of your personal information has been saved.

On the other hand, websites that are legitimate usually will have a combination of these elements:

• high-quality content
• a professional-looking design
• no fake surveys or spammy links
• tons of content
• regular updates

The best way to find a reputable, non-scam site is to do your research online beforehand. If you are new to this, then it might be a good idea to start out with smaller, simpler sites that you can build simply using WordPress before you try to tackle something large and complex like this. Even if you encounter a scammer, it’s not always easy to tell who is who because they will often use the same techniques that the big fraudsters do.

Sign Up For Email Alerts

WordPress-based websites often try to trick you into signing up for their email list so they can sell you additional products or services. To prevent yourself from falling victim to these types of tricks, it is best to stay away from these types of websites because they are almost always involved in some kind of scam. If you see that a site is asking you to sign up for an email list in order to check out a product or service, then it is a scam.

WordPress users can also use a free plug-in, Pinger, to get email notifications when new content is published by any of their sites or blogs. This way, they can stay abreast of all the latest news and information about their industry while also being able to determine which websites are worth visiting and which ones should be avoided at all costs.

Check Out The About Page

As mentioned above, if you suspect that a website is a scam then it is best to avoid it. There are countless ways that scammers will attempt to trick you into their website but one of the best tips is to examine the about page of the website. This is where the scammer will try to convince you that their website is actually associated with a brand or company that you know and trust. An example of this would be:

“Hey, visitor! Want to rent a luxury apartment in Paris? No problem, just head over to our website and click on the Rental Apartments link. You will see a short popup with additional information about our company. Then click on the Contact Us button at the top right of the page and let’s get the process started. All you need to do is answer a few questions about yourself and we will get you on your way to your luxurious weekend away. Don’t worry, we won’t ever share your information with anyone and you can feel safe in providing this information. Thanks for visiting!”

After you submit your information, you will end up on a phony website that is designed to look like the real thing. In this case, the website is designed to convince you that Apartment Parisien is affiliated with the luxury rental agency, Stay International. However, in reality they are two completely different organizations. The website you just visited is a fake and should not be trusted in any way.

Look At The Referrals

Sometimes, scammers will try to trick you into clicking a link that takes you to a phony website where they ask you for your personal and financial information. Sometimes, these types of websites will even make fake referrals in an effort to further convince you that they are a reputable organization. To prevent yourself from falling victim to this, it is best to look at the websites that the scammers are recommending. If they are recommending dubious websites with a history of scams, then it is probably a scam.

WordPress users can also use the Sucuri Website Checker to scan their sites for malware and scamware. This free tool is a must for anyone who uses WordPress because it is always a potential security threat. It is best to use this tool as part of your overall security prep because it provides you with detailed information about your website including any security risks that you may be susceptible to.

Avoid Sites That Require You To Sign Up For An Account

Often, scamsters will try to trick you into providing access to your personal information by requiring you to create an account before you can view the content. If the site asks you to provide any type of personal information, then it is best to avoid it because you will almost certainly end up on a scam website if you give them your information. Sometimes, these sites are upfront about being scams but other times, they will try to trick you into believing that they are a reputable company by asking you for your personal information. When it comes down to it, the best way to protect yourself from falling victim to a scam is to simply be smart about where you click on the web.

With all of the information above, it should now be fairly easy for you to determine whether or not a website is legitimate or a scam. Simply remember the tips and tricks explained above and you should be able to easily spot a phony website from a mile away. With all of this information at your fingertips, finding trustworthy websites that you can build your business or brand on is a lot easier than you think it is. Plus, you will be doing yourself a favor by staying away from scams because they will almost certainly steal your personal information and try to trick you into buying their products or services. As Albert Einstein reportedly said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”