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https://theguardian.com

Infrastructure

· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
93
GRADE
A
FIX
0
REVIEW
2
PASS
7
INFO
0
Probed from Madrid, Spain
301 Moved Permanently
Checks
9
7 PASS 2 REVIEW
B
Redirect Chain
2 redirect(s), 51 ms total
REVIEW
2 redirect(s), 51 ms total
Warning::
2 redirects before reaching final URL
Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop.
Info::
WWW normalization redirect
Info::
Uses 302 (temporary) redirect
If permanent, use 301 instead.
Got: https://www.theguardian.com/

https://theguardian.com

4 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

https://www.theguardian.com/

24 ms · HTTP/1.1

302

https://www.theguardian.com/europe

23 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL

#URLStatusTimeProtocolServer
1https://theguardian.com3014 msHTTP/1.1Varnish
2https://www.theguardian.com/30224 msHTTP/1.1
3https://www.theguardian.com/europe20023 msHTTP/1.1

See the visual redirect chain in the HTTP Probe tab →

Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop.

Why this matters

Redirect chain — each hop adds latency; combine into one redirect where possible.

Source: Google Search Central / web.dev

If permanent, use 301 instead.

Why this matters

302 (Found) is for genuinely temporary redirects — if this redirect is permanent, switch to 301 to preserve SEO equity.

Learn more ▾

Search engines treat 302 as temporary, keeping the original URL indexed and not transferring full link equity to the destination. Use 301 (Moved Permanently) for permanent redirects (HTTP→HTTPS, www-vs-non-www, URL restructures).

Source: Google Search Central

B
TLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations
206 days until leaf cert expires — 4 issues to address
REVIEW

Certificate validity

206
days left
0d 30d 60d 90d+

Recommended actions

  • Add includeSubDomains to the HSTS directive
  • Add the preload directive and submit to hstspreload.org once max-age + includeSubDomains are in place
  • Enable DNSSEC on your domain for DNS spoofing protection
  • Enable OCSP stapling on your TLS server to remove a CA roundtrip and protect user privacy
A+
DNS Records
4 A records, 90 ms lookup
PASS
4 A records, 90 ms lookup
Info::
Resolves to 4 IPv4 address(es)
Got: 151.101.1.111, 151.101.65.111, 151.101.193.111, 151.101.129.111
Info::
Has 4 IPv6 (AAAA) record(s)
Got: 2a04:4e42:600::367, 2a04:4e42:400::367, 2a04:4e42::367, 2a04:4e42:200::367
Info::
8 nameserver(s) configured
Got: ns04.theguardiandns.com, dns4.p04.nsone.net, ns01.theguardiandns.com, ns03.theguardiandns.com, dns3.p04.nsone.net, dns2.p04.nsone.net, ns02.theguardiandns.com, dns1.p04.nsone.net
Info::
5 mail exchanger(s) configured
Info::
CAA records not checked
CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update.
Info::
SPF record present in TXT
Info::
DNS resolution time: 90 ms
Got: 90 ms
A151.101.1.111, 151.101.65.111, 151.101.193.111, 151.101.129.111
AAAA2a04:4e42:600::367, 2a04:4e42:400::367, 2a04:4e42::367, 2a04:4e42:200::367
CNAME—
NSns04.theguardiandns.com, dns4.p04.nsone.net, ns01.theguardiandns.com, ns03.theguardiandns.com, dns3.p04.nsone.net, dns2.p04.nsone.net, ns02.theguardiandns.com, dns1.p04.nsone.net
MX
10 aspmx.l.google.com
20 alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
20 alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
30 alt4.aspmx.l.google.com
30 alt3.aspmx.l.google.com
TXT
onetrust-domain-verification=ce4031d6f7b94fdb9ed409ab9cf643d3
google-site-verification=I3xSjID5V7E9UDa3WSvvvpCqiqw1_34kG1Y_rz5dlV4
google-site-verification=LCHObeC_7NyDBnXVNSqm5VJAve2qxx04PmUFc697Rf0
google-site-verification=iLS6vcS8qLmM07nG-W_M3TAmaSEAAwoLBKovJCGOrOs
_3rqxawq94iavoera1mnm1qmndyabqo3
docusign=1f00efb3-0975-459c-b221-e46452a0f92a
RDOAB9Z9GAJESXAA11TST3LEI0RN5LQ4TES408NS
brave-ledger-verification=7e309ab3cd9203b886205458254a13f930f79821ea05031742f7df...
amazonses:2s68hEXFIHnDWOVNuEbZ06pSFJhN0qCtTx8lztmngls=
miro-verification=9bbe1ce0f13ab2efbbda64d44bd0db3c1f17fd60
adobe-idp-site-verification=af3ef20fdc1d370aee02414a73ce0db9f1b465c21d53a3690801...
lucidlink-verification=4K96N0ZDHCHPKDZ538AFRVH54G
google-site-verification=M9Q_QcvQQCoQEca1--d55J0QKwKZt0XgAAj9DJrJ0jQ
facebook-domain-verification=9qqmd2kl745hph02i64iyoxvdphmi9
pardot709753=1cfbb8fa5dabcb6befc9faa15661f500a64a6f22eb83bb146848633dbe7633cf
openai-domain-verification=dv-m8f1SR7Sj1HI4BIM0XsZAOxx
google-site-verification=IU-vqTBscxkgU3J_f5i10_i624mvE3IjvYpeVPB2A98
stripe-verification=85178DB4E6F4EC41721B7F20BD9F04B21E2B630ADA8156BDFE421272EBC2...
MS=ms94953828
google-site-verification=4l7NequdA4a20U0D9YSw7ENlF69-hDeHXx21aU2UUC0
apple-domain-verification=4qbvNZKyKKZyBtdU
docker-verification=42d9d88d-f950-4407-a675-3d843c16a983
asv=d971bc0397a95b5da450b9bfbad1212a
google-site-verification=ujq5XlF5Ty7dwXv7S3AV99WRr8IwetZIjNqqloPpKmA
intersight=123333260936a76db6d9dedc01d0ab4d61a9aae47515abbf0087e02a395747f9
MS=B95E020056873FBC8A077EEE2104192B3DBC1D61
formstack-domain-verification=0cc5b58e5ea4088ab9333fcd9721a72f
google-site-verification=9SMJbNVsYm0GCVZbGVOMSzXajrK_pqVtjW3P007kaQo
SPF v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf_c.oraclecloud.com include:_spf.salesf...
cisco-ci-domain-verification=394bd3979592402fa40244fcf11f48e5e5014697e1f7e8587eb...
google-site-verification=6-wiFtmcPHY78jVuZUE3io1c6c9SrSyjPVmUr7XRW2I
apple-domain-verification=sVI2atim1Brh4UUx
73t2Qr1jv9^4RG3CsYKp#F&^5S1fxpHtq9X5bLBQtc4q2PhMvMBmUrIh%LLGPb3V!XpnW9tvQd$tg^rL...
CAALookup not available with standard resolver
Resolved in 90 ms

CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update.

Why this matters

Informational: CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) records weren't checked in this scan.

A+
IPv6 Readiness
IPv6 reachable (0 ms)
PASS
IPv6 reachable (0 ms)
Info::
IPv6 is configured and reachable at 2a04:4e42:600::367, 2a04:4e42:400::367, 2a04:4e42::367, 2a04:4e42:200::367
Got: 0 ms connect
IPv6 Ready
AAAA Records 2a04:4e42:600::367, 2a04:4e42:400::367, 2a04:4e42::367, 2a04:4e42:200::367 Connection Reachable (0 ms)
A+
Crawlability
robots.txt present, sitemap with 517 URLs
PASS
robots.txt present, sitemap with 517 URLs
Info::
robots.txt is present
Got: 2844 bytes
Info::
sitemap.xml is present
Info::
sitemap.xml is valid XML
Info::
sitemap.xml contains 517 entries
Info::
robots.txt references sitemap
robots.txt 200 OK
Size 2844 B Sitemaps referenced 2 User-agents FacebookBot, yacy, AwarioSmartBot, YandexAdditional, scalepostAI, AhrefsBot, CCBot, TurnitinBot, JenkersBot, PerplexityBot, anthropic-ai, ClaudeBot, Claude-SearchBot, SentiOne, ImageSift, YandexAdditionalBot, Buck, Amazonbot, Google-CloudVertexBot, Amzn-SearchBot, AhrefsSiteAudit, Mojeek, coccocbot-web, SeznamBot, Applebot-Extended, YouBot, Arquivo-web-crawler, meta-externalagent, Mediapartners-Google, Bytespider, Claude-User, AwarioRssBot, *, PetalBot, MoodleBot, NewsNow, Seekr, DuckAssistBot Blocking No — crawling allowed
# This is the robots.txt file for theguardian.com

# Guardian content is made available under our terms and conditions of use.
# Any other uses are not permitted, incl. but not limited to: for large language
# models (LLMs), machine learning and/or artificial intelligence-related
# purposes; with any of the aforementioned technologies; and/or for any
# commercial purposes. Contact licensing@theguardian.com for assistance

User-agent: *
Disallow: /sendarticle/
Disallow: /Users/
Disallow: /users/
Disallow: /*/print$
Disallow: /email/
Disallow: /contactus/
Disallow: /share/
Disallow: /websearch
Disallow: /*?commentpage=
Disallow: /whsmiths/
Disallow: /external/overture/
Disallow: /discussion/report-abuse/*
Disallow: /discussion/report-abuse-ajax/*
Disallow: /discussion/comment-permalink/*
Disallow: /discussion/report-abuse/*
Disallow: /discussion/user-report-abuse/*
Disallow: /discussion/handlers/*
Disallow: /discussion/your-profile
Disallow: /discussion/your-comments
Disallow: /discussion/edit-profile
Disallow: /discussion/search/comments
Disallow: /discussion/*
Disallow: /search
Disallow: /music/artist/*
Disallow: /music/album/*
Disallow: /books/data/*
Disallow: /settings/
Disallow: /embed/
Disallow: /*styles/js-on.css$
Disallow: /sport/olympics/2008/events/*
Disallow: /sport/olympics/2008/medals/*
Disallow: /f/healthcheck
Disallow: /sections
Disallow: /top-stories
Disallow: /most-read/sport
Disallow: /articles
Disallow: /global$
Disallow: /*/feedarticle/*
Disallow: /travel/2013/aug/22/been-there-readers-competition?*
Disallow: /preference/*
Disallow: /59666047/
Disallow: /print/
Disallow: /info/tech-feedback
Disallow: /production-monitoring/
Disallow: *.emailjson
Disallow: *.emailtxt
Disallow: /headline.txt
Disallow: *?*dcr=apps*

User-agent: Mediapartners-Google
Disallow:

Sitemap: http://www.theguardian.com/sitemaps/news.xml
Sitemap: http://www.theguardian.com/sitemaps/video.xml

User-agent: NewsNow
User-agent: CCBot
User-agent: TurnitinBot
User-agent: PetalBot
User-agent: MoodleBot
User-agent: FacebookBot
User-agent: Bytespider
User-agent: Mojeek
User-agent: JenkersBot
User-agent: Seekr
User-agent: YouBot
User-agent: Arquivo-web-crawler
User-agent: coccocbot-web
User-agent: SeznamBot
User-Agent: PerplexityBot
User-Agent: yacy
User-agent: anthropic-ai
User-agent: ClaudeBot
User-agent: Claude-SearchBot
User-agent: Claude-User
User-agent: AwarioRssBot
User-agent: AwarioSmartBot
User-agent: SentiOne
User-agent: ImageSift
User-agent: Applebot-Extended
User-agent: YandexAdditional
User-agent: YandexAdditionalBot
User-agent: scalepostAI
User-agent: Buck
User-agent: meta-externalagent
User-agent: Amazonbot
User-agent: DuckAssistBot
User-agent: Google-CloudVertexBot
User-agent: Amzn-SearchBot
User-agent: AhrefsBot
User-agent: AhrefsSiteAudit
Disallow: /

License: https://theguardian.com/license.xml
sitemap.xml 200 OK
Type URL Set URLs 517 entries Valid XML Yes
Sample URLs:
A+
URL Variants
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
PASS
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
Info::
www/non-www redirect configured correctly (preferred: non-www)
Info::
HTTP correctly 301-redirects to HTTPS

www / non-www

302https://www.theguardian.com/
200https://theguardian.com/

Preferred variant: non-www

HTTP → HTTPS

301http://theguardian.com/ → https://theguardian.com/

Consistent

A
Domain Intelligence
theguardian.com — via GoDaddy.com, LLC, 32 years, 2 months old
PASS
theguardian.com — via GoDaddy.com, LLC, 32 years, 2 months old
Warning::
Domain expires in 80 days
Consider enabling auto-renewal to prevent accidental expiration.
Got: Expires Jul 5, 2026
Info::
DNSSEC is not enabled
DNSSEC protects against DNS spoofing attacks. While not required, enabling DNSSEC adds an additional layer of security. Contact your DNS provider to enable it.
Info::
Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
Warning::
Registrar lock is NOT enabled
The domain can be transferred without an unlock step. Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) in your registrar's control panel to protect against unauthorized or accidental transfers.
Domain expiry

19 days

July 5, 2026

SSL certificate

206 days

Issued by GlobalSign nv-sa

Domain age

32 years, 2 months

Registered July 6, 1994

DNSSEC

Not enabled

Protects against DNS spoofing

Hosting

Unknown

2a04:4e42:400::367

Registrar

GoDaddy.com, LLC

Unlocked 8 NS records
Expiry timeline
Today
+1 year
Domain expiry SSL expiry Danger zone (≤30 days)
Recommended actions
  • Renew the domain or enable auto-renewal to prevent accidental expiry
  • Enable DNSSEC to protect visitors from DNS spoofing
  • Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) to block unauthorized domain transfers
Registrar GoDaddy.com, LLC
Created July 6, 1994 (32 years, 2 months ago)
Expires July 5, 2026 (2 months)
Last Updated July 5, 2025
Name Servers dns1.p04.nsone.net, dns2.p04.nsone.net, dns3.p04.nsone.net, dns4.p04.nsone.net, ns01.theguardiandns.com, ns02.theguardiandns.com, ns03.theguardiandns.com, ns04.theguardiandns.com
DNSSEC Not enabled
Hosting
IP Address 2a04:4e42:400::367
Data source: rdap (0.2s)

Consider enabling auto-renewal to prevent accidental expiration.

Why this matters

Domain expiry approaching — renew immediately and ensure auto-renew + alerting are configured.

Source: ICANN renewal policy

DNSSEC protects against DNS spoofing attacks. While not required, enabling DNSSEC adds an additional layer of security. Contact your DNS provider to enable it.

Why this matters

Without DNSSEC, an attacker who can poison your DNS can hijack your domain — and SSL certs alone don't stop them.

Learn more ▾

DNSSEC adds cryptographic signatures to DNS records, preventing forged responses from poisoning resolver caches. Without it, an attacker who controls the network path can redirect your domain to a malicious server before any HTTPS handshake happens. Most modern registrars (Cloudflare, Google Domains, Route 53) enable it with one toggle.

Source: ICANN / RFC 4033

The domain can be transferred without an unlock step. Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) in your registrar's control panel to protect against unauthorized or accidental transfers.

Why this matters

Without registrar lock, an attacker who phishes your registrar credentials can transfer the domain in minutes — total brand hijack.

Learn more ▾

Registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited, clientDeleteProhibited) requires extra verification before any transfer/update/delete. Every major registrar offers it free. Combined with 2FA on your registrar account, it's the strongest defense against domain hijacking.

Source: ICANN / domain-security best practice

A+
HTTP Probe Timing
Total 20 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdown
PASS
DNS Lookup DNS Lookup — time to resolve the domain name to an IP address.
17 ms
TCP Connect TCP Connect — time to establish a TCP connection to the server.
0 ms
TLS Handshake TLS Handshake — time to complete the HTTPS encryption handshake.
2 ms
Time to First Byte Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond with the first byte of data.
20 ms
Total Time Total request time from DNS lookup through full response.
20 ms

Connection waterfall

DNS Lookup 17 ms TCP Connect 0 ms TLS Handshake 2 ms Server Processing 1 ms Content Transfer 0 ms
A+
CDN & Delivery
Fastly (HIT)
PASS
Fastly (HIT)
Info::
Site is served via Fastly CDN
Got: x-served-by: cache-toj-leto2350038-TOJ
Info::
CDN cache status: HIT
CDN Detected: Fastly
Provider Fastly Cache Status HIT Evidence x-served-by: cache-toj-leto2350038-TOJ
All checks on this page are automated. Results are estimates - run targeted manual reviews when the score affects a release decision.

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