How to Check When Many Websites Were Last Updated
To check when websites were last updated, read the date hints each home page gives away. The bulk website last-updated checker reads four of them for up to 100 sites at a time (500 after a free Google sign-in) and shows each hint with its source.
The honest framing is in the name: these are hints. No public check can tell you the day a person last edited a site.
The by-hand way
- Last-Modified header. Run
curl -I https://example.comand look forLast-Modified. RFC 9110 defines it as when the server believes the page last changed. - Meta tags. View the source and search for
article:modified_time,og:updated_timeorlast-modified. - Structured data. Search the source for
dateModified. - The footer. Read the copyright line, for example "© 2019".
Step 1: paste the websites
Paste one site or a list, one per line. Email addresses and URLs work too, and the domain is taken from each. You can also upload a CSV.
Step 2: run the checker
Each home page is requested once; its response headers and the first 128 KB are read. The tool collects the Last-Modified header, modified and published time meta tags, the newest dateModified and the highest copyright year, and shows the newest full date in a summary.
Step 3: read the hints
| Row says | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Last-Modified header | When the server says the page changed | Often the time it built the page, not a human edit |
| Modified time in a meta tag or dateModified | Set by publishing software | A better sign of an edit |
| Copyright year | The year in the footer | Weak if the site prints the current year itself |
| No date hints | Nothing found | Says nothing either way |
Why these are hints and not an answer
A Last-Modified header on a dynamic site can show today's date, and many sites print the current year in the footer automatically. A fresh date can sit on a site nobody has touched. An old date is the more useful sign: a footer that says 2019 on a site that prints a fixed year suggests it was last edited around then. Read the hints together, and treat them as signals, not certainties.
To see whether a site answers at all, use the bulk website status checker and read how to check if a list of websites is online.
Using the hints in outreach
Put living sites first and look harder at the ones that look abandoned. A closed business still has a website, and its addresses bounce. Combine the hints with the bulk website title checker to see what each site says it does.
What this check cannot do
- It reads the home page's headers and first 128 KB only.
- A Last-Modified header and a copyright year are often generated, not hand-edited.
- No date hint is not evidence that a site is stale.
- The limit is 100 sites a run without an account and 500 signed in.
Found their emails? Check they exist before you send
A site that looks abandoned may have addresses that no longer work. Pull the published addresses from each site, then check them on the verify page: the first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card. Each comes back valid, risky or invalid with a reason, and nothing is sent to anyone on the list. See also checking if an old contact email is still active. For larger lists, see bulk email verification and pricing.
Check your list's dates now
Paste your sites into the bulk website last-updated checker.
Common questions
How do I check when a website was last updated?
Look at the Last-Modified response header, meta tags such as article:modified_time, a dateModified in the structured data and the copyright year in the footer. A bulk last-updated checker reads all four for a list of sites.
Does it tell me exactly when a site was edited?
No. It shows hints. A header can show when a server built the page, and a footer year is often printed automatically.
What does an old copyright year mean?
On a site that prints a fixed year, it suggests the footer was last edited then. On one that prints the current year automatically, a recent year says nothing.
Why does a site show no date hints?
No date was in its headers, meta tags, structured data or copyright line. That does not mean it is out of date.
Does it check other pages?
No, only the home page.
Check your list before you send
Real mailbox checks over SMTP, and nothing is sent to the address. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. Plans for bigger lists are on the pricing page.