← All guides Engineer

Website Hacked or Defaced? Do This Now

5 June 2026 · 2 min read · Part of: Site in Crisis · Step 2

A hacked site is urgent but panicking makes it worse. Contain, assess, restore or rebuild, then harden.

First hour

  • Take site offline or show maintenance if actively spreading malware
  • Change all passwords: hosting, CMS, FTP, email
  • Check Google Search Console for warnings
  • Identify last clean backup

Patch vs rebuild

Patch if compromise is shallow and backups are clean. Rebuild if core files are corrupted, backdoors persist, or you cannot trust the stack.

Common questions

Who do I call?

Someone who can access hosting, read logs, and either clean WordPress or migrate to a fresh install. That is Engineer work.

Interactive guide

1 / 5

step 1

What do you see?

Tap one.

step 2

First 10 minutes

✓ Change all passwords (host, WP, email)
✓ Take the site offline or maintenance mode
✓ Screenshot what you see (for records)
✗ Don't just delete random files blind

step 3

Patch or rebuild?

step 4

After it is clean

--
Enable 2FA on hosting and CMS accounts.
--
Update core, theme, and plugins. Remove unused components.
--
Add uptime and security monitoring so recurrence is visible fast.

step 5

Next move

Website Takeover
AnalyticLancer
→
Next guide
Mobile Site Looks Broken? Fix This First
→
Contact
Direct line
→
✓

Done

Website Takeover →

Path · Contact