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Security report for adeptdesign.co.uk

Adept Design (Norfolk) Ltd trading as Adept · Non-profit · United Kingdom

Partial score · DNS & email only

60/100

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

Adept Design (Norfolk) Ltd is a specialized creative agency with over 40 years of experience providing branding, print, and web design services primarily for charities and non-profit organizations in the United Kingdom. Their market position is that of a trusted niche expert with a strong portfolio of reputable charity clients. The company offers key services including charity brand identities, printed materials, and website design, supported by free consultation offerings. Technically, the website is built on Unicity CMS 5.17, uses modern JavaScript libraries like jQuery and FontAwesome, and integrates Google Analytics and Bing UET tracking with user consent mechanisms. The site is mobile optimized and demonstrates good SEO and accessibility basics. Security-wise, the site enforces HTTPS and manages cookie consent effectively but lacks explicit HTTP security headers and published security policies. WHOIS data is unavailable due to querying the www subdomain instead of the apex domain, limiting full trust verification. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and well-structured, with room for security enhancements.

Scanned

3 of 7 checks could not complete. The site may be unreachable or blocking automated scans, so the results below cover only what could be checked. Try a rescan later.

NIS2 and GDPR posture

NIS2 outside view
Not assessed
GDPR outside view
Not assessed

Both readouts depend on the site's pages, which could not be loaded in this scan.

Priority findings

1 finding rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

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Keep watching adeptdesign.co.uk

This scan found 12 issues across 4 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

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Recommended

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
0
Email security
75
DNS health
65
Network security
100
Average
60

Not counted

  • Security headers: did not complete in this scan.
  • GDPR outside view: did not complete in this scan.
  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Adept Design operates in the non-profit sector as an important entity serving charities and non-profit organizations. Their competitive advantage lies in their long-standing experience and specialized focus on charity design, supported by a portfolio of well-known clients. The business model is service-based, focusing on design and digital communication solutions. Revenue streams likely come from project-based contracts and consultation services. The company targets charities of all sizes, emphasizing effective communication to improve brand perception and fundraising. The partnership ecosystem includes client charities and possibly related service portals such as their client portal. Growth indicators include a consistent portfolio and active content updates via their journal. Strategic observations suggest maintaining niche expertise and expanding digital service offerings could enhance market position.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security posture with HTTPS enforced and cookie consent mechanisms in place, reflecting GDPR compliance. However, the absence of explicit HTTP security headers such as Content Security Policy, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options is a notable gap. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure policies are published, which could impact readiness for security incidents. The use of third-party analytics and advertising scripts is managed with user consent, reducing privacy risks. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Overall, the security maturity is adequate for the business type but could be improved by implementing security headers and publishing security policies to enhance trust and compliance.

Recommendations

  1. Implement HTTP security headers including Content Security Policy, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to strengthen site security.
  2. Publish a dedicated security policy and vulnerability disclosure statement to improve transparency and incident readiness.
  3. Add incident response contact information such as a security@ or abuse@ email address.
  4. Enhance accessibility compliance to meet higher standards and improve user experience for all visitors.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party scripts and tracking tools to ensure privacy compliance and minimize security risks.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Adept Design (Norfolk) Ltd trading as Adept
Registration number
4666161
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Adept Design (Norfolk) Ltd trading as Adept
Description
A creative design agency with over 40 years’ experience specialising in branding, print and web design for charities and non-profit organisations.
Key services
Charity brand identities, Printed materials, Charity websites, Consultations
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery 3.6.0, FontAwesome 5, Google Analytics (gtag.js), Bing UET tracking, Unicity CMS 5.17
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Consent management for cookies
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Google Analytics and Bing tracking with consent controls

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Bing UET
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Bing Ads
Tracking pixels
Bing UET
Marketing tools
Bing UET
Transparency
good

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Professional design and clear navigation tailored to charity sector.
  3. Comprehensive cookie consent and privacy policy present.
  4. No security headers detected in HTML source; potential improvement area.
  5. WHOIS data unavailable due to incorrect domain query; apex domain WHOIS should be checked separately.
  6. Multiple reputable charity clients displayed as trust signals.
  7. Use of modern analytics and tracking with consent management.
  8. No explicit security or incident response policies found on site.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on Unicity CMS 5.17 and uses modern front-end technologies including jQuery 3.6.0 and FontAwesome 5 for icons. It integrates Google Analytics and Bing UET for analytics and advertising tracking, with user consent controls implemented via a cookie management system. The site loads external resources from trusted CDNs such as ajax.googleapis.com and uses asynchronous script loading for performance. Mobile optimization is good with responsive design elements and a mobile menu. SEO is supported by proper meta tags, Open Graph tags, and JSON-LD structured data describing the organization. Performance is moderate, with no major issues detected. Technical debt appears low, but security header implementation is missing, representing a modernization opportunity. Hosting provider details are not disclosed in the HTML content.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

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