Check HTTP headers and redirects for any URL instantly — no curl, no terminal, no technical setup required. The tool sends a real GET request from our server and returns the full redirect chain, the final status code, and all significant response headers. It's the first step when diagnosing SEO issues, auditing caching configuration, or verifying your site's security setup.
How to use the tool
- Enter the full URL of the page you want to inspect, including the protocol (https://).
- Click "Check" — the request is made from our infrastructure, so browser cache and local network settings don't affect the result.
- Review the output: each redirect hop is displayed as a separate row with its own status code and response headers.
The tool follows all hops until the final destination and does not stop at the first 301.
What the results show
After the check you'll see a structured report broken into several areas:
- Status code — 200, 301, 302, 404, 500, and others. Red codes flag issues that need immediate attention.
- Redirect chain — the full path from the original URL to the final destination, with a status code at each hop. A long chain signals PageRank dilution and slower load times.
- Cache-Control — caching directives such as no-store, max-age, and must-revalidate. These directly affect repeat-visit performance and server load.
- Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS) — protects against connection downgrade attacks. A missing HSTS header is a potential security gap.
- Content-Type — document type and charset. An incorrect charset causes rendering issues and can disrupt proper indexing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between 301 and 302?
A 301 (Moved Permanently) tells search engines that the page has moved for good — link equity is passed to the new URL. A 302 (Found) is a temporary redirect: the crawler continues indexing the original URL. Using 302 instead of 301 for a permanent move is one of the most common SEO mistakes and causes rankings to stagnate at the old address.
Why are long redirect chains bad for SEO?
Every extra hop increases response time and consumes crawl budget. Googlebot and other crawlers cut off chains after a few steps — your final destination page may simply never get indexed. The ideal setup is a single direct redirect from the old URL to the new one, with no intermediate stops.
What is HSTS and why should I check it?
HTTP Strict Transport Security is a response header that instructs browsers never to load the site over HTTP after the first HTTPS visit. Without it, a user following an old HTTP link may briefly connect over an unencrypted channel. Search engines also treat HSTS as a trust signal when evaluating a site's security posture.
Does the tool check mobile headers?
Requests are made with a desktop User-Agent. If your server returns different redirects for mobile devices (via Vary: User-Agent), you'll need a separate check with a mobile agent — this matters especially for sites that serve separate m.site.com and www.site.com versions.
Want to go deeper? Read the complete guide to HTTP headers and redirects for SEO.