HTTP Headers Checker

UpMonitor's HTTP Status Checker tests your website's response codes, redirect chains, and server latency. It verify if your server is returning the correct status codes (200 OK, 301 Redirect, 404 Not Found) and detects redirect loops. Results are delivered in under 3 seconds. Free to use — no signup or login required.

Inspect the HTTP response of any URL — status codes, redirect chains, and response headers — instantly.

What is HTTP?

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the protocol that powers the web. Every time a browser requests a URL, the server responds with a status code and a set of HTTP headers. These determine whether the request succeeded, whether the client is being redirected, how long to cache the response, and dozens of other behaviours that affect performance, security, and SEO.

What Our HTTP Checker Inspects

✅ HTTP Status Code

Reports the exact HTTP status code returned by your endpoint.

Status Code	Meaning
200 OK	Request successful — page is live
301 Moved Permanently	Permanent redirect — passes SEO equity
302 Found	Temporary redirect — does not pass SEO equity
400 Bad Request	Malformed request
401 Unauthorized	Authentication required
403 Forbidden	Access denied
404 Not Found	Page does not exist
500 Internal Server Error	Server-side crash
503 Service Unavailable	Server overloaded or in maintenance

✅ Redirect Chain Analysis

If your URL redirects, we follow every hop and show the complete chain. Excessive or incorrect redirects waste crawl budget and add latency for every user.

Example of a problematic chain:
http://example.com → http://www.example.com → https://www.example.com
This is a 2-hop chain. Ideally it should be a single redirect.

✅ Response Time (TTFB)

Measures Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond. High TTFB (>500ms) indicates slow server processing, database queries, or lack of caching.

✅ Response Headers

Displays all HTTP headers returned by your server, including content type, caching directives, server information, and more.

✅ HTTPS Enforcement

Verifies that HTTP requests are correctly redirected to HTTPS. Not enforcing HTTPS leaves users vulnerable and harms search rankings.

Critical HTTP Headers to Audit

Header	Purpose	Ideal Value
Content-Type	Declares content type	text/html; charset=UTF-8
Cache-Control	Caching strategy	public, max-age=31536000 for static assets
Content-Encoding	Compression	gzip or br (Brotli)
Location	Redirect destination	Correct absolute URL
Server	Server software	Should be minimised (security)
Vary	Cache differentiation	Correctly set for CDN behaviour

Common HTTP Issues & How to Fix Them

HTTP not redirecting to HTTPS

Add a permanent redirect in your server configuration:

## Nginx
server {
  listen 80;
  return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

Redirect Loop (ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS)

Your server is redirecting to itself. Check your redirect rules for circular logic. Common cause: a misconfigured HTTPS force-redirect behind a load balancer that strips SSL — use X-Forwarded-Proto to detect the original protocol.

Slow TTFB (>500ms)

Enable server-side caching (Redis, Memcached), implement a CDN, optimise database queries, or upgrade server resources.

Unnecessary Redirect Hops

Combine all redirects into a single 301. Every redirect adds latency and reduces SEO value.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Time to First Byte (TTFB)?

TTFB is the time elapsed between the browser's request and the receipt of the first byte of data from the server. It is a key indicator of server responsiveness and backend efficiency.

How many redirect hops are too many?

Ideally, every redirect should be a single hop. While Google and browsers follow up to 5-10 hops, every extra hop adds significant latency and increases the risk of a broken chain.

Should I use 301 or 308 for permanent redirects?

Both are for permanent moves. 301 is the traditional choice, but 308 (Permanent Redirect) is the modern standard that ensures the request method (GET/POST) remains unchanged after the redirect.

What does a 403 Forbidden error mean?

A 403 error means your server understood the request but refuses to authorize it. This is usually due to file permissions, IP blocking, or security rules in a Web Application Firewall (WAF).

Continuous HTTP Monitoring

A one-time check only tells you the state of your site right now. With UpMonitor, you can continuously monitor HTTP status and detect problems the moment they occur:

• ✅ Get alerted within minutes of your site returning a 5xx error
• ✅ Detect unexpected redirects or redirect chain changes
• ✅ Track TTFB trends over time to spot gradual performance degradation
• ✅ Configure checks from multiple global regions

Start monitoring for free — no credit card required →