Want to know who runs a website? Start with the site itself. Most sites leave clear clues if you know where to look.
The publisher is the person or group behind the site. It may be a company, school, charity, public office, or one person. The site name and publisher name may match. They may also be different.
Start With the Footer
Start at the bottom of the home page. Look for a copyright line. You may see a company name there. Also look for About, Contact, Privacy, or Terms links. If you are checking a business site, our guide to local SEO in 2026 shows why clear business details matter online.
Check the About and Contact Pages
Open the About page next. Look for simple phrases such as owned by, run by, part of, or published by. Write down any full company name you see.
Then check the Contact page. Look for a work email, phone number, or street address. A press or support page can help too. These details may confirm the same name.
Use Privacy and Terms Pages
Legal pages can give an even clearer answer. Open the Privacy Policy and Terms page. They often name the group that runs the site. If the same name shows up twice, that is strong proof.
News sites may have a masthead. A masthead can list the editor, staff, owner, and company. An editorial policy may give the same facts.
Check Domain Records With RDAP
You can also check domain records. ICANN Lookup uses RDAP for domain registration data. It can show the registrar, dates, and other public details. Some owners use privacy tools, so a name may be hidden.
Domain names can also reveal how a site is built as a brand. The Tuars article on the domain name land grab gives useful background on why good names can be hard to find and why ownership clues matter.
Use Social Profiles and Page Source
Social pages can help too. Look for an official company page. Check that it links back to the same site. The profile may show the full company name or a parent group.
Page source can give more clues. Search for words like publisher, organization, copyright, or schema. Some sites place a publisher name in code for search engines. If you are curious about how site design can also point to a brand, see our guide to the fonts used by The New York Times.
Do Not Confuse the Publisher With the Platform
Do not mix up the publisher and the platform. WordPress, Wix, YouTube, Medium, and Substack are tools or hosts. They are not usually the group that wrote or approved the site content.
You may find two names. One may be the brand. The other may be the legal company. For example, a site could be called Healthy Daily. Its terms may name Sunrise Media LLC. In that case, Sunrise Media LLC is likely the publisher.
Use the Right Name for Citations
This matters when you check trust. It also matters when you cite a source. A clear publisher name can help you know who stands behind the work. Our guide on whether The New York Times is italicized can help with another common citation question.
For a school paper, follow the style guide your teacher wants. Do not guess at a publisher just to fill a blank. Use the name the site supports. A current MLA Handbook can help with MLA rules, while the Chicago Manual of Style is useful for Chicago-style work.
A Fast Order to Follow
- Check the footer.
- Open About and Contact.
- Read Privacy and Terms.
- Look for a masthead.
- Check social profiles.
- Try RDAP.
- Check page source last.
When you think you found the publisher, confirm it. Try to find the same name in one more place. Two matching clues are better than one.
A site may hide some owner data for good reasons. That alone does not make the site bad. Still, a site that makes big claims but gives no clear owner, contact page, or legal page deserves more care.
Keep your notes simple. Write down the site name, publisher name, page where you found it, and the date you checked. This makes later citation work much easier.
