Hacked Website Repair and Rescue
If your WordPress site has been hacked, has stopped working, or was left behind by a developer who disappeared, we take it over. A hacked site is cleaned up from R5,200 incl. VAT, plus at least three months on a care plan, or rebuilt clean when it isn’t worth saving.
- Since 2001
25 years - 20+ years
with the same clients - 2025
most recent rebuild for two of them
What a website rescue includes
For a hacked site that is worth saving, a clean-up: WordPress malware removal, hardening, Wordfence set up and, if Google has flagged the site, a request for Google to review it. For a site that isn’t worth saving, a clean rebuild instead.
Malware removed
We remove what the hacker added. As at 28 September 2026, Google’s spam policies give examples of hacked content: malicious code injected into existing pages, new pages with spammy or malicious content, hidden links, and redirects to harmful or spammy pages.
The site hardened
We tighten the site against the next attempt. As at 28 September 2026, Google’s help page on the “This site may be hacked” warning tells owners to fix the security issue that let the site be infected: “Otherwise, your site is likely to be reinfected.”
Wordfence set up
We configure Wordfence on the site. As at 28 September 2026, Wordfence’s product page says its free version includes a firewall and a malware scanner built from the ground up to protect WordPress.
Google asked to review the site
If Google has flagged the site, we ask Google to review it once it is clean. As at 28 September 2026, Google’s help page for its Security Issues report says a review can take from a few days to a few weeks.
Or a clean rebuild
When the existing build isn’t worth saving, we rebuild it instead: a clean install, rebuilt better, with your content brought across.
At least three months of care
After a clean-up, the site goes onto a care plan for at least three months, paid on top of the clean-up (R2,925 on basic): updates tested on a copy of the site first, daily backups and a restore when you need one, Wordfence monitoring and uptime alerts, with our hosting included.
What Wordfence does, and what it cannot do on its own
Sites we have rescued
Both were referred to us: one hacked, one running very slowly.
Client since 2026
Xscape4u
Its tourism site was being injected with links to offshore casino sites. We rebuilt the entire platform, extracted its data, left the hacked content out and delivered it clean, with encryption and Wordfence.
Client since 2026
Big City Life
A photographer’s site, running very slowly. We reduced the whole site from roughly 85GB to about 4.5GB, moved it onto our hosting and added security.
More on hacks like Xscape4u’s: how SEO-spam hacks work, and how they are cleaned up.
How a rescue works
- Tell us what’s happening
Through the contact form. We reply to new enquiries the same business day. - Clean-up
A site worth saving is cleaned up, with a response within 24 to 48 hours. - Or an assessment and a rebuild
A site that may not be worth saving is assessed first, for R2,220 incl. VAT. If it isn’t, we rebuild it, and the R2,220 is credited against the rebuild. - Kept up to date
After a clean-up, the site goes onto a care plan for at least three months. Care-plan clients get a response within four business hours when their site is down.
What hacked website repair costs
A clean-up costs from R5,200, with at least three months on a care plan on top. When the site isn’t worth saving, a rebuild costs from R15,000, quoted after an assessment of R2,220 that is credited against the work. All prices are in South African rand (ZAR), incl. VAT.
Website rescue — clean-up
from R5,200 incl. VAT
For a hacked site that is worth saving.
- A response within 24 to 48 hours
- Malware removal and hardening
- Wordfence configured
- A request for Google to review the site, if it has been flagged
Plus at least three months of a care plan, paid on top: R2,925 on basic, incl. VAT.
Website rescue — rebuild
from R15,000 incl. VAT
For a site that isn’t worth saving: a clean install, rebuilt better, with your content brought across.
Quoted after an assessment of R2,220 incl. VAT, credited against the rebuild.
Both care plans include our hosting: basic at R975 a month, and full at R2,450 a month with two hours of changes each month, both incl. VAT. A care plan needs our hosting; it isn’t offered on hosting someone else runs. Anything a rescue doesn’t cover is quoted per task before we start.
What if your developer has disappeared?
Then we take the site over. Picking up projects other developers have left behind is part of what we do, and we have moved many clients’ sites to us from other providers. Tell us what you still have: the site’s address, where it is hosted and any logins. If it has been hacked or has stopped working, it’s a rescue like any other.
There is more in our article on taking over a website when your developer has disappeared.
We have been here since 2001, and some of our clients have been with us for more than twenty years.
Relationships measured in decades
Three of the clients who have been with us for twenty years or more.
No public access.
Client since before 2005
Network Dynamics
When they became a client they traded as Flower Dynamics.
Logistics management system, now a custom WordPress plugin.
First built in the 2000s, upgraded in 2014, and replaced by a new system in 2026.
Client since 2005
Tin Soldier
Most recently rebuilt in April 2025.
Client since 2005
Something Fab
Formerly ABFAB Online. Most recently rebuilt in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
How to fix a hacked website?
Take out what the hacker added, close the way they got in, update WordPress, and change every password once the site is clean. As at 28 September 2026, WordPress’s own guide for hacked sites sets out steps to help you start working through a hacked WordPress site, says they are not all-encompassing, and calls finding and removing the hack the most daunting part. Our clean-up does that part for you. The first steps you can take yourself are in My website has been hacked: what to do in the first 24 hours.
Can a hacked website be recovered?
Yes: cleaned up, if the build is worth saving, or rebuilt clean with its content brought across, if it isn’t. That is how Xscape4u’s site came back: rebuilt, with its data kept and the hacked content left behind (the Xscape4u story).
What happens if your website gets hacked?
Visitors may be sent to spam or shown a warning, and the site may slip in Google’s results, sometimes before you notice anything. As at 28 September 2026, Google’s spam policies say it’s not uncommon for hackers to make a hack harder for the site’s owner to detect, and that sites which break the policies may rank lower or not appear in results at all. On the same date, Google’s Safe Browsing site status page says Google shows warnings on Google Search and in web browsers when it detects unsafe sites, and lets you check whether a site is currently dangerous to visit.
Will my site be hacked again?
Nobody can honestly promise it won’t be, and we don’t. As at 28 September 2026, WordPress’s guide to hardening calls security “risk reduction, not risk elimination”, and says monitoring lets you react faster when prevention isn’t enough. On a care plan, updates are tested before they go live, Wordfence monitors the site, it is backed up daily, and if it goes down, we respond within four business hours.
My site isn’t hacked, but it has stopped working. Can you help?
Yes. A rescue covers a site that has stopped working as well as one that has been hacked: it’s put right if the build is worth saving, or rebuilt clean if it isn’t.
Can you help if we’re not in Johannesburg?
Yes. We work from Midrand, Johannesburg, and since 2001 Fyre has built and run sites and systems for South African businesses, and for clients internationally in the UK, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Related services
What our clients say
I have been working with Claude for over 20 years, and last night he properly pulled a rabbit out of a hat for me! Stunning wordpress site designed and built within two hours. Thank you!!
Google review
Claud from Fyre Interactive recently developed a website for me and did a truly outstanding job. When faced with a challenge he will persist and solve to full customer expectation and satisfaction. It was the best decision to select him as a partner for this project.
Google review
I have worked closed with Claude and the Fyre team and its one of the easiest web developers to work with. He is attentive and responsive to requests at all times whether its email or Whatsapp.
He also does not pad his costs and so the service is value for money. I highly recommend Claude for hosting, web development and other services.
Google review
Read our reviews on Google Review us on Google All our reviews
Tell us what has happened to your site
A few lines are enough to start: what you are seeing, who built the site and where it is hosted. We’ll reply with questions and a sensible next step.
Great service deliverables – Supportive, patient, reachable at all times and responsive
Samantha M. · Xscape4u · Google review