HTTP Status Code Checker
Check HTTP status codes, response headers, and redirect chains for any website. Supports batch checking of up to 50 URLs. See response time, security status, and server information instantly. No signup required.
⏱ 8 min read · Complete guide below
How to Use HTTP Status Checker
- 1Choose "Single URL" mode for one website or "Batch Check" for up to 50 URLs.
- 2Enter your URL(s). You can use just the domain name (google.com) or include the protocol (https://google.com). Missing protocol defaults to HTTPS.
- 3Click "Check Status" (single) or "Check All URLs" (batch). The tool makes real HTTP requests to your website(s) and retrieves live data.
- 4Review results: status code, response time, redirect chain (if any), and response headers. For batch results, see a table with all URLs and their statuses.
HTTP Status Checker Features
The HTTP Status Checker provides comprehensive website diagnostics for developers, DevOps teams, and site owners.
Key Features
Status Code Detection
Instantly see the HTTP status code returned by any website. Codes are color-coded by category: green for success (2xx), blue for redirects (3xx), orange for client errors (4xx), red for server errors (5xx).
Redirect Chain Analysis
See the complete chain of redirects from initial URL to final destination. Identify unnecessary redirects that slow down your site. Each redirect shows the status code and next URL.
Response Headers Inspection
View important response headers: Content-Type, Content-Length, Server, Cache-Control, CORS headers, and more. Expand to see all 50+ headers returned by the server.
Response Time Measurement
Get precise millisecond response times for each request. Slow response times indicate server performance issues. Track performance improvements and monitor uptime.
Security Status Check
Immediately see if a website uses HTTPS (secure) or HTTP (insecure). HTTPS is essential for user trust and SEO rankings. Identify outdated sites still using HTTP.
Batch URL Checking
Check up to 50 URLs simultaneously. Paste a list of domains and get a summary table with status codes, response times, and categories. Perfect for monitoring multiple sites or auditing links.
Common Use Cases
Link Auditing
Developers audit links on their site to ensure none are broken (404 errors). Batch check all links in your footer, navigation, or blog to catch dead links before users do.
Redirect Optimization
After migrating domains or restructuring URLs, check redirect chains to ensure they're efficient. Too many hops slow down page load and hurt SEO. Identify and simplify redirect chains.
Performance Monitoring
Track response times for your site and competitors. Slow response times (300+ms) indicate server issues or poor hosting. Use this tool to debug performance before it impacts users.
API Endpoint Testing
Before integrating with an API, verify endpoints return correct status codes. Check that your API returns 200 for success, 404 for not found, and 500 for server errors as expected.
The Request-Response Cycle in Brief
Every time you visit a web page, a conversation happens in milliseconds. Your browser sends an HTTP request to a server — naming a method (usually GET to fetch a page), the URL, and some headers — and the server sends back an HTTP response. That response opens with a status line containing the three-digit status code, the number this tool reports, which is the server's one-glance summary of what happened. After it come the response headers (metadata about the content and how to handle it) and usually a body (the HTML, image, or data itself).
The status code is the single most important signal in that exchange because it tells you, before you even look at the content, whether the request succeeded, was redirected, or failed — and if it failed, whose fault it was. Learning to read status codes is therefore one of the most useful diagnostic skills in web development, and a checker that surfaces the code, the redirect chain, and the headers together lets you see the whole conversation at once.
A Tour of the Status Code Families
Status codes are organised into five families by their first digit, and knowing the pattern lets you interpret almost any code on sight. The 2xx (success) family means it worked — 200 OK is the everyday “here is your page,” while 201 Created and 204 No Content appear in APIs. The 3xx (redirection) family means “the thing you want is elsewhere”: 301 (moved permanently) and 302 (found/temporary) are the ones you meet constantly, and the difference between them matters enormously for SEO.
The 4xx (client error) family means you (the requester) got something wrong: 404 Not Found is the famous one, alongside 400 Bad Request, 401 Unauthorized and 403 Forbidden (authentication and permission problems), and 429 Too Many Requests (rate limiting). The 5xx (server error) family means the server failed even though your request was fine — 500 Internal Server Error for an unexpected crash, 502 Bad Gateway and 503 Service Unavailable for infrastructure problems. The quick mental model: 2xx good, 3xx moved, 4xx your mistake, 5xx their mistake. That alone tells you which direction to start debugging.
Why Status Codes Matter for SEO and Monitoring
Beyond debugging, status codes have real consequences for search rankings and site reliability. The 301-versus-302 distinction is a classic SEO trap: a 301 tells search engines the move is permanent and to transfer the old page's ranking value to the new URL, whereas a 302 says “temporary, keep indexing the old one.” Using a 302 for a permanent domain or URL migration can silently sabotage your rankings, which is why checking that your redirects return the intended code is a standard part of any site move. Redirect chains matter too: each hop adds a round trip that slows page load, so collapsing a chain of three redirects to one improves both speed and SEO.
For site owners and DevOps teams, status codes are the backbone of monitoring. A broken link somewhere on your site returns a 404 that frustrates users and wastes crawl budget; a sudden wave of 5xx errors signals an outage in progress. This is why teams run automated checks that watch for anything other than the expected 2xx and alert when a page starts returning errors — catching problems before users report them. Batch-checking a list of URLs is exactly this kind of audit: verify that your important pages return 200, that your redirects return 301, and that nothing critical has quietly started returning a 404 or 500. Pair the status code with the response time and the redirect chain, and you have a fast, honest picture of a site's health.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an HTTP status code?
An HTTP status code is a three-digit number that a web server returns to describe the result of an HTTP request. Status codes are grouped by category: 2xx (success), 3xx (redirect), 4xx (client error), and 5xx (server error). For example, 200 OK means the request succeeded, while 404 Not Found means the resource doesn't exist.
What is a redirect chain and why does it matter?
A redirect chain occurs when a URL redirects to another URL, which redirects again, and so on. While a single redirect (301/302) is normal and acceptable, long redirect chains slow down page loading because the browser must make multiple round trips to the server before reaching the final destination. This impacts both user experience and SEO rankings. Ideal practice is to minimize redirects to one or two hops.
What do the different status code ranges mean?
2xx Success — The request succeeded (200 OK, 201 Created, 204 No Content). 3xx Redirect — The resource has moved (301 Permanent, 302 Temporary, 307 Temporary). 4xx Client Error — The request was invalid or the resource not found (400 Bad Request, 404 Not Found, 401 Unauthorized). 5xx Server Error — The server failed to fulfill the request (500 Internal Error, 502 Bad Gateway, 503 Unavailable).
Why do I need to check HTTP headers?
Response headers provide important information about how to handle the response: Content-Type tells you what kind of data is being sent (HTML, JSON, etc.), Cache-Control determines if/how long a response can be cached, Content-Length shows file size, Server identifies the web server software, and security headers like X-Frame-Options protect against attacks. Checking headers helps diagnose issues and verify security configuration.
What is HTTPS vs HTTP and why is it important?
HTTP is unencrypted, meaning data can be intercepted by attackers. HTTPS uses TLS encryption to protect data in transit. The lock icon in your browser indicates a secure HTTPS connection. For any site collecting personal data, passwords, or payments, HTTPS is essential. Even for public content, HTTPS is now recommended for SEO and user trust.
Can I check multiple websites at once?
Yes! Switch to "Batch Check" mode and paste up to 50 URLs (one per line). The tool will check all of them concurrently and show results in a table with status codes, response times, and categories. This is useful for monitoring multiple sites or checking a list of links for broken pages.
Why does my website return 302 instead of 301?
301 (Moved Permanently) tells search engines the content has permanently moved and they should update their index. 302 (Found) is temporary—the content may return. For permanent redirects (domain migrations, URL structure changes), use 301. For temporary changes, use 302 or 307. Using the wrong code can hurt SEO and confuse search engine crawlers.
What is a CORS header and why does my API return one?
CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) headers control which websites can access your API. The Access-Control-Allow-Origin header specifies which domains are permitted (e.g., * for all, or specific domains). APIs use CORS for security—without it, any website could access your API. Browsers enforce CORS, so even if your server allows it, the browser blocks requests without proper headers.