https://ncl.ac.uk
Infrastructure
· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.SCORE
81
GRADE
B
FIX
2
REVIEW
2
PASS
5
INFO
0
Probed from Madrid, Spain
302 Found
Checks
95 PASS 2 REVIEW 2 FIX
DURL VariantsActionwww/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPSFIX
URL Variants
Actionwww/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
Critical::
Both www and non-www versions serve content
Got: Both variants return 200 Expected: One variant 301-redirects to the other
Critical::
HTTP version does not redirect to HTTPS
Got: HTTP 302 Expected: 301 redirect to HTTPS
www / non-www
200https://www.ncl.ac.uk/
200https://ncl.ac.uk/
Inconsistent — duplicate content risk
HTTP → HTTPS
302http://ncl.ac.uk/ → http://www.ncl.ac.uk/
HTTP version does not redirect to HTTPS
DCDN & DeliveryActionNo CDN detectedFIX
CDN & Delivery
ActionNo CDN detected
No CDN detected
Warning::
No CDN detected
A CDN can significantly improve load times for users around the world by caching content at edge nodes closer to them.
No CDN detected
Consider using a CDN to improve global delivery speed and reduce origin load.
CIPv6 ReadinessActionNo IPv6 supportREVIEW
IPv6 Readiness
ActionNo IPv6 support
No IPv6 support
Info::
No IPv6 (AAAA) records found
IPv6 support is increasingly important for global accessibility. About 40% of internet users have IPv6 connectivity.
No IPv6 Support
About 40% of internet users have IPv6. Consider adding AAAA records.
IPv6 support is increasingly important for global accessibility. About 40% of internet users have IPv6 connectivity.
Why this matters
No AAAA records — same impact as 'no IPv6 (AAAA) records'; IPv6-preferring clients pay extra latency falling back to IPv4.
Source: Google IPv6 stats
BTLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations245 days until leaf cert expires — 4 issues to addressREVIEW
TLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations
245 days until leaf cert expires — 4 issues to address
Certificate validity
245
days left
0d 30d 60d 90d+
Recommended actions
- Prefer TLS 1.3 — TLS 1.2 is acceptable but TLS 1.3 removes RSA key exchange and improves latency
- Enable HSTS: Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
- 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 Records1 A records, 43 ms lookupPASS
DNS Records
1 A records, 43 ms lookup
1 A records, 43 ms lookup
Info::
Resolves to 1 IPv4 address(es)
Got: 128.240.216.85
Info::
Single A record — no DNS redundancy
Multiple A records provide failover if one server goes down.
Info::
No IPv6 (AAAA) records
Info::
3 nameserver(s) configured
Got: ns1.ncl.ac.uk, ns0.ncl.ac.uk, ns4.ja.net
Info::
1 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: 43 ms
Got: 43 ms
| A | 128.240.216.85 |
| AAAA | — |
| CNAME | — |
| NS | ns1.ncl.ac.uk, ns0.ncl.ac.uk, ns4.ja.net |
| MX | 10 ncl-ac-uk.mail.protection.outlook.com |
| TXT | QuoVadis=f835bf38-050b-4877-8f63-a435f833498d teamviewer-sso-verification=67fae83811dc400ba2d3cc6045d503ec MS=ms63109581 tiktok-developers-site-verification=1nppZIpL5exZU48egAXoci0m6kVRnvAP google-site-verification=SasCIF4KzXtD3nqV9mDXXiHQ-0-3ournQWjovc1uqMo adobe-idp-site-verification=bde1f88bfe8ef00a273774afaa224776a8d6938c5a08627f278d... QuoVadis=c5bf27cc-0cbb-48ad-bba6-46145e736efd WTY5Q4IGWN1MXRIWPSSOF8RT0JGE3SFRJZOUMQ1XX google-site-verification=5330qP8xqR_LroHgedzb0fveQmqTNW-m-IZFiYUeibk successfactors-site-verification=MTQ3ZTE2NDFlNDgzYjY0MjRjOTMyNjJmNWRmMGFlOTI5ZTN... SPF v=spf1 include:_spf2.ncl.ac.uk include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:wpm.fl... l5XEzR45RP0mWKFhKEuXQz+mTFxj89fmw3I3iYd6JOr2ySmKV27d+U3M+ZYXar6xqHsS4wViN3wT34ef... google-gws-recovery-domain-verification=55665660 apple-domain-verification=UaNzjQEIQRhckqte |
| CAA | Lookup not available with standard resolver |
Resolved in 43 ms
Multiple A records provide failover if one server goes down.
Why this matters
Single A record means a single point of failure — if that IP goes down, your site is unreachable until DNS TTL expires.
Learn more ▾ ▴
Add multiple A records for round-robin failover, or use a managed DNS provider with health-checked failover (Route 53, Cloudflare, NS1). Short TTL (60-300s) lets clients recover faster on outages.
Source: SRE practice / DNS architecture
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.
ARedirect Chain1 redirect(s), 436 ms totalPASS
Redirect Chain
1 redirect(s), 436 ms total
1 redirect(s), 436 ms total
Info::
Single redirect
Got: https://ncl.ac.uk → https://www.ncl.ac.uk/ (302)
Info::
WWW normalization redirect
Info::
Uses 302 (temporary) redirect
If permanent, use 301 instead.
Got: https://ncl.ac.uk
https://ncl.ac.uk
188 ms · HTTP/1.1
302
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/
248 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL
| # | URL | Status | Time | Protocol | Server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | https://ncl.ac.uk | 302 | 188 ms | HTTP/1.1 | |
| 2 | https://www.ncl.ac.uk/ | 200 | 248 ms | HTTP/1.1 | Apache |
See the visual redirect chain in the HTTP Probe tab →
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
A+Crawlabilityrobots.txt present, sitemap with 192 URLsPASS
Crawlability
robots.txt present, sitemap with 192 URLs
robots.txt present, sitemap with 192 URLs
Info::
robots.txt is present
Got: 10240 bytes
Info::
sitemap.xml is present
Info::
sitemap.xml is valid XML
Info::
sitemap.xml contains 192 entries
Info::
robots.txt does not reference a sitemap
Add a 'Sitemap:' directive to robots.txt so search engines can discover your sitemap.
Add a 'Sitemap:' directive to robots.txt so search engines can discover your sitemap.
Why this matters
robots.txt omits Sitemap: directive — crawlers must fetch /sitemap.xml by convention; reliable but missing the explicit hint.
Source: sitemaps.org
robots.txt 200 OK
Size 10240 B Sitemaps referenced 0 User-agents * Blocking No — crawling allowed
# Out of date content indexed by Google 2224350
User-agent: *
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opps-scholarship-regs-2025-26.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opps-scholarships-regs-women-eng-comp-sci-2025-26_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opps-scholarships-regs-gen-2025-26_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vc-future-leaders-scholarship-regulations-25-26.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/IFD-Regulations-jan-25-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/hass/SACS%20PGT%20Scholarships%2025%20Entry%20Regulations.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/Newcastle%20University%20%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93%20GREAT%20Scholarships%20-%20Mexico,%20Thailand,%20Turkey%202025-26.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/VCIS%20PG%2025-26.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-50-percent-pg-regulations-25-26-v3.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-100-percent-pg-regulations-25-26-v2_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nuors-regulations-25-26_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vceu-pgt-regulations-25-26-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vceu-pgr-regulations-25-26-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcgs-pg-regulations-25-26-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/csc-newcastle-university-regulations-2025-26_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/ncl-india-leadership-innovation-scholarship-regulations-25-26_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opps-scholarship-regs-2025-26.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opps-scholarships-courses-women-eng-comp-sci-2025-26-v2_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opps-scholarships-regs-gen-2025-26_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vc-future-leaders-scholarship-regulations-25-26.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-50-percent-ug-regulations-25-26-v2_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcgs-ug-regulations-25-26-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/VC-EU-UG-Scholarship-regulations-25-26-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-100-per-cent-ug-regulations-24-25-v2_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-50-per-cent-ug-regulations-24-25-v2_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcgs-ug-regulations-24-25-v2_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/Iland-studentship-award-application-2024.docx
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/North%20American%20Athlete%20Scholarship%20Regulations%202024-25%20v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/PG%20Opportunity%20Scholarships%20Regulations%202024.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/Postgraduate%20Opportunity%20Scholarships%20(General)%202024-25%20entr.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/PG%20Opportunity%20Scholarships%20(Women%20into%20Eng%20%20CompSci)%202024-25%20v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/scholarships-for-women-regulations-24-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-great-regulations-24-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-sanctuary-scholarships-application-guidance-24-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-sanctuary-scholarships-regs-24-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcis-ug-regulations-24-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcis-pg-regulations-24-25-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcgs-pg-regulations-24-25-v3_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-100-percent-pg-regulations-23-24-v5.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-50-per-cent-pg-regulations-24-25-v5.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/csc-nu-phd-regulations-24-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nuors-regulations-24-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vceu-pgr-regulations-24-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vceupg-regulations-24-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-eu-ug-pg-regulations-24-25-v2_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/bc-women-stem-regulations-23-24-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nuors-regulations-23-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/csc-nu-phd-regulations-23-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-eu-regulations-23.24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcis-ug-regulations-23-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcgs-pg-regulations-23-24-v3.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcis-pg-regulations-v2-23-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-100-percent-pg-regulations-23-24-v4.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-50-percent-pg-regulations-23-24-v3.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vceu-masters-regulations-v2-23-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vceu-research-regulations-23-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-sanctuary-scholarships-application-guidance-23-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-sanctuary-scholarships-regulations-23-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opp-scholarships-regulations-2023-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opp-scholarships-courses-general-2023-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opp-scholarships-women-pg-eng-comp-science-2023-24.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/IFD-Regulations-jan-25-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vc-eu-research-scholarship-regulations-21-22.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vc-eu-scholarship-pg-regulations-21-22.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vc-pg-international-scholarship-regulations-21-22.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/iland-studentship-award-application-form-22-23.docx
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vceu-research-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/british-council-scholarships-english-language-teachers-pakistan-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-100-percent-pgt-regulations-22-23-v3.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-nigeria-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opportunity-scholarships-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opportunity-scholarships-courses-general-2022-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/pg-opportunity-scholarships-women-engineering-computing-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/north-american-athlete-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-great-regulations-22-23-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-great-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-great-regulations-22-23-1.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcbe-europe-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vceu-masters-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-eu-ug-masters-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-sanctuary-scholarships-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nu-sanctuary-scholarships-application-guidance-notes-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/csc-nu-phd-scholarships-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/nuors-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcis-pg-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-100-percent-pgt-regulations-22-23-v3.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vces-50-percent-pgt-regulations-22-23-v2.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/vcgs-pg-regulations-22-23.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/guidelines-for-producing-a-research-proposal.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/study-with-us/general-documents/international/ncl-europe-bulletin-april-24_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/study-with-us/general-documents/into/ug-psp-req-1_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/postgraduate/files/funding/central/VCIS%20UG%2025-26.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/study-with-us/general-documents/mbbs/UCAT-Thresholds-2020-2024_compressed.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/study-with-us/general-documents/clinical-psychology-dclinpsy/DClinPsy-academic-scoring-25-entry%20.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/study-with-us/general-documents/recognition-of-prior-learning-documentation/School%20X%20PG%20MSc%20Leadership%20in%20Climate%20Change%20%20Sustainability%20(5495F)%20-%20%20RPL%202024-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/study-with-us/general-documents/recognition-of-prior-learning-documentation/School%20of%20Modern%20Languages%20%C3%A2%C2%80%C2%93%20Undergraduate%20-%20RPL%202024-25.pdf
Disallow: /mediav8/study-with-us/general-documents/recognition-of-prior-learning-documentation/School%20of%20Dental%20Sciences%20-%20PG%20Dental%20Programmes%20-%20RPL%202025-26_vFinal%20241220.pdf
User-agent: *
Disallow: /~nsdwww/mail
User-agent: *
Disallow: /~namm4
User-agent: *
Disallow: /Admin
User-agent: *
Disallow: /lo
sitemap.xml 200 OK
Type URL Set URLs 192 entries Valid XML Yes
A+Domain Intelligencencl.ac.uk — via No registrar listed. This domain is directly registered with Nominet., hosted on JANET Jisc Services Limited, GBPASS
Domain Intelligence
ncl.ac.uk — via No registrar listed. This domain is directly registered with Nominet., hosted on JANET Jisc Services Limited, GB
ncl.ac.uk — via No registrar listed. This domain is directly registered with Nominet., hosted on JANET Jisc Services Limited, GB
Info::
Registrar: No registrar listed. This domain is directly registered with Nominet.
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.
Info::
Hosting: JANET Jisc Services Limited, GB
Got: AS786
Domain expiry
Unknown
SSL certificate
245 days
Issued by Sectigo Limited
Domain age
Unknown
DNSSEC
Status unknown
Protects against DNS spoofing
Hosting
JANET Jisc Services Limited, GB
ASN AS786
128.240.216.85
Registrar
No registrar listed. This domain is directly registered with Nominet.
Unlocked 7 NS records
Expiry timeline
Today
+1 year
SSL expiry Danger zone (≤30 days)
Recommended actions
- Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) to block unauthorized domain transfers
Registrar No registrar listed. This domain is directly registered with Nominet.
Name Servers ns0.ja.net, ns2.ja.net, ns3.ja.net, ns4.ja.net, auth03.ns.uu.net, ns1.surfnet.nl, dns-3.dfn.de
Registrant The JNT Association
Hosting
IP Address 128.240.216.85
ASN AS786 (JANET Jisc Services Limited, GB)
Provider JANET Jisc Services Limited, GB
Data source: whois (0.7s)
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 TimingTotal 234 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdownPASS
HTTP Probe Timing
Total 234 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdown
DNS Lookup DNS Lookup — time to resolve the domain name to an IP address.
22 msTCP Connect TCP Connect — time to establish a TCP connection to the server.
39 msTLS Handshake TLS Handshake — time to complete the HTTPS encryption handshake.
133 msTime to First Byte Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond with the first byte of data.
235 msTotal Time Total request time from DNS lookup through full response.
235 msConnection waterfall
DNS Lookup 22 ms TCP Connect 39 ms TLS Handshake 133 ms Server Processing 41 ms Content Transfer 0 ms
All checks on this page are automated. Results are estimates - run targeted manual reviews when the score affects a release decision.