How to Find the Author of a Website (Even When They Hide Their Name)
You’re staring at a brilliant article that perfectly supports your research paper. There’s just one problem: no author name anywhere. Or maybe you found content stolen from your blog, and you need to know who’s behind the copycat site. Perhaps you’re just trying to figure out if that health advice came from an actual doctor or someone’s cousin who “did their own research.”
Finding out who wrote a website can feel like detective work, and honestly, that’s exactly what it is. Authors hide their names for all sorts of reasons, from legitimate privacy concerns to shadier motives. The good news? There are proven ways to track down this information, even when someone really doesn’t want to be found.
Let me walk you through the exact process I use, starting with the simple stuff before we get into the spy-level tactics.
Why Do Websites Play Hide and Seek With Author Names?
Before we start our investigation, it helps to understand why you’re facing this mystery in the first place.
Some websites skip author credits because they’re massive corporate operations where individual writers don’t get bylines. Others worry about privacy in our overly connected world. Then there’s the awkward reality that content farms and AI-generated articles are flooding the internet, and these rarely come with a human name attached.
Sometimes anonymity serves a purpose. Whistleblowers, activists in dangerous regions, or people discussing sensitive topics have valid reasons to stay hidden. Other times, it’s a red flag that screams “don’t trust this source.”
Understanding the motivation changes how hard you’ll need to dig.
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Start With the Obvious Stuff (Seriously, Check These First)
I know you want to jump straight into the cool hacking techniques, but hold on. Most of the time, you’ll find what you need in the boring places everyone overlooks.
Scan the About Page and Footer
Click around the website’s main navigation. Look for sections labeled “About,” “Our Team,” “Contributors,” or “Editorial Staff.” These pages exist specifically to answer your question, yet people skip right past them.
Check the footer too. Many sites list their team members, editors, or at least a general contact person down there. It’s not glamorous, but it works more often than you’d think.
Look Inside the Actual Article
Scroll to the very top and bottom of the piece you’re reading. Author bylines love to hang out in these spots. You might see a name with a tiny profile picture, a “Written by” line, or an author bio box that appears after the conclusion.
Some websites hide author info in plain sight by making it the same color as the background or using tiny fonts. Highlight the text around the article to catch these sneaky designs.
Visit the Contact Page
Contact pages sometimes list staff members, especially on smaller sites. Even if they don’t give you the specific writer, you might find an editor’s name or a general email address.
Here’s a trick: email addresses often follow patterns. If you see “hello@johnsmithwrites.com,” you’ve probably just found John Smith. Corporate emails like “jsmith@company.com” work the same way.
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Time to Get Technical (But Not Too Technical)
When the obvious methods fail, it’s time to look under the hood. Don’t worry, this sounds more complicated than it actually is.
Peek at the Source Code
Right-click anywhere on the webpage and select “View Page Source” (or press Ctrl+U on Windows, Cmd+Option+U on Mac). You’ll see a bunch of HTML code that looks like gibberish at first.
Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F) to open the search function, then type “author.” Many websites include author information in meta tags that browsers read but don’t display to visitors. You’re looking for lines like:
<meta name=”author” content=”Jane Doe”>
Also search for “copyright” while you’re there. Copyright notices sometimes include names.
If you spot something called Schema markup or JSON-LD (usually wrapped in <script type=”application/ld+json”>), this structured data often contains author details that search engines use but regular visitors never see.
Decode the URL Structure
Take a close look at the website address itself. Personal blogs and smaller sites often bake the author’s name right into the domain. You might see patterns like “authorname.com” or “site.com/author/firstname-lastname.”
This won’t work for huge publications with hundreds of writers, but it’s gold for individual creators and niche websites.
Run a WHOIS Lookup
Every website domain gets registered to someone, and that information lives in public databases. Head over to a WHOIS lookup service (ICANN Lookup and who.is are reliable options) and type in the domain name.
You’ll get registration details including the registrant’s name, email, and sometimes even a phone number. There’s a catch though: many people pay for privacy protection services that mask this information. When you see “Domains By Proxy” or similar services listed, it means the owner paid to hide their details.
Still worth checking because not everyone uses privacy protection, especially on older domains.
Travel Back in Time With Internet Archive
The Wayback Machine at archive.org/web stores historical snapshots of websites. Type in the URL and pick dates from several years ago.
Why does this help? Websites change over time. That author bio section might have existed two years ago before a redesign removed it. The “About” page from 2019 might list the founder’s full name, while the current version just says “our team.”
Compare different time periods. You’d be surprised how much information disappears during website updates.
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Reverse Search Any Photos
See a profile picture or headshot on the site? Save that image to your computer, then head to Google Images or TinEye. Upload the photo and run a reverse image search.
This technique reveals where else that same image appears across the internet. You might discover the person’s LinkedIn profile, Twitter account, or personal website where they’re properly identified.
Just be aware that stock photos won’t help you here. If the reverse search shows the image on twenty different websites, it’s probably just a generic photo from Shutterstock.
Search for Unique Phrases From the Content
Copy a distinctive sentence from the article, put it in quotes, and search for it on Google. Make sure you pick something specific and unusual, not generic phrases like “in this article, we’ll discuss.”
Writers often publish the same content in multiple places. That exact paragraph might appear on their Medium blog with full attribution, in a LinkedIn article under their real name, or on an industry website where they got proper credit.
This method works especially well for finding republished or syndicated content.
Follow the Social Media Breadcrumbs
Websites don’t exist in isolation anymore. Most have social media accounts, and those accounts can lead you straight to the people behind the content.
Track Down Connected Social Profiles
Scroll to the website’s footer and look for social media icons. Follow those accounts and examine who runs them. Check the “About” sections on Facebook pages, read Twitter/X bios, and browse Instagram profiles.
On LinkedIn, search for the website or company name. You’ll often find employees listing it as their workplace, which tells you exactly who writes for them.
Subscribe to Their Newsletter
Many sites offer email newsletters. Sign up (you can always unsubscribe later) and check the “From” field when you receive emails. Newsletter platforms often show the sender’s actual name, not just the company name.
The email signature might include staff names too.
Search for Press Coverage and Interviews
Google the website name plus words like “interview,” “founder,” “creator,” or “behind the scenes.” Journalists love writing about successful websites, and these articles usually name the people involved.
Business databases like Crunchbase track startup founders and team members. If the website operates as a business, there’s likely public information about who’s running it.
When You Need This Information for Serious Reasons
Sometimes finding the author isn’t just curiosity. Maybe you’re writing an academic paper and need a proper citation. Perhaps someone’s using your copyrighted content without permission.
For academic citations, style guides like APA, MLA, and Chicago all have rules for sources without clear authors. Generally, you’ll use the organization name or the website title in place of an author name. Check your specific style guide for exact formatting.
For legal situations like copyright infringement or defamation, you might need a lawyer to issue a subpoena. Website hosting companies and domain registrars can be compelled to reveal owner information through proper legal channels.
Most websites include DMCA agent information somewhere in their terms of service if they’re US-based. This designated contact handles copyright claims and might provide additional information about content ownership.
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Red Flags That Should Make You Suspicious
Complete anonymity isn’t always sinister, but it should make you think twice about trusting the information.
When you absolutely cannot find any human connected to a website after trying multiple methods, ask yourself why. Legitimate publications want to build trust, and transparency about authorship builds credibility. The exceptions are specific cases like whistleblowing platforms or support forums for sensitive topics.
Content farms that pump out articles for ad revenue rarely credit authors. AI-generated content sites operate the same way. These sources prioritize quantity over quality, which should influence how much weight you give their information.
Apply basic critical thinking. Cross-reference claims with established sources. Check if other credible websites cite this mysterious author-less content. Your inability to verify who wrote something is itself valuable information about its reliability.
Putting It All Together
Tracking down who wrote a website takes patience and a willingness to try multiple approaches. Start simple with About pages and bylines before moving into source code and WHOIS lookups. Follow social connections and search for republished content. Use the Internet Archive to find information that’s been removed.
Not every search ends successfully, and that’s okay. Sometimes anonymity is intentional and protected well. Other times, the information genuinely doesn’t exist because no individual person wrote the content.
The important thing is knowing these methods exist. Next time you need to find out who’s behind a website, whether for a citation, to verify credibility, or to track down a content thief, you’ve got a full toolkit ready.
Start with the easy wins, work your way up to the technical stuff, and remember that your inability to find an author tells you something useful too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I find the author of a website if they’re using privacy protection?
Yes, but it gets trickier. WHOIS privacy protection hides domain registration details, which blocks one major avenue. However, you can still find authors through other methods like checking the source code for meta tags, using the Wayback Machine to view older versions of the site before they added privacy protection, searching for the content republished elsewhere with attribution, or following social media accounts connected to the website. Privacy protection only shields domain registration information, not all the other digital footprints people leave behind.
Is it legal to try to find out who runs a website?
Absolutely. All the methods described here use publicly available information or standard browser features. You’re not hacking, breaking into databases, or doing anything illegal. WHOIS lookups, viewing source code, using search engines, and checking social media profiles all access information that’s intentionally public. The line only gets crossed if you attempt actual hacking, harassment, or use the information for illegal purposes like stalking or threats. Simple investigation for citation purposes, credibility checks, or copyright protection is completely legal.
What should I do if I still can’t find the author after trying everything?
First, consider whether the lack of attribution itself answers your question about the source’s credibility. For academic purposes, cite the website or organization name instead of an individual author according to your style guide’s rules. If you need the information for legal reasons, consult an attorney about formal discovery methods. For general credibility assessment, treat author-less content with appropriate skepticism and verify claims through additional reputable sources. Sometimes accepting “unknown author” and adjusting your trust level accordingly is the most honest approach.
