SEO & Support Services Security Audits
SEO & Support Services Security Audits
Most WordPress sites have security vulnerabilities that their owners don’t know about — outdated plugins, over-permissioned user accounts, exposed admin endpoints, missing security headers, and authentication gaps that make brute-force attacks trivially easy. A security audit finds these issues before attackers do.
What This Service Covers A complete picture of your site’s security posture — not just a plugin scan
Automated security scanners catch a narrow slice of real-world vulnerabilities — they miss misconfigured user permissions, exposed staging environments, insecure API endpoints, and authentication weaknesses that are consistently exploited in real attacks. Our security audit combines automated scanning with manual investigation of the areas automated tools don’t reach, producing a findings report that’s actionable rather than just alarming.
Plugin, Theme & Core Vulnerability Assessment
Outdated plugins are the primary attack vector in the majority of WordPress compromises. We audit your entire plugin and theme stack against known vulnerability databases (WPScan, CVE, Wordfence Intelligence) — identifying plugins with disclosed vulnerabilities, plugins abandoned by their developers, plugins with excessive permissions, and themes with known injection vulnerabilities. Each finding is ranked by exploitability and assigned a remediation priority.
We also verify core WordPress installation integrity against official checksums — confirming no core files have been modified, either through a previous undetected compromise or through direct file editing.
User Access, Roles & Authentication Security
Over-permissioned user accounts and weak authentication practices are among the most exploited attack vectors — brute-force attacks against wp-admin, credential stuffing against editor accounts, and compromised admin credentials from password reuse. We audit every user account for role appropriateness, identify dormant accounts that should be removed, assess password policy enforcement, and evaluate whether two-factor authentication is in place for privileged accounts.
wp-login.php exposure, XML-RPC authentication bypass risks, and REST API authentication requirements are assessed and hardening recommendations provided where current configuration creates unnecessary exposure.
Server Configuration, File Permissions & Exposed Endpoints
Server-level misconfigurations create vulnerabilities that no WordPress plugin can fix. We audit file and directory permissions for write-permission issues that allow malicious file uploads or modification, check for exposed sensitive files (wp-config.php accessibility, debug logs, backup files in the web root), assess .htaccess security rules, and review PHP configuration for settings that increase attack surface.
Directory listing, server software version disclosure, and exposed development environments (staging sites without access restrictions) are assessed and documented with specific remediation steps.
HTTP Security Headers & Content Security Policy
Security headers instruct browsers on how to handle your site’s content — preventing cross-site scripting attacks, clickjacking, MIME-type sniffing, and insecure mixed content. We assess your current header implementation against best-practice requirements: Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy, Permissions-Policy, and HSTS configuration. Most WordPress sites are missing the majority of these headers.
Implementation recommendations are specific to your server environment (Apache, Nginx, or Cloudflare-managed) and include the exact header values to apply.
The Audit Report Prioritised findings — not a list of 200 items with no context
Security audit reports are only useful if they’re actionable. We deliver findings organised by severity — Critical, High, Medium, and Low — with a plain-language explanation of what each issue is, why it matters, and the specific steps to fix it. Critical and High findings include implementation-ready fixes or configuration changes, not just a description of the problem.
The report also includes a security score, a recommended remediation sequence (fix in this order, not all at once), and a post-remediation re-check for any findings your team addresses. You’ll know exactly what to fix first and how to fix it.
Tools & Methods How we assess your site’s security
Audit first — then implement fixes in priority order
A common mistake is purchasing a security plugin, activating all of its features, and assuming the site is now secure. Security plugins are useful tools — but they don’t fix underlying vulnerabilities, they don’t correct misconfigured user permissions, and they can introduce their own conflicts on complex sites. A structured audit tells you what your actual risk profile is before you start making changes, so hardening effort is applied where it matters most rather than spread across low-priority items.
After an audit, we can implement all recommended fixes as a separate engagement, or provide implementation guidance for your own team. Either way, you start with a clear, honest picture of where you stand.
Security services we deliver
Audits, implementation, and ongoing monitoring — scoped to your site’s risk profile.
Standard Security Audit
Full plugin/theme/core vulnerability assessment, user access review, file permission audit, server configuration review, and security headers assessment — delivered as a prioritised findings report with remediation guidance.
Security Hardening Implementation
We implement the findings from a security audit — applying the recommended fixes in priority order, verifying each change, and confirming the site remains fully functional after hardening.
Post-Recovery Security Audit
A specialised audit for sites that have recently been compromised — verifying the clean state, identifying residual vulnerabilities, and producing a hardening roadmap to prevent reinfection.
Malware & Hack Recovery
If your site is already compromised, recovery comes first. We clean, restore, and harden as part of a full incident response engagement.
Maintenance Retainers
Ongoing plugin updates, security scanning, uptime monitoring, and backup management — the most cost-effective way to maintain a strong security posture over time.
Bug Fixing & Site Errors
Security issues sometimes manifest as site errors — broken functionality, redirect loops, or blocked pages. Our bug fixing service covers functional issues alongside security-related breakage.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about WordPress security audits.
A standard security audit for a single WordPress site takes 3–5 business days from access being provided to report delivery. More complex sites — WooCommerce stores, multisite networks, sites with custom plugins or API integrations — take longer due to the additional surface area. We’ll give you a specific timeline estimate after an initial conversation about your site’s configuration.
Yes — we need WordPress admin access, FTP or SFTP access to the file system, and the ability to view server error logs. We do not need database credentials in most cases. Access is handled under a signed NDA if required, and all credentials are deleted from our systems after the engagement is complete.
Yes. Security plugins provide useful ongoing monitoring but they don’t replace a structured audit. They typically miss user access issues, server-level misconfigurations, file permission problems, and security header gaps. An audit gives you a complete picture that plugin dashboards don’t provide — including issues the plugin itself may introduce.
Yes — WooCommerce stores are a priority audit target given the payment and customer data they handle. We audit the full store alongside standard WordPress security checks, with specific attention to checkout page security, stored payment data handling (or confirmation that data is not stored), user account security for customer accounts, and order data access controls.
You receive a prioritised findings report. From there, you have three options: implement the fixes yourself using our guidance, engage us to implement the fixes as a separate hardening project, or enrol in a maintenance retainer that includes ongoing security monitoring and update management. There’s no obligation to continue with us after the audit — the report is yours to act on however works best for you.
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