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Security report for houzz.es

Houzz · Real Estate · Spain

Medium risk. 7 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Email security and 1 other check.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Houzz is a leading online platform providing software solutions for construction and design professionals, as well as inspiration and product discovery for homeowners. The website offers a comprehensive directory of professionals including architects, interior designers, contractors, and more, supporting a large user base in Spain and internationally. The platform is well-established with a consistent brand presence and extensive content offerings including photos, articles, and videos. Technically, the site employs modern web technologies, including JavaScript frameworks, CDNs, and performance monitoring tools, ensuring a fast and responsive user experience. Security practices are robust with HTTPS enforcement, CSRF protection, and appropriate security headers, although explicit security policy and incident response pages are not found. Privacy compliance is strong with clear privacy and cookie policies and consent mechanisms aligned with GDPR requirements. Overall, Houzz demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure, strong business credibility, and a secure environment for its users.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
10/ 100 · Critical
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

7 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

    • 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

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Ads

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

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

Keep watching houzz.es

This scan found 16 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

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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
72
Security headers
85
Email security
65
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
10
Average
70

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

Houzz operates in the Real Estate sector, focusing on home design, construction, and professional services. It targets both professionals in the construction and design industries and homeowners seeking inspiration and services. The business model combines software-as-a-service offerings for professionals with a content-rich platform for consumers. Houzz maintains a strong market position as a comprehensive resource for home improvement, supported by a large professional network and extensive visual content. The company is headquartered in Spain for this regional site, with a global parent company and multiple regional domains. Marketing efforts include partnerships with scheduling and marketing automation tools, and the platform supports multiple languages and regions, indicating a broad international reach.

Security posture

The website enforces HTTPS and employs several security best practices such as CSRF tokens and security headers. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analyzed content. However, there is no explicit security policy or incident response information publicly available, which could be improved to enhance transparency and user trust. The use of third-party scripts is monitored, and some tracking services are disabled or consented to by users, aligning with privacy regulations. Overall, the security posture is strong but could benefit from more explicit security documentation and incident response channels.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and user responsibilities.
  2. Provide clear incident response contact information to facilitate reporting and handling of security issues.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries and scripts to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance transparency around data retention and privacy practices to strengthen GDPR compliance.
  5. Implement additional accessibility features to improve usability for all users.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Houzz
Description
Houzz provides powerful software for construction and design professionals and offers inspiration, products, and professional services for homeowners to design their dream homes.
Key services
Software for construction and design professionals, Homeowner inspiration and product discovery, Professional directory for architects, interior designers, contractors, and other home services
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, jQuery 3.1.1, Vimeo video player, Google Identity Services, Prismic CMS (implied by prismic CDN URLs), React (implied by bundle.js and modern JS usage)
Frameworks
Custom Houzz UI framework, PerformanceObserver API for performance monitoring
Platforms
Web (desktop and mobile), CDN for static assets (st.hzcdn.com, sk.hzcdn.com)
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of CSRF tokens
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of modern JavaScript security features

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (implied), FullStory (disabled), mParticle (disabled)
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
attn.tv
Tracking pixels
Google Analytics (implied), Facebook Pixel (implied), Houzz internal tracking
Marketing tools
Calendly for scheduling, Eloqua for marketing automation
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 and functional.
  2. Strong presence of professional and business information.
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. Use of modern web technologies and performance optimizations.
  5. No critical security issues detected.
  6. Extensive professional directory and content offerings.
  7. Multiple language and regional versions supported.
  8. Use of third-party marketing and scheduling tools with proper consent.
Technical notes

Notes

Houzz.es utilizes a modern technology stack including JavaScript, jQuery, and React-based components, supported by a robust CDN infrastructure for static assets. The site is optimized for performance with lazy loading and prefetching strategies, ensuring fast load times. It supports multiple languages and regional versions, indicating a scalable and flexible architecture. The use of performance monitoring APIs and error logging demonstrates a mature approach to technical maintenance. No major technical debt or outdated technologies were identified. The site is mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly, with comprehensive meta tags and structured data. Opportunities exist to further enhance accessibility and provide more detailed technical documentation.
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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