Planning Your CSP Implementation

Before adding any headers, successful CSP implementation begins with thorough planning. Understanding your application's resource requirements, third-party dependencies, and security goals helps create a policy that balances protection with functionality. This planning phase prevents common pitfalls and reduces the time needed for deployment.

Start by creating an implementation roadmap:

// CSP Implementation Checklist
const implementationPlan = {
    phase1: {
        name: "Discovery and Audit",
        duration: "1-2 weeks",
        tasks: [
            "Inventory all resource types",
            "Document third-party dependencies",
            "Identify inline scripts and styles",
            "Map API endpoints and WebSocket connections",
            "Review current security vulnerabilities"
        ]
    },
    phase2: {
        name: "Policy Development",
        duration: "1-2 weeks",
        tasks: [
            "Create initial permissive policy",
            "Deploy in report-only mode",
            "Collect and analyze violation reports",
            "Refine policy based on findings",
            "Test in staging environment"
        ]
    },
    phase3: {
        name: "Production Deployment",
        duration: "2-4 weeks",
        tasks: [
            "Gradual rollout to production",
            "Monitor for violations",
            "Address legitimate violations",
            "Tighten policy progressively",
            "Document final configuration"
        ]
    }
};