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Who is hosting my website? How to find your web host in a minute
A contractor built the site years ago, and now nobody in the company knows where it runs or who pays for it. It happens all the time. Here is how to find your web host in a minute and make sure you never lose access to your own site.
The fastest way: enter your address in the free Website Checker. The Hosting section shows the network owner, the server country and how fast the server answers.
Why an owner should know the host
Hosting is the server that stores your site’s files and database. Whoever controls the hosting account effectively controls the website. If the invoices go to a former employee or contractor, one day the site may simply be switched off for non-payment.
You also need to know your host when the site gets slow, when you move to a new server, or when someone asks where customer data is stored: in the EU or elsewhere.
How to check it yourself
- Search the company mailbox for “hosting”, “server” or “invoice”. The answer is often there.
- Find the site’s IP address. On Windows, open Command Prompt and type: nslookup yoursite.com
- Look up that IP address in any IP whois service. It shows the company that owns the network — your host or its data centre.
- Or skip steps 2–3: the Website Checker does it automatically.
Why it sometimes says Cloudflare instead of your host
Many sites run behind a CDN — a network of in-between servers such as Cloudflare. It speeds the site up and blocks attacks, but it also hides the real server. Any check will then show Cloudflare rather than your host. That is normal; the real host is visible only in your Cloudflare account or your invoices.
What to do once you have found it
- Make sure the hosting account belongs to your company, not to the contractor.
- Use a shared company email for the account that at least two people can open.
- Turn on automatic payment and backups.
- Keep the hosting, domain and admin passwords together in one safe place.
Hosting is one of 13 indicators in the Website Checker, alongside connection security, email protection, known vulnerabilities, domain age and speed. More on domains: how not to lose your company domain.