Infrastructure
· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.DCDN & DeliveryActionNo CDN detectedFIX
Consider using a CDN to improve global delivery speed and reduce origin load.
BRedirect Chain2 redirect(s), 353 ms totalREVIEW
https://fivethirtyeight.com
6 ms · HTTP/1.1
https://abcnews.com/538
183 ms · HTTP/1.1
https://abcnews.com/politics
164 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL
| # | URL | Status | Time | Protocol | Server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | https://fivethirtyeight.com | 301 | 6 ms | HTTP/1.1 | nginx |
| 2 | https://abcnews.com/538 | 301 | 183 ms | HTTP/1.1 | nginx/1.28.0 |
| 3 | https://abcnews.com/politics | 200 | 164 ms | HTTP/1.1 | nginx/1.28.0 |
See the visual redirect chain in the HTTP Probe tab →
Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop.
Redirect chain — each hop adds latency; combine into one redirect where possible.
Source: Google Search Central / web.dev
CIPv6 ReadinessActionNo IPv6 supportREVIEW
IPv6 support is increasingly important for global accessibility. About 40% of internet users have IPv6 connectivity.
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 & Recommendations84 days until leaf cert expires — 3 issues to addressREVIEW
Certificate validity
Recommended actions
- Submit your domain to hstspreload.org to be added to the Chrome preload list
- 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, 36 ms lookupPASS
| A | 192.0.66.240 |
| AAAA | — |
| CNAME | — |
| NS | ns1.wordpress.com, ns3.wordpress.com, ns2.wordpress.com |
| MX | 5 fivethirtyeight-com.mail.protection.outlook.com |
| TXT | _globalsign-domain-verification=KcFPNTrfWf0ezsW4mywMdHLte8ArxFOLYKPL47eiGg Dj3gEE5c1Xj5vptrq8I3t6fp0DQedl5pgT5VqWGJqEPNDrHs1BxnF9fRDAAI9/cG1YwldjqBCtW3LGQq... _globalsign-domain-verification=O81xyb7YxpdGeHWkniit_VBT4vTXz9__NFrNMoTwFg atlassian-domain-verification=5lqJwtfJPMHqC/aGvT/7s2BR53IHCs9P6vFjCQYA5nkQ4mvoHK... google-site-verification=SLLegu-KHYPr75VwkSNreXJzNVbSuhktUW-H2yuyzLY google-site-verification=OqnvBBai541H0tQxG9OLHYNhW_7dk4uMxwnRmFdIndo facebook-domain-verification=1ue4h8ce0c3ppsa5qe43pv8ociehg7 MS=ms40671226 box-domain-verification=3ef9f7daff7e083496430a2c38a6adf88e0e616666f8fbee57bd4078... SPF v=spf1 mx ip4:192.234.2.39 include:amazonses.com include:spf.disney.com include... adobe-idp-site-verification=012b7d24aff9766444b9232173abb52ef026139e50aac77c49e0... google-site-verification=JmZxnG6X-XcviKUy6Q9yH7IjClqCkzlnX9MPjgzepcY |
| CAA | Lookup not available with standard resolver |
Multiple A records provide failover if one server goes down.
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.
Informational: CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) records weren't checked in this scan.
A+Crawlabilityrobots.txt present, sitemap with 2 URLsPASS
Sitemap: https://fivethirtyeight.com/sitemap.xml
Sitemap: https://fivethirtyeight.com/news-sitemap.xml
User-agent: *
Disallow: /wp-admin/
Allow: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php
# ChatGPT
User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /
# Google Extended
User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /
User-agent: CCBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Disallow: /
User-agent: anthropic-ai
Disallow: /
User-agent: Omgilibot
Disallow: /
User-agent: Omgili
Disallow: /
User-agent: FacebookBot
Disallow: /
User-agent: Bytespider
Disallow: /
A+URL Variantswww/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPSPASS
www / non-www
Preferred variant: non-www
HTTP → HTTPS
Consistent
A+Domain Intelligencefivethirtyeight.com — via CSC Corporate Domains, Inc., 18 years, 4 months old, hosted on WordPress.com (Automattic)PASS
232 days
March 7, 2027
84 days
Issued by Let's Encrypt
18 years, 4 months
Registered March 7, 2008
Not enabled
Protects against DNS spoofing
WordPress.com (Automattic)
ASN AS2635
192.0.66.240
CSC Corporate Domains, Inc.
Expiry timeline
Recommended actions
- Enable DNSSEC to protect visitors from DNS spoofing
- Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) to block unauthorized domain transfers
DNSSEC protects against DNS spoofing attacks. While not required, enabling DNSSEC adds an additional layer of security. Contact your DNS provider to enable it.
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.
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