Quick Start Guide

Get up and running with Fence in under 5 minutes.

Step 1: Create Your Account

Visit your Fence instance and click Sign Up
Enter your email address (no password required - we use magic links)
Check your email and click the verification link
Complete your profile

Step 2: Create an Organization

After logging in, you'll be prompted to create your first organization:

Enter your organization name (e.g., "Acme Corp")
Choose your subscription tier:
HOBBY - Free, 3 domains, weekly scans, SSL/TLS + security headers, community support
STARTUP ($49/month) - 25 domains + .onion sites, daily scans, OWASP Top 10 + CVE detection, API access, AI chatbot support
ENTERPRISE ($499/month) - 100 domains + IoT/API endpoints, hourly + on-demand scans, full OSINT, internal scanner, priority support
CUSTOM (Custom pricing) - Unlimited domains + users, source code access, white-label reports, custom integrations, dedicated engineer

Step 3: Add Your First Domain

Navigate to Domains in the sidebar
Click Add Domain
Enter your domain name (e.g., example.com)
Click Save

Step 4: Verify Domain Ownership

Before Fence can scan your domain, you need to prove you own it. Choose one of two methods:

Method A: DNS TXT Record (Recommended)

Go to your domain's DNS settings (Cloudflare, Route53, etc.)
Add a TXT record:
Name: _fence-verify.example.com
Value: [your-verification-token] (copy from Fence dashboard)
TTL: 3600 (1 hour)
Wait 5-10 minutes for DNS propagation
Click Verify Domain in Fence

Method B: HTML Meta Tag (Easier)

Add this meta tag to your website's <head> section:
html <meta name="fence-verify" content="[your-verification-token]">
Deploy your changes
Click Verify Domain in Fence

Step 5: Run Your First Scan

Once verified, Fence will automatically run a full scan of your domain. You can also trigger scans manually:

Go to your domain's detail page
Click Run Scan Now (Enterprise/Custom tiers for on-demand scans, other tiers scan automatically)
Wait 2-5 minutes for scan completion

Step 6: Review Vulnerabilities

After the scan completes:

Navigate to Issues in the sidebar
Review vulnerabilities by severity (Critical, High, Medium, Low)
Click any vulnerability to see:
Plain English explanation
Business impact
Step-by-step fix instructions
Code examples for common frameworks

Step 7: Set Up Notifications (Optional)

Stay informed when vulnerabilities are found:

Go to Settings → Notifications
Click Add Channel
Choose your preferred channel (Email, Slack, Discord, etc.)
Configure the channel (webhook URL, bot token, etc.)
Set alert rules (notify on Critical/High only, etc.)

Next Steps

Congratulations! Your first domain is now being monitored. Here's what to do next:

Add more domains - Scale up to 3 domains on Hobby, 25 on Startup, 100 on Enterprise
Invite team members - Share access with your team (Settings → Team)
Review compliance - Check PCI DSS/HIPAA compliance reports (Startup/Enterprise/Custom)
Integrate with CI/CD - Use the API to scan on every deployment (Startup/Enterprise/Custom)

Common Issues

Domain verification fails

Cause: DNS records not propagated yet, or meta tag not deployed

Fix:
- For DNS: Wait 10-15 minutes and try again. Check your DNS records with dig TXT _fence-verify.example.com
- For meta tag: View page source to confirm the tag is present

Scan shows no results

Cause: Your website might be behind a firewall or blocking automated scanners

Fix: Whitelist Fence's scanner IPs (contact support for IP ranges)

Can't access domain after adding it

Cause: Domain belongs to another organization

Fix: Remove the domain from the other organization first, or verify ownership through the current organization

Need Help?

Read the Domain Verification Guide for detailed verification instructions
Contact your administrator for support
Check our FAQ for common questions