How to Find Out Which Hosting a Website Uses

Do you want to find out which hosting your favorite or competitor’s websites use? This can be useful for various reasons, from evaluating the quality of services to finding the optimal solution for your project. In this article, we’ll go over several ways to find out the hosting provider of a website.

Method #1 – 2ip

One of the most popular online services, 2ip offers a variety of tools for analyzing websites, IP addresses, and DNS. You can also find out which hosting provider a website uses using the "Definition hosting providers" tool. Here’s how:

1. Go to the 2ip service page.
2. Enter the domain name of the website in the input field.
3. Click the "Find Out" button below.
4. The results will appear after a few seconds. Look at the "Hosting Provider" field — the value on the right shows the current hosting provider.

Method #2 – Hosting Checker

This service has almost identical functionality to 2ip. To find out which hosting provider a website uses, follow these steps:

1. Open the Hosting Checker page in your browser.
2. At the top, enter the domain name of the website.
3. Click the "FIND HOST" button.
4. In the results, pay attention to the fields: "It is hosted by," "Organization name" and "AS name." The value of the last field is especially important, as it displays the hosting provider's name.

Why is it important to know which hosting a website uses?

Knowing which hosting a website uses can be important for several reasons:

1. Finding a reliable hosting provider: If you notice that a website similar to yours performs better, you may want to know which hosting it uses to improve the stability and speed of your site.
2. Lack of contact with a web developer: If the developer who created your website is no longer available and left no information about the hosting, you’ll need to find out where your site is hosted for further management and service renewal.
3. Cost control: Understanding which hosting is being used will allow you to evaluate costs and find more affordable options without sacrificing service quality.
4. Protection against plagiarism: If someone is illegally using your content, knowing which hosting the violator’s website uses will enable you to file a complaint and achieve the removal of material or site blocking.

How to Find Out a Website's Hosting by IP Address

We’ve already covered how to determine the hosting provider by using a domain name. But what if you only have the IP address? For example, you want to find out where a resource that is only accessible via IP is hosted, or you want to check if several websites are hosted on the same server. In this case, another method can help — determining hosting by IP address. Here’s how to do it.

Go to the Dig tool page in Google Admin Toolbox, enter the required domain in the input line, and select "A" as the DNS record type. In the results, copy the values in the "Data" field. The IP will look something like this: 192.168.00.00.

Alternatively, you can use the "Find IP address and email server" tool in the 2ip online service. Enter the domain and copy the values from the "IP Address" field in the results.

If you already have the IP address, you can skip the previous steps. Once you have the IP, go to the ICANN LOOKUP resource. Enter the IP address in the search field and click "Lookup" on the right. Scroll down the results to the "Abuse" block and look at the "Name" field – this field will contain the name of the hosting provider.

Can you hide a website's hosting provider?

It’s possible to hide information about your website's hosting provider, though it’s almost impossible to eliminate all traces due to the nature of internet protocols and network infrastructure. However, some methods make it significantly more difficult for outsiders to determine your hosting.

One of the most common methods is using content delivery networks (CDN) like Cloudflare or Akamai. When your site is connected to a CDN, all incoming and outgoing traffic passes through their servers. As a result, external queries see the CDN’s IP addresses, not your actual server. This not only helps hide hosting information but also improves your website’s loading speed and provides additional protection against DDoS attacks.

Another method is renting a dedicated server or VPS with a unique set of IP addresses. This allows you to use your network settings and even configure reverse DNS records in such a way that they do not point to a specific hosting provider. However, this method requires deep technical knowledge.

It’s important to note that complete anonymity cannot be guaranteed. Experienced specialists can use complex traffic and network route analysis methods to determine the actual hosting. Therefore, if the need to hide hosting is related to security or privacy concerns, it’s recommended to consult with cybersecurity experts to develop a comprehensive protection strategy.

FAQ

How often does hosting information change?

Hosting information can change quite frequently. This can be due to moving a website to another server, switching hosting providers, upgrading equipment, or other technical reasons. Therefore, if you’re trying to determine a website's hosting, the data obtained may only be relevant at the time of the request.

What is the difference between hosting and a domain?

A domain is a memorable website name used to address it on the internet. Hosting, on the other hand, is a service that provides physical space for storing your website’s files on a server connected to the internet.