diff --git a/backend/app.py b/backend/app.py
index 1d18327..3ae2532 100644
--- a/backend/app.py
+++ b/backend/app.py
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@ from .woo import (
     WooConnectionError,
     WooCredentialsMissing,
     WooError,
+    WooForbiddenError,
 )
 
 
@@ -218,6 +219,8 @@ async def test_woo() -> dict[str, Any]:
         result = taxonomy_mod.sync(client, get_connection())
     except WooAuthError as e:
         return {"ok": False, "detail": f"auth rejected by store: {e}", "taxonomy_anchor": None, "taxonomy_last_sync_at": None}
+    except WooForbiddenError as e:
+        return {"ok": False, "detail": f"request blocked by store (403): {e}", "taxonomy_anchor": None, "taxonomy_last_sync_at": None}
     except WooConnectionError as e:
         return {"ok": False, "detail": f"store unreachable: {e}", "taxonomy_anchor": None, "taxonomy_last_sync_at": None}
     except WooError as e:
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_woo.py b/backend/tests/test_woo.py
index 038c2a6..ac6f432 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_woo.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_woo.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from backend.woo import (
     WooClient,
     WooConnectionError,
     WooCredentialsMissing,
+    WooForbiddenError,
     WooServerError,
 )
 from backend import taxonomy as taxonomy_mod
@@ -138,3 +139,25 @@ def test_anchor_stable_across_identical_syncs(db_dir):
     c2, _ = _client([cats, tags, attrs])
     r2 = taxonomy_mod.sync(c2, db_mod.get_connection())
     assert r1["taxonomy_anchor"] == r2["taxonomy_anchor"]
+
+
+def test_403_raises_forbidden_error(db_dir):
+    def fake_request(url, method, data, headers):
+        raise WooForbiddenError("request forbidden (403)")
+
+    c = WooClient("admin", "secret", "https://store.example.com", request=fake_request)
+    with pytest.raises(WooForbiddenError):
+        c.get_categories()
+
+
+def test_requests_include_user_agent(db_dir):
+    seen_headers = {}
+
+    def fake_request(url, method, data, headers):
+        seen_headers.update(headers)
+        return 200, {"X-WP-TotalPages": "1"}, b"[]"
+
+    c = WooClient("admin", "secret", "https://store.example.com", request=fake_request)
+    c.get_categories()
+    assert "User-Agent" in seen_headers
+    assert "SlabUploader" in seen_headers["User-Agent"]
diff --git a/backend/woo.py b/backend/woo.py
index 184f505..d1eb557 100644
--- a/backend/woo.py
+++ b/backend/woo.py
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ from typing import Any, Callable
 
 from .crypto import DecryptError, decrypt
 
+# WordPress security plugins (Wordfence, WAF, CDN) commonly block the default
+# Python-urllib User-Agent with 403. Send a descriptive one.
+_USER_AGENT = "SlabUploader/1.0 (+https://www.whidbeywoodstore.com)"
+
 
 class WooError(Exception):
     """Base for all Woo client failures."""
@@ -26,6 +30,10 @@ class WooAuthError(WooError):
     """The store rejected the credentials (401)."""
 
 
+class WooForbiddenError(WooError):
+    """The store blocked the request (403) — usually a security plugin or WAF."""
+
+
 class WooNotFoundError(WooError):
     pass
 
@@ -54,6 +62,8 @@ def _default_request(url: str, method: str, data: bytes | None, headers: dict[st
         msg = parsed.get("message") if isinstance(parsed, dict) else None
         if e.code == 401:
             raise WooAuthError(msg or "authentication rejected (401)") from e
+        if e.code == 403:
+            raise WooForbiddenError(msg or "request forbidden (403)") from e
         if e.code == 404:
             raise WooNotFoundError(msg or "not found (404)") from e
         raise WooServerError(f"server error {e.code}: {msg}") from e
@@ -90,7 +100,11 @@ class WooClient:
         url = f"{self.base_url}/wp-json/wc/v3{path}"
         return self._request(
             url, "GET", None,
-            {"Authorization": f"Basic {self._auth}", "Accept": "application/json"},
+            {
+                "Authorization": f"Basic {self._auth}",
+                "Accept": "application/json",
+                "User-Agent": _USER_AGENT,
+            },
         )
 
     def _fetch_all(self, path: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
@@ -132,6 +146,7 @@ class WooClient:
             {
                 "Authorization": f"Basic {self._auth}",
                 "Content-Type": f"multipart/form-data; boundary={boundary}",
+                "User-Agent": _USER_AGENT,
             },
         )
         if code not in (200, 201):