Inspect Any Site's HTTP Headers
Inspect response status codes, caching directives, security headers, and redirect destinations returned through server-side HTTP requests.
What Are HTTP Headers?
Metadata exchanged between browsers and servers with every request — containing status codes, caching policies, security flags, and more.
The Invisible Communication Layer
Every time you visit a website, your browser sends a request and the server sends back a response. Both include HTTP headers — pieces of metadata that control how the transaction is handled. Response headers tell your browser the content type, caching rules, server software, cookies, and redirect locations.
Why Headers Matter
Status codes (200, 301, 404) help search engines determine whether a page is accessible or has moved. Caching directives guide how modern browsers and proxies cache content, and security configurations like HSTS help enforce encryption.
Debugging & Security
Developers use headers to debug API responses, inspect Content-Type, troubleshoot cookies, and verify security headers (CSP, X-Frame-Options, HSTS) are properly configured.
How This Tool Works
Our server makes a HEAD request to the target URL and returns the response headers. This means the target server sees our server's IP address rather than yours, letting you inspect response metadata without fetching the entire page body.
HTTP Headers Checker
Enter the full URL including https://. The server request is initiated from our backend rather than your browser.
Privacy note: Submitted URLs are processed in memory to run the query and are not stored in our application database. Standard server security and monitoring logs may still apply.
HTTP Status Codes — What Each Means
The first line of every HTTP response. Grouped by category.
| Code | Name | What It Means | Technical Description & Usage Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | SUCCESS OK | Request succeeded. Page found and content returned. | Successful response. A 200 status alone does not guarantee search indexing. |
| 201 | SUCCESS Created | Request succeeded and a new resource was created. | Common for API POST requests. Not seen on regular page loads. |
| 204 | SUCCESS No Content | Request succeeded but no content to return. | Used for API responses. No page content for search engines. |
| 301 | REDIRECT Moved Permanently | Page has permanently moved to a new URL (in Location header). | Use for permanent URL moves. Google uses permanent redirects as a signal that the destination should become canonical. |
| 302 | REDIRECT Found (Temporary) | Page temporarily moved. Original URL should still be used. | Signals a temporary move. Google generally treats the original URL as the preferred URL, although other canonicalization signals can influence the result. |
| 304 | REDIRECT Not Modified | Content hasn't changed since last request. Browser uses cached version. | Good for performance. Search engines handle this correctly. |
| 307 | REDIRECT Temporary Redirect | Like 302 but guarantees the HTTP method (POST stays POST). | Temporary redirect that preserves the original HTTP method and request body. |
| 308 | REDIRECT Permanent Redirect | Like 301 but guarantees the HTTP method is preserved. | Permanent redirect that preserves the original HTTP method and request body. |
| 400 | CLIENT ERROR Bad Request | Server couldn't understand the request due to malformed syntax. | Usually a client-side bug or malformed URL. Fix the request. |
| 401 | CLIENT ERROR Unauthorized | Authentication required to access the resource. | Protected content. Search engines can't index without credentials. |
| 403 | CLIENT ERROR Forbidden | Server understood request but refuses to authorize it. | Access denied. Check permissions, .htaccess rules, or WAF blocks. |
| 404 | CLIENT ERROR Not Found | Server can't find the requested resource. | The requested resource was not found. Fix broken internal links and handle removed pages appropriately. |
| 410 | CLIENT ERROR Gone | Resource permanently removed and won't come back. | Use when the resource has been permanently removed with no replacement, signaling that the resource is permanently unavailable and should be removed from search results when appropriate. |
| 429 | CLIENT ERROR Too Many Requests | Rate limit exceeded. Client sent too many requests. | Rate limiting active. Search engine bots may be throttled. |
| 500 | SERVER ERROR Internal Server Error | Generic server error. Something went wrong on the server. | Search engines cannot index pages experiencing server faults. Check error logs. |
| 502 | SERVER ERROR Bad Gateway | Server acting as gateway received invalid response from upstream. | Often a proxy/CDN issue. Check origin server health. |
| 503 | SERVER ERROR Service Unavailable | Server temporarily unavailable (overload or maintenance). | Temporary. Search engines will retry. Use with Retry-After header for planned maintenance. |
| 504 | SERVER ERROR Gateway Timeout | Server acting as gateway didn't receive timely response from upstream. | Origin server too slow. Check server performance and timeouts. |
Important Headers to Check
Key response headers that affect security, performance, and configuration.
Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS)
Instructs browsers to only use HTTPS for future visits to prevent downgrade attacks. Recommended: max-age=31536000. Only use the includeSubDomains directive if all subdomains support HTTPS.
Content-Security-Policy (CSP)
Controls which resources the browser is allowed to load. Acts as an important defense-in-depth control against cross-site scripting (XSS) and unauthorized asset execution.
X-Frame-Options
Prevents your page from being embedded in iframes on other sites to protect against clickjacking attacks. Recommended: DENY or SAMEORIGIN.
X-Content-Type-Options
Prevents browsers from MIME-sniffing the content type. Forces the browser to respect the declared Content-Type. Recommended: nosniff.
Cache-Control
Cache-Control controls how responses may be cached by browsers and intermediary caches. max-age sets the cache lifespan in seconds.
Location
Present on 3xx redirects. Contains the URL the browser should redirect to. Verify this points to the correct destination.
Content-Type
Declares the MIME type of the response (e.g., text/html; charset=UTF-8). Ensures the browser renders content correctly. Missing charset can cause encoding issues.
Set-Cookie
Sets cookies on the client. Should include Secure (HTTPS only), HttpOnly (no JS access), and SameSite attributes for security.
Want to Understand HTTP Headers More Deeply?
We published a beginner-friendly guide explaining what HTTP headers are, how request and response headers work, important security headers, common examples, and how to check any website's HTTP headers.
📘 Read HTTP Headers Guide →Honest by Design — What This Tool Does and Doesn't Do
This tool fetches HTTP response headers from our server. Here is exactly what it does and does not do:
- ✓ Fetches response headers via HEAD request from our server.
- ✓ Target site receives the request from our server instead of your browser.
- ✓ Shows status code, returned headers, and includes one-click copying.
- ✓ Allows downloading the header report as a .txt file.
- ✓ Does not follow redirects automatically — you see the redirect response itself.
- ✓ Does not bypass WAFs or security measures — some sites may block our requests.
This tool does
- Fetch HTTP response headers
- Show status code with color coding
- One-click copy for each header value
- Download report as .txt
- Request is sent from our server
- Handle HTTPS and HTTP URLs
This tool does not
- Follow redirects automatically
- Bypass WAFs or security measures
- Fetch request headers (only response)
- Store the URLs you check
- Modify the target server in any way
- Require an account or API key
How to Use This HTTP Headers Checker
Four steps from URL to header analysis.
Enter URL
Paste the full URL including https://. Our server will fetch the headers.
Click Get Headers
Our server makes a HEAD request and returns response headers.
Analyze results
Review status code, copy individual header values, or download the report.
Take action
Fix redirects, add missing security headers, or optimize cache policies.
Common Results and What They Mean
Understanding the different outcomes when checking headers.
200 OK with Headers
Standard successful response with headers.
What to check: Verify security headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options) are present and Cache-Control is configured for performance.
301/302 Redirect
URL redirects to a new location (shown in Location header).
What to check: Verify the redirect destination is correct. Use 301 for permanent moves, 302 for temporary.
403 Forbidden
Server refused the request — access denied.
Causes: WAF blocking our server IP, .htaccess rules, or IP-based access control. The site is protecting itself from automated tools.
404 Not Found
The requested URL doesn't exist on the server.
Fix: Check the URL spelling. If this is your site, redirect the 404 URL to a relevant page or return 410 Gone for permanently removed content.
500 Internal Server Error
Something went wrong on the target server.
Fix: The site is experiencing issues. Check server error logs. This requires developer attention.
Timeout / Connection Failed
Our server couldn't reach the target.
Causes: Site is down, DNS doesn't resolve, or the server is blocking our IP range. Try again later or check if the URL is correct.
When to Use This HTTP Headers Checker
Use the tool for these common scenarios.
HTTP Headers Checker FAQs
Answers based strictly on what this tool does and how HTTP headers work.
What is this tool used for?
It fetches and displays HTTP response headers sent by a web server for any given URL. Use it to check status codes, verify redirects, inspect security headers, analyze cache policies, and debug server responses.
Is this service free?
Yes. The tool is free to use and does not require an account or registration. Rate limits are in place to ensure fair access and prevent abuse.
Does the target website see my IP address?
Normally, the target website sees our server's outbound IP address rather than your personal IP address. The request is initiated from our backend, though our service may process the visitor's IP temporarily for rate limiting and abuse prevention.
Why can't I get headers for some websites?
Some websites use WAFs (Web Application Firewalls) like Cloudflare, Akamai, or Imperva that block requests from known hosting IP ranges. Additionally, some servers do not support or may misconfigure HEAD requests; this tool queries via HTTP HEAD rather than GET.
Does the tool follow redirects?
No — we show you the redirect response itself (301, 302, etc.) with the Location header telling you where it redirects to. This is intentional so you can verify redirect chains. Check the destination URL separately to see its headers.
What's the difference between request and response headers?
Request headers are sent by your browser to the server (User-Agent, Accept, Cookie). Response headers are sent by the server back to your browser (Content-Type, Cache-Control, Set-Cookie). This tool shows response headers only.
Which security headers are commonly recommended?
Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS), X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff, X-Frame-Options, and Content-Security-Policy are widely recommended. The exact configuration depends heavily on your site's architecture.
Are the URLs I check stored?
No. Submitted URLs are processed to fetch the headers and are not stored in our application database. Temporary rate-limit records are kept separately for abuse prevention and do not contain the submitted URL.