HTTP Headers Viewer

Use our free HTTP Headers Viewer to inspect how a public website responds to an HTTP request. Enter a website address to check its response status, examine returned HTTP headers, identify redirects, and review information related to caching and browser security.

The checker sends a request from the NetTools Pakistan hosting server. This helps website owners, developers, SEO professionals, and hosting administrators investigate how a website responds to an external request.

Website diagnostics
HTTP Headers Viewer
Inspect the response status, redirects and HTTP headers returned to our website's server by a public website.

Website URL

Public HTTP or HTTPS websites only. Do not enter private links or URLs containing access tokens. Checks originate from this site's hosting server.
How to use this HTTP headers checker
Enter a public website address and select View headers. The checker makes an HTTP HEAD request, follows up to three public redirects and displays the last response. It does not download the page body or test your home connection.
What do the headers mean?
Content-Type
Indicates the type of content the server says it provides, such as HTML or JSON.
Cache-Control
Contains instructions for browsers and caches on storing and reusing responses.
Strict-Transport-Security
Can instruct compliant browsers to prefer HTTPS for that host.
Content-Security-Policy
Can limit the sources of content that a browser is allowed to load.
Location
Identifies a destination for a redirect response.
Server
May identify web server software, although websites can hide or alter it.
A missing header is not proof of a security problem. Some websites block automated or HEAD requests, and values can differ by path, location, cookies and request method.

Why Check Website HTTP Headers?

HTTP response headers provide information about how a website communicates with browsers, search engine crawlers, caching systems, and other HTTP clients.

They can help you investigate several common website issues.

Website accessibility: Check whether a URL returns a successful response, a redirect, or an error.
Redirect configuration: Examine HTTP-to-HTTPS redirects and changes between www and non-www addresses.
Caching behavior: Review instructions that influence how browsers and intermediary caches may store responses.
Security configuration: Look for headers associated with browser security policies.
Hosting troubleshooting: Identify response information that may be useful when investigating server or content delivery network (CDN) configuration.

For example, after moving a WordPress website to HTTPS, you can separately check its HTTP and HTTPS addresses to see whether the server returns the expected redirect and final response.

Understanding HTTP Status Codes

An HTTP status code indicates how a server handled a particular request.

Status code	What it generally means
200 OK	The request completed successfully.
301 Moved Permanently	The resource has been assigned a permanent new URL.
302 Found	The resource is temporarily available at another URL.
403 Forbidden	The server refuses to provide access.
404 Not Found	The requested resource was not found.
405 Method Not Allowed	The server does not permit the requested HTTP method.
500 Internal Server Error	The server encountered an unexpected condition.
502 Bad Gateway	A gateway or proxy received an invalid response from an upstream server.
503 Service Unavailable	The server is temporarily unable to handle the request.

A 200 response is encouraging, but it does not establish that the entire website works correctly. The page may still have broken scripts, missing images, application errors, or problems affecting certain visitors.

Similarly, a 403 or 405 response from this checker does not automatically mean the website is offline. Some services restrict automated requests or the HTTP HEAD method used by this tool.

How to Interpret Your Website’s Results

Check redirects after a website migration

If you recently changed your domain, installed an SSL certificate, or moved your website from HTTP to HTTPS, test both the old and new addresses.

Look at the redirect chain and check whether the final destination is the intended page. Unnecessary redirect steps can complicate website maintenance, while an unexpected destination may indicate a configuration problem.

The viewer follows a limited number of redirects, so particularly long chains may require additional investigation.

Review caching headers

Caching instructions can affect how browsers and shared caches reuse website responses.

For example, Cache-Control may contain directives such as max-age, private, or no-store.

These values describe caching rules, but a single response does not establish whether every browser or CDN actually caches a page. Check the relevant website path and hosting configuration before making changes.

Review security-related headers

Headers such as Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security can support browser security controls when correctly configured.

Their presence alone does not guarantee website security, and their absence from one response does not prove that a website is vulnerable. Security assessment requires examining the policy values, application behavior, and relevant server configuration.

Important Limitations of This HTTP Headers Checker

The NetTools Pakistan HTTP Headers Viewer makes server-side HEAD requests rather than downloading and analyzing complete webpages.

This means the tool does not inspect page content, verify JavaScript functionality, measure Core Web Vitals, or perform a complete website security audit.

The following limitations also apply:

Only public HTTP and HTTPS website domains are supported.
Private network addresses, direct IP-address targets, and unsupported ports are not accepted.
The checker follows up to three redirects.
Sensitive authentication-related response values are hidden from the displayed results.
Some results may be temporarily cached, so repeating a check may not immediately produce a new request.
Website responses can differ depending on request method, visitor location, authentication, CDN routing, and server configuration.

Privacy reminder: Do not submit private, signed, or token-containing URLs. Checks are performed by the NetTools Pakistan server, which sends the requested URL to the destination website.

Is This a Website Speed Test?

No. An HTTP Headers Viewer and an internet speed test serve different purposes.

This tool examines HTTP response information returned to the NetTools Pakistan server. Its request-time measurement describes that server-side operation, including redirects when applicable.

It does not measure your broadband download speed, upload speed, Wi-Fi signal strength, or the overall performance of your internet service provider.

If you are troubleshooting a slow website, HTTP headers can help investigate redirects and caching settings. However, you may also need browser developer tools, server logs, and separate performance measurements to identify the cause.

A Practical Way to Check Your Website

Start with your homepage URL and review its response status. Then check an important internal page, particularly one that has recently changed or produced errors.

If you recently modified redirects, caching, or security settings, compare the returned headers with your intended configuration. Remember that a successful response to a HEAD request is only one part of a complete website check.

For technical reference, see Mozilla’s documentation on HTTP response status codes and the HTTP HEAD method.