Security Headers Checker
Audit HTTP security headers and get a letter grade. Copy ready-made Apache, Nginx, and Cloudflare config snippets to fix issues fast. Free and instant.
# Your Site's Security Headers Are Probably Missing Your HTTP security headers are either working or they're not—and you won't know which until you check. Most sites ship without them, which means browsers don't know how to protect visitors from XSS attacks, clickjacking, or data theft. Security headers tell browsers what they're allowed to do with your content. No headers? Your site acts like it has no locks on the doors. What Is a Security Headers Checker? Security Headers Checker is a free browser-based tool that scans your domain's HTTP response headers and gives you a letter grade (A through F) based on what's missing. It audits for things like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, Strict-Transport-Security, and a dozen other headers that actually matter. The real value: it shows you exactly which headers you're missing, then gives you copy-paste fixes for Apache, Nginx, or Cloudflare. No login needed. Why It Matters for SEO Google doesn't rank you higher for security headers—that's not how this works. But here's what actually happens: a security breach tanks your traffic faster than any algorithm update. If your site gets compromised, you're flagged in search results, blacklisted by browsers, and you lose years of trust. Security headers also reduce the surface area for attackers. Content-Security-Policy alone blocks about 76% of XSS attacks before they land. Missing headers means you're exposed for no reason. The second issue is that Googlebot respects security headers when crawling your site. If your headers are misconfigured (too restrictive), the crawler might get blocked or rate-limited, which affects your indexing speed. How to Use It Go to https://scrawl.tools/tools/security-headers—no signup required. Paste your domain name (including https://) and click "Check Headers." Review your grade and copy the recommended fixes for your server type. What the Results Tell You The tool gives you a letter grade…
Read the full guideWhat is a Security Headers Checker?
The Security Headers Checker fetches the HTTP response headers for any URL and evaluates them against the current web security baseline. It checks for the presence and correctness of Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Strict-Transport-Security, Referrer-Policy, and Permissions-Policy. Each check produces a pass, warning, or fail result, and the tool assigns an overall letter grade from A to F.
When Should You Use Security Headers Checker?
Run this on your site before a launch, after a hosting or CDN migration, or any time your web server configuration changes. It is useful for security audits, client reports, and verifying that a new server environment has been hardened correctly. While security headers are not a direct ranking factor, HTTPS enforcement and mixed-content prevention can affect how pages are crawled and whether browsers flag them as insecure.
How to Read Security Headers Checker Results
A letter grade of A or B indicates a solid security posture. C and below means important headers are missing or misconfigured. Focus on critical failures first — missing HSTS on an HTTPS site, or no Content-Security-Policy on pages that handle user input or payment data, are the highest-priority issues to resolve.
What Should You Know Before Using Security Headers Checker?
The tool generates copy-paste configuration snippets for Apache, Nginx, and Cloudflare for every recommended header — use these directly rather than writing rules from scratch. If you are on managed hosting, check whether headers can be added via .htaccess or a Cloudflare Transform Rule. After making changes, re-run the checker to confirm new headers are being served correctly before marking the work done.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are HTTP security headers?
HTTP security headers are server response headers that instruct browsers how to handle a page's content. They protect against clickjacking (X-Frame-Options), cross-site scripting (Content-Security-Policy), and protocol downgrade attacks (Strict-Transport-Security). Implementing them correctly hardens site security without directly affecting SEO rankings.
What is a Content Security Policy header?
Content-Security-Policy (CSP) tells the browser which sources of scripts, styles, and images are trusted for a given page. It is the primary defence against XSS attacks, preventing malicious scripts injected via third-party plugins or ad networks from executing on your pages.
What is HSTS and why is it important?
HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) forces browsers to connect to your site over HTTPS only, eliminating the vulnerability window between an initial HTTP request and the redirect to HTTPS. Without HSTS, attackers can intercept that first request and downgrade the connection to steal data.
Do security headers affect Google rankings?
Security headers are not a direct ranking factor. However, HTTPS is a confirmed signal, and HSTS enforces it consistently. Mixed content warnings caused by missing Content-Security-Policy can prevent pages from loading correctly in Chrome, affecting user experience metrics that indirectly influence rankings.
How do I add security headers to WordPress?
The Security Headers Checker provides copy-paste config snippets for Apache, Nginx, and Cloudflare. For WordPress, add headers via .htaccess (for Apache hosting) or a plugin such as Headers & Footers by WPCode. After adding headers, re-run the checker to confirm all are being served correctly.
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