Step 1: Find the IP Address
Look up the domain’s A record with our DNS Record Lookup, or from a command line with nslookup example.com. If the site uses www, check that name too; it may point somewhere else.
Step 2: Find Who Owns the Address
Enter the address in IP Location. The Network / ASN fields show the organization that operates the address — often the hosting company itself, such as a cloud provider or a hosting brand. Open the ASN in ASN Lookup for more detail. Our guide What is an ASN? explains the difference between the network owner and its customers.
Step 3: Check the Reverse DNS
The PTR record of the address often contains the hosting company’s domain, for example server123.hostingcompany.example. Check it with Reverse DNS Lookup.
Step 4: Look at the HTTP Headers
Use HTTP Headers. Headers such as Server, X-Powered-By or provider-specific headers can reveal the web server software, the control panel or the platform (for example a website builder).
When a CDN Hides the Host
Many sites are proxied through a CDN such as Cloudflare, Fastly or Akamai. In that case the IP address belongs to the CDN, not to the real host. Signs of a CDN:
- the ASN belongs to a CDN company;
- headers such as
cf-ray(Cloudflare) orx-served-byappear; - a Reverse IP Lookup shows a huge mix of unrelated sites.
The origin server is deliberately hidden. Historical DNS can sometimes show the address used before the CDN was added — see IP address history. For complaints about content, report to the CDN; reputable CDNs forward abuse reports to the hosting customer, as explained in how to find the abuse contact.
Email Hosting Is Separate
A domain’s email is often hosted somewhere else than its website. The MX records show the mail provider — see how to look up MX records.
Registrar Is Not the Host
The company where a domain is registered is not necessarily the company that hosts the site. WHOIS shows the registrar; the steps above show the host.