Website Hacked What to Do: Redirects and Spam Pages

A redirect to a page you never built, or spam pages sitting on your domain, is a hack showing itself. The home page can still look right when you open it yourself. Visitors are the ones who get sent somewhere else.

Short answer: Website hacked what to do starts with a note of the address you typed, the address you landed on, and a screenshot of the spam pages. Do not delete files or move the domain while you are guessing. Managed Website Hosting & Care handles this from $99 a month. On Essentials, malware cleanup is $125 an hour. On Business and Priority it is included.

Website hacked what to do before you change a setting?#

When the site was hacked, write down the address you typed and the one you landed on, and screenshot the spam pages. Do not delete files or move the domain. Email me that note. Malware cleanup is $125 an hour on Essentials and included on Business and Priority.

Say a customer sends a picture of a page you have never seen, still on your business name. Write down what you typed, where you landed, and keep the picture.

Open the site the way a customer would. Click the menu for items you did not add. The same notes apply on WordPress and on other site builders.

Details are on hacked website repair. The free website health check reports redirects, HTTPS, and SSL. Run it, write down what it shows, and leave the host login alone.

How can I tell a redirect from a spam page I did not write?#

A redirect swaps the address after the page loads, so you leave your site. Spam pages stay on your domain: extra titles, odd menu links, or a page of links you did not write. Check a phone and a computer, and write down which one does which.

Write down the address you end on, even if you do not recognize it. Then open an interior page, not only the home page. A new title, a block of links, or a post from a day nobody was working can sit beside pages you did write.

If the browser shows a full-page warning instead of your content, say that in the email. That is a different sign from a small label about the connection.

What should I stop doing while the site is still hacked?#

Stop deleting files, installing cleanup tools you have not used before, and changing where the domain points. A wrong change can take the email down with the pages. Screenshot the redirect and the spam pages, then send the link to michael@michaelheredia.com.

Deleting the site throws away the copy I would compare with a backup. Pointing the domain at a new host the same afternoon can take the inbox down with the pages. Leave email records alone until a move is planned.

Do not type the password into a form under the spam page. Do not turn the domain off if the business email lives on that name.

Send the link or the screenshot to michael@michaelheredia.com. You do not get a server login or a control panel to manage.

If the hack also takes the site down, I monitor uptime around the clock on every plan. On Essentials and Business, an outage goes to the front of the line during business hours. Priority gets 24/7 response if the site goes down. A change request on Essentials gets a reply within 2 business days. That window is for changes.

How do you clean the malware and keep the site after?#

I clean up the malware, then keep hosting, SSL, daily backups stored separately, updates, and security hardening on the plan. You can keep your current host at the same price. Fixing a break on my watch, or restoring a backup, is included in every plan.

Every plan includes hosting and SSL, daily backups stored separately from the site, core, plugin, and theme updates, uptime monitoring around the clock, and security hardening: locked-down logins, firewall rules, and safe defaults. On Essentials, malware cleanup is $125 an hour. On Business and Priority it is included.

You can keep your current hosting. Same plans, same price. Your host keeps billing you for hosting. I keep a daily backup stored separately from the site. Priority’s dedicated server applies only when I host.

Moving one standard site in is included. I copy it, test it, then switch the domain at a quiet time. A large online store or a custom app gets a fixed quote before that move.

Text, photos, hours, a new post, or a section use the monthly time first, then $125 an hour, and I tell you before going over. Unused time does not roll over. On Business, updates are tested on a staging copy before they go live.

A redesign, a new feature, an online store, or an integration is quoted as a fixed price before any work starts. You keep full ownership of the domain and the content, and you can ask for a complete copy of the site any time.

Which plan fits a site that was hacked?#

Essentials is $99 a month, with malware cleanup at $125 an hour and a reply within 2 business days. Business is $249 a month, with cleanup included and updates tested on a staging copy. Priority is $499 a month, with 24/7 response if the site goes down.

Plan	Price	What you get
Essentials	$99 a month	30 minutes of changes, a reply within 2 business days, malware cleanup at $125 an hour. Hosting, SSL, daily backups stored separately, updates, monitoring, and security hardening. Fixes and backup restores are included.
Business (most popular)	$249 a month	Everything in Essentials, 1 hour of changes, updates tested on a staging copy, malware cleanup included.
Priority	$499 a month	Everything in Business, 3 hours of changes, a dedicated server when I host, 24/7 response if the site goes down.

All three are billed through Stripe, and you can cancel any time. “Most popular” is only the label on Business. See the plans.

When this isn’t the right fit#

This is the wrong plan if the site needs a redesign, a new feature, an online store, or an integration first. I quote that as a fixed price before work starts. It is the wrong fit when someone on staff already cleans the site and handles updates.

If the pages themselves are the problem, start with web development. These plans look after the site you already have. A large online store or a custom app still gets a fixed quote before a move.

On cancel, the plan runs to the end of the paid month. Before it ends, you get a full copy of the site and help pointing the domain to a new host.

Pick a plan on the plans page, or send the screenshot and a question through the hosting form. Checkout takes a couple of minutes. I email you within 1 business day to start.