Bates Saddles operates a professional e-commerce platform specializing in high-performance equestrian saddles and accessories, targeting primarily the German market with regional support for other countries. The company maintains a strong market position supported by official partnerships with major equestrian organizations and endorsements from ambassadors. The website is built on the Shopify platform, leveraging modern web technologies and payment integrations such as Zip Co and Quadpay. While the site demonstrates good design quality, mobile optimization, and user experience, it lacks explicit privacy and cookie policies, which are critical for GDPR compliance. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and CAPTCHA protections, but could be enhanced with additional security headers and published incident response information. Overall, Bates Saddles presents a trustworthy and professional online presence with room for improvement in privacy compliance and security transparency.
Scanned ·
NIS2 and GDPR posture
GDPR outside view
10/ 100 · Critical
Checks completed
7of 7
NIS2 Art. 21(2)
a(a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
b(b) Incident handling: One indicator
c(c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
d(d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
e(e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
f(f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
g(g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
h(h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
i(i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
j(j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside
Partly checked
One indicator
Not visible from outside
This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.
GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.
Priority findings
7 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.
GDPR outside view
These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.
Critical
EU business without adequate privacy measures
EU businesses are subject to strict GDPR requirements
What to do: Implement comprehensive GDPR compliance including privacy policy, cookie consent, and data protection measures
High
No Privacy Policy found
GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy
What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently
This scan found 26 issues across 6 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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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
57
Security headers
75
Email security
55
DNS health
65
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
10
Average
60
Not counted
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
Breach exposure
Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.
Dark web exposure
Add-on
Leaked records that mention batessaddles.us, from OffSeq Breach.
No leaked records found
Breach holds no records for batessaddles.us right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.
Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.
Business context
Business profile
The company targets equestrian enthusiasts and professionals seeking premium saddles and related accessories. Its business model is direct-to-consumer e-commerce with a focus on quality and innovation. The presence of multiple regional domains indicates a global market approach. Partnerships with recognized equestrian bodies and active social media engagement enhance brand credibility. Revenue streams likely include product sales and possibly custom fitting services. The website's integration with marketing tools like Klaviyo suggests active customer engagement and retention strategies. The DNS setup and lack of registrant WHOIS details warrant further verification but do not currently undermine business legitimacy.
Security posture
The website employs HTTPS with a valid SSL certificate, uses CAPTCHA for form protection, and avoids exposing sensitive data in the HTML. However, it lacks visible security headers such as Content Security Policy and HSTS, which are recommended best practices. No vulnerability disclosures or incident response contacts are published, indicating a gap in transparency and readiness. Privacy compliance is minimal, with no visible privacy or cookie policies or consent mechanisms, which could pose regulatory risks under GDPR. Overall, the security posture is good but could be significantly improved by addressing these compliance and transparency gaps.
Recommendations
Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies prominently on the website.
Implement a cookie consent banner to comply with GDPR and ePrivacy regulations.
Add security headers including Content Security Policy, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options.
Provide a vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response contact information.
Enhance accessibility features to improve compliance and user experience.
Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.
Business
Company
Bates Saddles
Description
At Bates Saddles, we are driven by a philosophy of innovation focused on saddle performance and comfort for both you and your horse.
Key services
Sale of saddles, Sale of saddle accessories, Information and support on saddle fitting and care
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent
Technology
Stack
Shopify, JavaScript, Flickity (carousel), Klaviyo (email marketing), Zip Co and Quadpay (payment widgets), Google Analytics (via Shopify Trekkie), Modernizr
Frameworks
Shopify Liquid (implied), Shopify storefront APIs
Platforms
Shopify
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good
Security
Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
HTTPS enforced
No exposed sensitive data in HTML
Use of CAPTCHA on forms
No visible vulnerable libraries
Analytics and tracking
Services
Shopify Analytics, Google Analytics (via Shopify Trekkie)
Website is a professional e-commerce store for equestrian saddles and accessories.
Content is well structured and localized for Germany with multi-region support.
No explicit privacy or cookie policies found on the site.
Contact information includes phone number and physical address in Australia, which may indicate headquarters or main office location.
Use of Shopify platform and related technologies is evident.
No security incidents or vulnerability disclosures are published.
Social media presence is active with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube links.
Payment options include Zip Co and Quadpay integration.
No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected; site fully accessible.
Technical notes
Notes
The website is built on Shopify, utilizing its CDN and platform services, ensuring reliable hosting and scalability. The tech stack includes modern JavaScript libraries such as Flickity for carousels and Klaviyo for marketing automation. Performance is moderate with responsive design and mobile optimization. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). The site uses multiple external scripts for reviews, Instagram feeds, and payment widgets, which are well integrated. Technical risks are low but could be mitigated by reducing third-party script dependencies and improving security headers.
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.
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