The author or owner is usually listed in the footer, contact page, or "About" section

Most websites display their author or owner somewhere on the page itself — you just have to know where to look. The footer (the bottom of the page) often holds a copyright notice with a name or company. The "About" page usually explains who built the site and why. A "Contact" page lists an email address or phone number. If none of those exist, the site's registration records are public and searchable online.

Finding this information matters when you are deciding whether to trust what you read. A personal blog written by someone with no credentials looks different from a guide published by a government agency or a university. Knowing who wrote something helps you judge whether they have a reason to mislead you, whether they have informed in the subject, and whether you can contact them if you find an error.

Key Takeaways

  • Check the footer, "About" page, and "Contact" page first — most sites list their author or owner in one of these places.
  • If a site does not identify itself, you can search the domain name in WHOIS databases like ICANN Lookup or GoDaddy WHOIS to see who registered it.
  • A copyright notice with a year and name tells you who claims ownership, though it may not be the original author if the site changed hands.
  • Government sites end in .gov, educational institutions end in .edu, and nonprofits often end in .org — these domain endings can signal the type of organization behind the site.

Where to look on the page itself

Start at the bottom of the page. Most websites include a footer with copyright information, usually formatted as "© 2024 [Name]" or "Copyright [Name]". This tells you who claims legal ownership of the content. If the footer lists a company name instead of a person, that company is responsible for the site.

Next, look for an "About" link, often in the main navigation menu or footer. This page typically explains who runs the site, what their background is, and why they created it. A personal blog might say "I'm a nurse writing about health topics." A business site might list the company's mission and founding date. An "About" page tells you whether the author has relevant experience and whether they have a financial stake in what they are saying.

A "Contact" page or "Contact Us" link usually provides an email address, phone number, or contact form. Even if it does not name the author directly, it shows you how to reach someone responsible for the site. If you find an error or have questions, this is where you go.

Reading the domain name and extension

The domain name itself — the part between "www." and the extension — sometimes hints at the author. A domain like "sarahsmith-writing.com" suggests an individual named Sarah Smith. A domain like "acmecorp.com" suggests a company called Acme Corp. This is not always reliable, since people and companies can use any name they want, but it is a starting point.

The extension (the part after the final dot) signals the type of organization. Sites ending in .gov are run by government agencies. Sites ending in .edu are run by accredited educational institutions. Sites ending in .org are often nonprofits, though anyone can register a .org domain. Sites ending in .com, .net, or .co can be run by anyone — individuals, businesses, or organizations with no particular credentials.

Using WHOIS databases to find registration information

If a site does not identify its author anywhere on the page, you can look up who registered the domain. Every domain name is registered through a registrar, and that registration information is public. You can search it using free WHOIS databases like ICANN Lookup (at lookup.icann.org) or GoDaddy WHOIS (at whois.godaddy.com).

Type the domain name into the search box. The results will show you the registrant's name, organization, email address, and phone number — though some registrants pay extra to keep this information private. If the registrant information is hidden, you will see "Privacy Protected" or "Redacted for Privacy" instead. In that case, you cannot find the owner through WHOIS, but you can try contacting the site through its contact page or looking for other clues on the page itself.

Keep in mind that WHOIS information can be outdated. A domain might have been registered years ago and sold to a new owner without updating the records. The name in WHOIS is the registered owner, not necessarily the person who writes the content today.

What to do if the site hides its author

Some websites deliberately do not identify their author or owner. This is a red flag. Legitimate organizations — news outlets, government agencies, educational institutions, nonprofits — all identify themselves because they stand behind their work. A site that refuses to say who runs it may be trying to hide something.

If you cannot find author information after checking the footer, About page, Contact page, and WHOIS database, consider whether you should trust the site at all. Ask yourself: Why would someone publish information without putting their name on it? What do they have to gain by staying anonymous? If you cannot answer those questions, the site may not be worth relying on.

Author versus publisher versus website host

Sometimes these are three different entities. The author is the person who wrote the content. The publisher is the organization that decided to publish it and takes responsibility for it. The website host is the company that stores the files and keeps the site online — they usually have no control over the content.

A news article on CNN.com was written by a reporter (the author), published by CNN (the publisher), and hosted on servers run by a hosting company (the host). For your purposes, the publisher matters most — they are the organization you should evaluate for credibility and bias. The host is usually irrelevant to whether you should trust the content.

On a platform like Medium or Substack, the platform is the host, but individual writers are the authors and publishers of their own work. You need to look at the individual writer's credentials and history, not the platform's.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Privacy Protected" in WHOIS mean?

It means the domain registrant paid extra to hide their personal information from public WHOIS searches. The registrar still has the real information on file, but you cannot see it without a court order. This is legal and common, though it can make it harder to track down who runs a site.

Is a .org domain more trustworthy than a .com domain?

Not necessarily. A .org domain originally meant nonprofit, but now anyone can register one. A .gov domain is always a government agency, and a .edu domain is always an accredited school or university. For .com, .org, and other extensions, you have to look at the actual author and organization, not just the domain ending.

Can I find out who wrote a specific article if the author is not named?

Not always. Some sites publish content without bylines. You can try emailing the site's contact address and asking, or you can search the text of the article in Google to see if it appears elsewhere with an author name. If the site refuses to identify who wrote something, that is worth questioning.

What if the author information is outdated or wrong?

Contact the site through its contact page and let them know. Legitimate sites usually correct this information. If they do not respond or do not care, that tells you something about how seriously they take accuracy.