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Security report for houzz.in

Houzz Inc. · Real Estate · India

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

68/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Houzz Inc. operates a leading online platform that serves both homeowners and home professionals by providing design inspiration, professional directories, and comprehensive software tools for construction and design management. The website is well-structured, rich in content, and targets a global audience with localized versions, including India. The platform's technical infrastructure leverages modern web technologies, including JavaScript frameworks, CDN-hosted assets, and video integration via Vimeo, ensuring fast and responsive user experiences across devices. Security is robust with HTTPS enforcement and appropriate security headers, while privacy compliance is demonstrated through comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms. The business maintains a high level of professionalism and trustworthiness, supported by clear contact channels and active social media presence.

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

3 findings 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

  2. GDPR outside view

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

    • 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

  3. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • High

      No SPF record found

      SPF helps prevent email spoofing

      What to do: Add SPF record: "v=spf1 include:_spf.yourmailprovider.com ~all"

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

Keep watching houzz.in

This scan found 12 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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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
Security headers
85
Email security
62
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
73
Average
68

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 holds a strong market position in the home design and renovation sector, offering a unique blend of content, professional services, and software solutions. Its business model combines user-generated content, professional listings, and subscription-based software services. The company targets homeowners seeking design ideas and professionals requiring marketing and project management tools. The presence of multiple localized domains and extensive professional profiles indicates a broad and diversified customer base. Strategic partnerships with scheduling and video platforms enhance user engagement and service delivery.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, use of security headers like HSTS, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options, and no visible exposure of sensitive data. The absence of known vulnerable libraries and the presence of secure forms further strengthen its security. However, the lack of explicit security policies or incident response information suggests areas for improvement in transparency and preparedness. Overall, the security measures align well with industry best practices, minimizing risk exposure.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a dedicated security policy and incident response plan to enhance transparency and user trust.
  2. Introduce a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance data retention disclosures in privacy policies to comply with evolving regulations.
  5. Consider integrating advanced security monitoring and user education to foster a strong security culture.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Houzz Inc.
Description
Houzz provides powerful software for construction and design professionals and offers homeowners inspiration, products, and professionals to design their dream home. It features a large collection of interior design and decorating ideas, including kitchens and bathrooms, with over 2.5 crore photos and 100,000 idea books from top designers worldwide.
Key services
Design and Build Software, Professional Directory, Home Design Inspiration and Ideas, Project Management Tools
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, jQuery 3.1.1, Vimeo Video Player, Google One Tap, Prismic CDN for images
Frameworks
Custom Houzz UI Framework, PerformanceObserver API for performance metrics
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of CSP and referrer policies
  • Cookie consent mechanism

Analytics and tracking

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

Advertising

Ad networks
Attn.tv
Tracking pixels
FullStory, mParticle, Eloqua
Marketing tools
Google One Tap, Calendly for scheduling, Qualtrics for surveys
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a comprehensive platform for home design and professional services
  2. Strong presence of professional profiles and rich media content
  3. Good implementation of privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms
  4. Use of modern web technologies and performance optimizations
  5. No signs of blocking or WAF challenges
  6. Extensive use of external services for marketing and analytics
  7. Clear business and contact information available
Technical notes

Notes

Houzz's technical infrastructure is built on a modern JavaScript stack with extensive use of CDNs for static assets and images, ensuring fast load times and scalability. The site employs performance monitoring APIs and asynchronous script loading to optimize user experience. The use of React-like components and structured data indicates a sophisticated front-end architecture. Mobile optimization and accessibility features are well-implemented, contributing to high usability scores. Opportunities exist to further enhance technical documentation and adopt emerging web standards for continuous improvement.
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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