Five ways to find the WordPress version of any website — whether it's yours or someone else's.
Knowing which WordPress version a site runs is important for security audits, compatibility checks, and competitive research. Here are five reliable methods, ordered from easiest to most technical.
The fastest way — paste any URL into our WordPress theme detector. It extracts the WordPress version from the meta generator tag and displays it alongside theme and plugin information. Takes under 3 seconds.
View the page source (Ctrl+U) and search for generator. Most WordPress sites include:
<meta name="generator" content="WordPress 6.7.1">
The version number is right there. However, many security-conscious sites remove this tag using plugins like Yoast SEO or custom functions.
Navigate to example.com/feed/. The RSS feed usually contains a generator tag that's harder to remove than the HTML one:
<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</generator>
This works on many sites that have removed the HTML generator tag.
WordPress ships with a readme.html file in the root directory. Navigate to example.com/readme.html — it often displays the WordPress version prominently. Security best practice is to delete this file, so it may not exist on hardened sites.
If you have admin access, the version appears in several places:
Outdated WordPress versions have known vulnerabilities. If a site runs WordPress 5.x in 2026, it's missing years of security patches. Version detection is a standard first step in security audits.
Themes and plugins specify minimum WordPress version requirements. Before installing a plugin, knowing your exact version prevents compatibility issues. Major version jumps (5.x → 6.x) introduced significant changes like the block editor and full-site editing.
Each WordPress release includes performance improvements. Version 6.1+ introduced significant database query optimizations. Running the latest version means faster page loads and better Core Web Vitals scores.
Yes. Methods 1-3 work on any public WordPress site. Our detector, the meta generator tag, and the RSS feed are all externally accessible. Methods 4-5 require direct access.
Security best practice recommends hiding the WordPress version to make it harder for attackers to target known vulnerabilities. Security plugins like Wordfence, Sucuri, and iThemes Security can remove the generator tag automatically.
Yes, with minor updates (security patches) applied immediately. Major updates should be tested on a staging site first to catch plugin compatibility issues. Never run WordPress versions more than one major release behind.
Check any site's WordPress version now — try our free WordPress detector.