If you sell to ecommerce businesses, knowing which platform a prospect uses is gold. Whether you’re in sales, partnerships, or marketing, that info helps you tailor your pitch and skip the basic questions. The catch: most sites don’t put “Powered by Shopify” in giant letters. That’s where Builtwith comes in. This guide shows you how to use Builtwith to quickly and reliably find out what’s running under the hood—without wasting time on fluff or hitting paywalls you can’t get around.
Why Bother Identifying Ecommerce Platforms?
Some people skip this step, thinking they’ll just “find out during discovery.” But the platform matters early. Here’s why: - Product fit: Some solutions work best (or only) with Shopify, Magento, etc. No point chasing dead ends. - Personalization: If you know what tech they use, your outreach can actually sound relevant—no generic pitches. - Prioritization: Targeting all WooCommerce stores? You need a way to filter a list, fast.
You could poke around a site’s source code or guess from checkout pages, but that’s slow and hit-or-miss. Tools like Builtwith make it way faster.
Step 1: Understand What Builtwith Actually Does (and Doesn’t)
Builtwith is a web-based tool that scans public websites for the technologies they use. It can spot ecommerce platforms, analytics tools, ad pixels, and more. But let’s be clear: - It’s not magic. It picks up on known signatures (like script URLs, HTML patterns, etc.), but if a site hides or customizes their code, it might miss things. - Results are not always 100%. Sometimes, a site switches platforms and leaves old scripts behind. Sometimes, a platform is heavily customized and looks generic. - It’s not free for bulk use. There’s a free lookup for individual sites, but bulk data or advanced filters cost money.
Bottom line: Builtwith is good for a first pass and works great for most mainstream platforms, but it’s not a lie detector.
Step 2: Use Builtwith to Look Up a Prospect Site
This is the basic workflow if you’re just checking one or two sites.
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Go to Builtwith
Head to builtwith.html. No account needed for single lookups. -
Enter the Website URL
Drop the homepage URL (e.g.,www.mystore.com) into the search box and hit enter. -
Skim the Results
- Scroll to the Ecommerce section. You’ll see entries like “Shopify,” “WooCommerce,” “Magento,” etc.
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You’ll also see other tech (analytics, platforms, widgets). Don’t get distracted—focus on the ecommerce platform for now.
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Double-Check for Red Flags
- If you see multiple platforms listed (Magento + Shopify), check the site manually—sometimes they’re in the middle of a migration or running two stores.
- If the platform is “Custom Cart” or “Unknown,” it’s probably a homegrown solution or something too obscure to ID.
Pro tip:
If you see “Shopify” and also “Shopify Plus,” it’s a Shopify Plus store. The “Plus” flag matters for some SaaS tools, so don’t miss it.
Step 3: Bulk Research—Building Lists with Builtwith
If you’re chasing a whole market segment (say, all Shopify Plus stores in the US), the free lookup isn’t going to cut it. Here’s what works:
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Sign Up for an Account
Builtwith’s paid plans give you access to bulk search, downloadable lists, and filtering. -
Use Builtwith’s Technology Trends & Lists
- Under “Technology Trends,” you can filter by platform.
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Example: Get a list of all known WooCommerce stores, plus data like location, traffic estimates, and more.
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Refine Your List
The filters are decent. You can narrow by country, estimated spend, or even other tech in use (e.g., “Show me all Shopify stores using Klaviyo”). -
Export and Work Your List
- Download as CSV.
- Import into your CRM or wherever you manage outreach.
- Don’t expect emails or phone numbers—they only provide public-facing info, like domains and tech stack.
What works:
- Quickly segmenting by platform saves hours of manual research.
- Finding “big spenders” or “top traffic” stores can help prioritize.
What’s not worth it:
- Don’t pay for the highest plan unless you’re doing serious volume or building your own prospecting tool.
- Ignore “Industry” tags—they’re often just guesses based on keywords.
Step 4: Cross-Check and Validate Before Reaching Out
Builtwith is a strong signal, not a guarantee. Before you launch a campaign or a one-on-one pitch, do a quick sanity check:
- Visit the Site: Sometimes the platform is obvious (Shopify’s checkout is a giveaway, Magento’s URLs look a certain way). If Builtwith says “Custom Cart,” poke around—maybe they’re using something new.
- Look for Clues:
- Shopify:
/cart,/products/, or/collections/in URLs. - WooCommerce:
/product/, URLs with?add-to-cart=. - Magento:
/checkout/, URLs with/catalog/or/customer/. - Google It: Sometimes, searching “[storename] + platform” turns up press releases or job postings mentioning their stack.
Mistakes to avoid: - Don’t assume the platform is current if the site looks abandoned—many companies switch but leave old scripts. - Don’t trust one data point. Builtwith is usually right, but double-check for high-value prospects.
Step 5: Use Platform Data in Outreach (Without Sounding Creepy)
Now you know what they’re running—what’s next? Use it to your advantage, but keep it human.
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Personalize, but Don’t Parrot:
“I see you’re on Shopify” is basic and a little weird. Instead, reference platform-specific challenges or features:
“We help Shopify brands cut checkout friction—no dev work needed.” -
Segment Your Messaging:
If your product is only for Magento, don’t email WooCommerce stores. Simple, but a lot of people still forget this. -
Don’t Act Like a Know-It-All:
Sometimes folks are in transition or running multiple stores. Frame your message as “noticed you might be on X—if that’s right, here’s how we can help.”
What to Ignore (and Where Builtwith Falls Short)
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Don’t chase “Custom Cart” unless you have a really good reason.
Small brands with homegrown checkouts are often not worth the effort unless you sell something very specialized. -
Ignore minor tech if your product isn’t relevant.
Builtwith will show you every pixel and plugin, but if you just care about carts, focus there. -
Don’t overpay for bulk data.
If you’re just running searches now and then, stick to the free tier. If you need lists, pay for a month, download, and cancel. -
Don’t expect Builtwith to show private/internal tools.
It only sees what’s public on the website. No way to see their ERP, backend, or custom integrations.
A Few Alternatives (and Why Builtwith Usually Wins)
If you’re curious, there are alternatives—Wappalyzer, Datanyze, SimilarTech. Most are less reliable for ecommerce platforms, or their data is less up-to-date. Builtwith’s coverage is just broader and easier to use for this use case.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
Don’t overcomplicate prospect research. Builtwith gets you 80% of the way there in seconds, which is often more than enough to qualify a lead or nail your pitch. Treat its data as a strong clue, not gospel, and always double-check before investing serious time.
Start with small, targeted lists. If you find yourself doing this often, invest in a paid plan for a month, grab the data you need, and move on. The goal isn’t perfect data—it’s enough to move faster and sound smarter than your competitors.