How to identify the theme a WordPress site is using
WordPress serves the active theme's assets from `/wp-content/themes/<theme-slug>/`. The slug is almost always the directory name from the WordPress theme directory (e.g. `astra`, `generatepress`, `twentytwentyfour`). Finding it takes one minute.
Background
Every WordPress theme lives in its own folder under `wp-content/themes/`. When a site activates a theme, WordPress serves its assets (style.css, script files, templates' inline CSS) from that folder. The folder name is the theme's slug, which for themes on wordpress.org/themes maps directly to the public listing. For premium themes (Divi, Avada, Astra Pro, Kadence Pro, GeneratePress Premium), the slug is usually the theme name lowercased with hyphens. A quick look at the network tab — or `style.css` in particular — is often enough to identify both the parent theme and, if present, the child theme overlay.
Why this matters
The theme dictates page-builder compatibility, performance characteristics, and a lot of the visual primitives used across the site. 'Elementor-based' sites behave differently from 'Bricks-based' from 'block-theme' from 'classic-theme-with-ACF'. Identifying the theme is often the second step of a WordPress audit, right after listing plugins.
Prerequisites
- A Chrome-based browser.
- The site must be on WordPress (see the 'identify the CMS' guide if unsure).
Step-by-step
- 1
View page source and search for /wp-content/themes/
`Ctrl+U`, then `Ctrl+F` for `/wp-content/themes/`. The first match is almost always the active theme: `/wp-content/themes/<slug>/style.css`. That's your answer.
Tip: Pro sites sometimes have two theme folders in the source — a child theme overriding a parent. Both will show up.
- 2
Open style.css for the theme metadata
Navigate to `<site>/wp-content/themes/<slug>/style.css`. The header comment contains `Theme Name:`, `Theme URI:`, `Author:`, `Version:` and often `Template:` (if this is a child theme, `Template:` points at the parent slug).
/* Theme Name: My Child Theme Theme URI: https://example.com/ Author: Example Template: astra Version: 1.0.0 */
- 3
Check for a child theme
If you see two different theme slugs in the source, the site is running a parent + child theme setup. The child theme's `style.css` will have `Template: <parent-slug>`. Child themes are a WordPress best practice: they let you customize without losing changes on parent-theme updates.
- 4
Look for builder-specific themes
Some themes are built to pair with a specific page builder. Elementor's default pairing is `hello-elementor`; Bricks uses its own theme; GeneratePress and Astra are frequent picks for builder-friendly stacks. Seeing the theme slug often tells you the likely page builder before you enumerate plugins.
- 5
Let the extension surface it
Sourcemap Explorer's Stack tab lists every WordPress theme it spots in the page's assets, with the slug and parent/child relationship when both are present.
Real-world example
Troubleshooting
I see two `style.css` URLs with different slugs.
Classic parent + child theme setup. The one with a `Template:` header in its comment is the child; its `Template:` value is the parent slug.
No `/wp-content/themes/` visible at all.
Either this isn't WordPress, or it's a headless setup where the frontend is Next.js/Astro/etc. pulling data from a WP backend via WPGraphQL or the REST API. Theme detection isn't meaningful in that case.
Caveats
What to do next
With the theme identified, the next step is usually the plugin enumeration (linked below). Together they give you the full picture of what's powering the WordPress frontend.
FAQ
Can the theme be renamed from its slug?
Yes — site owners sometimes rename the theme folder. In that case the slug you see won't match the public wordpress.org listing, but `style.css` will still have the real name in its header.
What if the theme is a custom build?
The slug will be specific to that site (often matching the agency or client name). You can still read `style.css` for metadata, and the page builder used (check plugins) tells you more about the architecture.
Related
Skip the manual steps.
Sourcemap Explorer automates every workflow in this guide — free, local, no sign-up.