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Security report for hostway.com

Hostway · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

69/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Hostway is an established technology company founded in 1998, specializing in providing comprehensive web services tailored for small businesses. Their offerings include website building, professional web design, domain registration, various hosting solutions, and business email services including Microsoft 365 and Exchange. The company positions itself as a one-stop shop for small business digital presence needs, supported by customer testimonials and Trustpilot reviews that enhance its market credibility. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern plugins and integrations such as Gravity Forms, Yoast SEO, and Google Analytics, reflecting a mature digital infrastructure. The site is mobile-optimized and includes interactive elements like animations and customer engagement tools. Security-wise, the website enforces HTTPS and uses reCAPTCHA on forms, but lacks explicit security policies and some advanced security headers. The domain registration is consistent with the business claims, showing a long history and stable ownership. Privacy and cookie policies are present with consent mechanisms, indicating compliance with GDPR. Overall, Hostway demonstrates a solid business and technical foundation with room for improvement in security transparency and advanced protections.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
73/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: 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

5 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

  3. 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.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching hostway.com

This scan found 23 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.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

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

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
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Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

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
77
Security headers
15
Email security
80
DNS health
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
73
Average
69

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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

Hostway operates in the competitive web hosting and design market, targeting small businesses seeking end-to-end digital solutions. Its business model revolves around service provision including DIY website builders and expert design services, complemented by hosting and email solutions. The company leverages partnerships and integrations with Microsoft and marketing platforms to enhance its offerings. The presence of Trustpilot reviews and customer testimonials suggests a focus on customer satisfaction and trust-building. The domain age and consistent branding support a stable market presence. Growth indicators include a diverse product portfolio and active content marketing via blogs and newsletters. The company’s ecosystem includes related domains such as netnation.com, indicating possible partnerships or service extensions.

Security posture

Hostway maintains a good security posture with HTTPS enforced and clientTransferProhibited status on the domain to prevent unauthorized transfers. The use of Google reCAPTCHA on forms helps mitigate automated abuse. However, the absence of published security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms represents gaps in transparency and readiness. DNSSEC is not enabled, which could improve domain security. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the website content or scripts. The security score reflects these strengths and weaknesses, suggesting the company should enhance its security documentation and implement additional headers to harden the site further.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and preparedness.
  2. Implement DNSSEC to enhance domain name system security.
  3. Add security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), X-Frame-Options, and HSTS to strengthen web security.
  4. Introduce a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and plugins for vulnerabilities and update them promptly.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Hostway
Description
Hostway helps small businesses with end-to-end web design services. From creating your website, securing your domain, managed hosting and email services, we’ve got you covered.
Key services
Website Builder, Website Design Services, Web Hosting (Linux, Windows, VPS), Business Email, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Exchange, Email Migration Services, Domain Registration, Marketing and eCommerce solutions
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
WordPress 5.8, Gravity Forms, Yoast SEO, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Hotjar, Trustpilot widget, ActiveCampaign, Popup Maker, jQuery, AOS (Animate On Scroll), Lottie animations
Frameworks
WordPress
Platforms
Web hosting via Hostway infrastructure
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of reCAPTCHA on forms
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Hotjar
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Hotjar, ActiveCampaign
Marketing tools
ActiveCampaign, Trustpilot
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.
  2. Content is professionally presented and relevant to small business web services.
  3. Multiple contact methods including phone, email, and contact forms are available.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools is evident.
  5. Security policies and incident response information are not explicitly published.
  6. Privacy and cookie policies are present and include consent mechanisms.
  7. No suspicious or malicious indicators found in domain or content.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a WordPress CMS platform using version 5.8, integrated with popular plugins like Gravity Forms for form management and Yoast SEO for search engine optimization. It employs modern front-end technologies including jQuery, AOS for animations, and Lottie for interactive graphics. Analytics and marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Hotjar, and ActiveCampaign are used for user behavior tracking and engagement. The site is mobile-optimized and uses lazy loading for images to improve performance. Hosting is presumably provided by Hostway itself, aligning with its business offerings. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. Accessibility features are basic but present. Overall, the technical infrastructure is solid but could benefit from enhanced security configurations and performance tuning.
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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