Security update: Your website is being protected

On 21 October, critical security vulnerabilities affecting PHP, the technology behind WordPress and many other websites, required urgent action across the hosting industry.

Castlegate IT worked closely with our hosting providers to prepare for the necessary security updates. Importantly, our hosting partners and Cloudflare implemented additional firewall protections before the security patches were released, helping to protect websites against attempts to exploit these vulnerabilities.

The necessary patches have now been applied across our main managed hosting environments. A small number of legacy environments remain protected by additional firewall measures while their updates are completed.

No action is required from our clients. We continue to monitor the situation and manage the necessary security measures on their behalf.

Archive: September 2026

A robot coding a website

AI can build a website. A commercial website is something more.

At a glance AI can now build perfectly good websites for the right purposes, including campaign sites, portfolios, prototypes and microsites. Commercial websites are different. They are long-term digital assets that need to operate and evolve for years. Staff need …

by Jim Semlyen 17 Sep 2026
Multiple magnifying glasses to illustrate the concept of smarter search

Why smarter search belongs on your WordPress website

At a glance WordPress’s built-in search only matches the exact words used, and it struggles with typos, different terminology and question-style queries. WP Engine’s Smart Search adds semantic search, so it understands the meaning behind a query, not just the …

by Jim Semlyen 14 Sep 2026
A developer using multiple screens

WordPress hosting isn’t all the same: what are you actually paying for?

At a glance WordPress hosting varies enormously. The cheapest option isn’t necessarily the best value. Managed hosting includes more than server space, with security, backups, monitoring, updates and technical support all potentially part of the service. Performance and reliability matter, …

by Jim Semlyen 11 Sep 2026
A desktop device with a 503 error

WordPress can be a problem. We solve WordPress problems.

At a glance A problematic WordPress website doesn’t necessarily need replacing. We can often take over an existing site, identify what is going wrong and bring it up to the standards we expect from websites we build ourselves. We investigate …

Robot holding shopping bag to illustrate agentic commerce

What is agentic commerce, and what does it mean for WooCommerce?

At a glance Agentic commerce lets AI agents help people shop, from finding and comparing products to assisting with purchases. Shopping may increasingly happen through AI assistants, rather than directly on ecommerce websites. Structured product data is essential, giving AI …

by Jim Semlyen 10 Sep 2026