You can’t fix what you can’t see.
If your site’s cache is broken or security headers are missing, Google won’t tell you.
HTTP Header Checker is a free browser-based tool that shows you the raw HTTP response headers from any URL. You’ll see exactly what servers and CDNs send back — no fluff, no assumptions.
This matters because Googlebot reads these headers every time it crawls. Skip them, and you’re crawling blind. The real issue is that most SEOs never check headers — they assume everything’s fine until traffic drops.
Why It Matters for SEO
Missing cache headers mean Googlebot re-downloads pages needlessly. That slows your crawl budget. Google recrawls most sites every 3-7 days — if your headers force full downloads every time, you’re wasting that window.
No HSTS or missing CSP headers? Your site’s more vulnerable to attacks. Google doesn’t rank hacked sites well. Here’s what actually happens: one security breach leads to malware warnings, and rankings vanish overnight.
Most people miss that redirects leak equity when headers misfire. A 301 without a proper Location header chains incorrectly. That kills link juice. You lose control of where traffic and authority flow.
How to Use It
- Go to https://scrawl.tools/tools/http-header-checker (no login needed)
- Enter any URL — homepage, blog post, product page, whatever
- Hit “Check” and read the raw header output in seconds
It’s free. It runs in your browser. You don’t need an account.
What the Results Tell You
You’ll see status codes like 200, 301, or 404 — that’s whether the page exists or where it redirects. Check the Server header to confirm you’re on the right host. If you run WordPress on Cloudflare, but the Server says Apache alone, something’s off.
Look for Cache-Control. Values like “max-age=3600” mean the page is cached for one hour. If it’s missing or set to “no-cache”, every visit triggers a full server hit. That’s slow for users and Googlebot.
Check Content-Type — should be “text/html” for pages, “application/json” for APIs. Wrong type? Google might not render the page at all. The Vary header should include “User-Agent” if you’re serving different content to mobile. Skip it, and mobile indexing breaks.
Security headers like Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS), X-Content-Type-Options, and Content-Security-Policy? If they’re not present or misconfigured, your site’s open to exploits. Google penalizes insecure sites in SERPs.
3 Mistakes Most People Make
- They check only the homepage. That’s useless. You need to test key pages — product, blog, category — because headers are often inconsistent across templates. One broken cache rule on blog posts alone can tank crawl efficiency.
- They ignore 301 redirects. A proper 301 must return a Location header. If it doesn’t, it’s not a full redirect — it’s a trap. You’ll see a 301 but no destination. That confuses Googlebot. Test redirects with this tool or the Redirect Chain Checker.
- They assume shared hosting handles headers correctly. It doesn’t. Most low-tier hosts block custom header edits or override your .htaccess rules. You think you set cache headers, but the server ignores them. Here’s what actually happens: you waste hours optimizing images and code while headers re-download the whole page every time.
You can’t trust CMS plugins to set headers right. WordPress caching plugins often misconfigure Cache-Control or forget Vary. Test after every update.
Closing
You need to know what your server actually sends.
Check your headers now — it’s free, no login needed: HTTP Header Checker
