> What to do when your website has been hacked: the signs, the first hour, Google's seven recovery steps, and how to get a warning removed from search results. - Canonical: https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/my-website-has-been-hacked/ --- # My website has been hacked: what to do A hacked website needs four things in order: lock it down, find how the attacker got in, clean or restore it, and ask Google to review it. Google publishes a recovery guide for hacked sites in seven steps, from building a support team to requesting a review. A new password alone leaves in place whatever the attacker has already added to the site. Updated 6 October 2026 ## The signs A hack shows itself in one of five ways. - A warning label on the result in Google, or a full-page warning in the browser. Google’s help says pages affected by a security issue can appear with either. - Visitors arriving from Google are sent to a different website. - A search for `site:` followed by your domain lists pages you never wrote. - The Security issues report in Search Console shows a finding. - The host has suspended the account. ## The first hour 1. Tell the host. Hosts see this often, and many will help contain it. 2. Take the site offline or put it behind a holding page, so that visitors are not harmed. 3. Change every password: hosting, the website’s administrator accounts, file transfer and the database. 4. Leave the files as they are for now. They are the evidence of how the attacker got in. 5. Find the most recent backup taken before the hack began. ## The seven steps Google gives Google’s guide for hacked sites names seven steps, in this order. 1. Build a support team. 2. Quarantine your site. 3. Use Search Console. 4. Assess the damage. 5. Identify the vulnerability. 6. Clean and maintain your site. 7. Request a review. ## Clean, or restore Restoring a backup from before the hack is the fastest route to a clean site. A restore on its own puts back the weakness as well: the outdated plugin, the weak password or the abandoned theme that let the attacker in. Update everything and close the hole before the site goes back online. Without a clean backup, the site has to be cleaned by hand: every changed file, every unknown user account, every injected page. ## Getting Google’s warning removed The Security issues report in Search Console lists what Google found, under three headings: hacked content, malware and unwanted software, and social engineering. When the whole site is clean, select “Request Review” in the report and describe what was fixed. Google states that fixing only some pages does not earn a partial return to search results. Most reviews take several days or weeks. ## Keeping it from happening again Four habits prevent most repeat attacks. - Updates applied as they are released, for the platform, the theme and every plugin. - Unused plugins, themes and user accounts removed. - A unique password and two-step verification on every account. - Backups taken on a schedule and stored away from the website’s own server. A browser warning that says “Not secure” is a different matter from a hack. Our guide to [why a website says not secure](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-does-my-website-say-not-secure/) covers that one. ## Questions people ask ### How do I know if my website has been hacked? Common signs are a warning in Google's results or in the browser, visitors being redirected to another site, pages in Google that you never wrote, and a message in the Security issues report in Search Console. ### How long does Google take to remove a hacked warning? Google's Search Console help says most reviews take several days or weeks. The review begins only when the owner requests it in the Security issues report, after the whole site is clean. ### Will changing my password fix a hacked website? No. A new password stops the same login being used again, and leaves in place any files, users or code the attacker added. The site has to be cleaned or restored as well. ## Free competitor gap report Recovery brings a site back to where it was. Name up to three competitors and we measure the restored site against theirs, then send you where they are ahead and what to fix first. 1. Speed and technical health, side by side 2. On-page SEO and site structure 3. The content they are found for and you are not 4. Who holds the searches that matter in your market 5. A prioritised list of what to fix first [Request your free report by email](mailto:contact@hadalmedusa.com?subject=Competitor%20gap%20report%3A%20Guide%3A%20My%20website%20has%20been%20hacked%3A%20what%20to%20do&body=Website%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AWhere%20you%20compete%20(area%2C%20country%20or%20countries)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0ACompetitors%20to%20compare%20against%20(up%20to%20three)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AAnything%20else%20we%20should%20know%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A) - **Address** — contact@hadalmedusa.com - **Include** — your site; up to three competitors; where you compete ## More in this series - [Why your website is not ranking on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-is-my-website-not-ranking-on-google/) - [Why your website traffic is dropping](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-is-my-website-traffic-dropping/) - [Why your website is not getting enquiries](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/website-not-getting-enquiries/) - [Why your website is so slow, and how to find the cause](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-is-my-website-so-slow/) - [Why your website looks bad on mobile, and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-does-my-website-look-bad-on-mobile/) - [Do I need a new website?](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/do-i-need-a-new-website/) - [Why your website says Not secure, and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-does-my-website-say-not-secure/) - [Why Google Analytics is not showing data](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/google-analytics-not-showing-data/) - [Why your website's bounce rate is so high](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-is-my-bounce-rate-so-high/) - [Why your contact form is not sending email](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/contact-form-not-sending-email/) - [Why your website is down, and how to find the cause](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-is-my-website-down/) - [When a website is not doing its job: the whole topic](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/site-problems/) - [All guides](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/) - [Monthly care: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/monthly-care/)