The term "data transmission along with loading a webpage over HTTP" isn’t often encountered, though some people use it. So, let’s break down what HTTP headers are without boring, monotonous text.
What are HTTP headers?
HTTP headers are system data transmitted alongside the loading of a target webpage.
These headers can include cache data, language, operating system information, referrer, request scheme, request method, compression data, and more.
In other words, HTTP headers are an additional layer of data exchange over the HTTP protocol.
Why do we need them?
It’s a reasonable question. The answer is both simple and complex. In the promotion of large websites, we often encounter the need for proper configuration of HTTP headers, especially when managing multiple redirects. In this article, we’ll skip the theory and focus on a practical example.
To view HTTP headers, you can simply open the developer tools in your browser:
You might come across the following HTTP headers:
- Lang - language version of the site;
- Referer - the source of the referral;
- Scheme - HTTP protocol scheme;
- Date - the current date;
- Expires - the date after which the page data is considered outdated;
- Last Modified - the date the page was last modified;
- Server - description of the server software;
- Cache-control - cache control instructions for the browser;
- Request URL - the URL being viewed;
- Content type - the type of content;
- Remote address - the IP address of the server;
- Request Method - the type of request;
- Location - the URL where a redirect is taking place, if applicable;
- Cookie - contains saved HTTP cookies previously sent by the Set-Cookie header;
- Host - defines the host (domain) and the server’s port number receiving the request;
- Status Code - the status of the URL’s processing.
There are many other parameters you might encounter, but these are the most useful and important.
These headers are necessary in certain cases for SEO, analytics, and other technical aspects of website promotion. For a deeper understanding of the technical side of websites, you can also check out our previous article about website cookies.
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