Deep Dive Website Assessment
We dig deep enough that nothing stays hidden.
A Deep Dive is a full forensic assessment of your site's files, database, and history.
You get a straight answer about what's wrong, what's already been dealt with, and what still needs attention, in writing.
You Already Know
Maybe you got an email saying your site had been flagged, or a scan turned up something you don't recognize. Maybe you already went through a hack once and were never fully sure it got cleaned up all the way. You don't need to be certain something's wrong to want a straight answer.
How it works
Access + Investigate + Report + Repair/Rebuild
Every Deep Dive follows the same process, whether we've worked with you before or this is the first time you've heard of us.
Assess
You send over what we need to get started. Typically, that includes WordPress admin access and a complete backup including the database. The clock starts once we have it.
Investigate
We run independent scans across your files, database, and the live site in an isolated environment: core and plugin integrity, malware and backdoors, exposed backups, database and user accounts, and anything left behind by a previous incident.
Report
You get a written report in 1 to 3 business days. Every finding is rated by severity, with a plain explanation of why it matters and a specific fix, not a generic recommendation.
Repair/Rebuild
Most findings turn into targeted repairs, billed at our standard hourly rate against the specific estimate in your report. Occasionally the alternative is a full rebuild, usually when a site has been compromised more than once or the codebase is too far behind to patch safely. If that's where you land, we'll say so directly, and scope the rebuild as its own web design project or Glow-Up™ rather than stretching a repair budget to cover it.
Questions about a Deep Dive?
the scope
What's Included:
- Full malware and backdoor scan of your site's files and database
- WordPress core and plugin integrity check against official releases
- Site configuration and security hardening review
- Check for exposed backups or files that shouldn't be publicly accessible
- Database and user account review
- Investigation and timeline of any prior compromise, if we find evidence of one
- Written report with findings and a prioritized action plan
Pricing
$600 flat fee. That covers the investigation, the report, and any quick fixes we can knock out inside that time: deleting an exposed backup, moving a misplaced config line, that kind of thing.
Anything bigger gets a specific estimate before we touch it, billed separately at $200/hr if you want us to do the work. Nothing rolls forward automatically into a Care Plan or a repair project. If you want either afterward, that's its own conversation, on its own terms.
- Learn more about our WordPress Support Plans
- Learn more about Website Migration
Turnaround
1 to 3 business days from the point we have access and a full backup in hand to report delivery.
FAQs
What if you don’t find anything wrong?
Then you have that in writing, which is worth something on its own. A clean report means you can stop wondering and move on, or use it as a baseline to compare against later if something changes.
Does this replace the need for a Care Plan?
No. A Care Plan is ongoing: updates, backups, monitoring, someone watching the site month to month. A Deep Dive is a one-time forensic look. Most clients who go through one end up on a Care Plan afterward, but they’re separate things with separate scopes.
What if my site is down right now?
Then start with Website Repair + Recovery instead. A Deep Dive is a diagnostic report; if your site is actively down or actively losing data, you need stabilization first. We’ll tell you if a Deep Dive is still the right next step once things are stable. If this is urgent, you may also want to let us know via one of several ways to contact us.
why smack happy?
A Bloodhound Doesn't Need Fresh Tracks.
A bloodhound can follow a trail that's days old, because it isn't looking for what's obvious. It's built to notice what everyone else already walked past. That's the instinct behind a Deep Dive. We're not just running a scanner and forwarding you the output. We're checking whether a flagged file is an actual threat or just an old plugin doing something unusual, and if there's evidence of a break-in from months back, we can usually still find it.
Automated scanners are useful, and we run them too, but they don't know the difference between a real backdoor and a language file. We do. Every flag gets checked by a person before it goes in your report.
Responsive by Default
In 60% of our client testimonials, responsiveness comes up unprompted. Quick replies, same-day fixes, and consistent follow-through across the life of the project.
Quality: No Notes
50% of our clients specifically mention the visual quality of their finished site. The work speaks for itself, and they hear about it from their own customers, colleagues, and peers.
Patience & Rigor
45% of our clients mention patience. 35% call out our project management by name. We guide the build so our clients can focus on their business, not their website.
Worthy Recommendation
65% of our published testimonials include an explicit recommendation telling other people to hire us.
Listening First
40% say the thing they valued most was being heard. We learn the business before we start designing for it.
By the way...
This analysis came from identifying patterns across 150+ client-published reviews. Those bloodhounds must be doing something right.
Tell Us What's Going On
Your site doesn't have to stay a question mark.
We're excited to learn more about you!
Use cases
