Free HTTP/2 Checker — Test If Your Website Supports HTTP/2 Protocol

What Is an HTTP/2 Checker?

An HTTP/2 checker tests whether a website's server supports the HTTP/2 protocol — the modern, faster version of HTTP that significantly improves web performance. HTTP/2 was standardized in 2015 as a major upgrade over HTTP/1.1, introducing features like multiplexing, header compression, and server push that make websites load faster.

Use our free tool to instantly check if any website supports HTTP/2 and is taking advantage of these performance benefits.

Why HTTP/2 Matters for Website Performance & SEO

Page speed is a confirmed Google ranking factor, and HTTP/2 is one of the easiest ways to improve it:

• Multiplexing — Multiple requests and responses can travel over a single TCP connection simultaneously, eliminating the head-of-line blocking problem in HTTP/1.1
• Header Compression (HPACK) — Reduces overhead by compressing HTTP headers, saving bandwidth on every request
• Server Push — Allows the server to proactively send resources (CSS, JS) before the browser even requests them
• Binary Protocol — More efficient parsing compared to HTTP/1.1's text-based format
• Stream Prioritization — Browsers can indicate which resources are most important, loading critical content first

HTTP/2 vs HTTP/1.1 — Key Differences

• Connections: HTTP/1.1 opens multiple TCP connections (typically 6 per domain); HTTP/2 uses a single multiplexed connection
• Headers: HTTP/1.1 sends headers as plain text every time; HTTP/2 compresses them and avoids redundant headers
• Loading: HTTP/1.1 loads resources sequentially per connection; HTTP/2 loads them in parallel over one connection
• Security: While not technically required, all major browsers only support HTTP/2 over HTTPS (TLS)

How to Use the HTTP/2 Checker

1. Enter the website URL you want to test in the input field
2. Click Submit to run the HTTP/2 protocol check
3. View the results showing whether the server supports HTTP/2
4. If HTTP/2 is not supported, consider upgrading your web server or hosting provider

Common Use Cases

• Performance audits — Verify your website uses the latest protocol for optimal speed
• Hosting evaluation — Check if your hosting provider supports HTTP/2 before migrating
• Competitor analysis — See if competitor sites are using HTTP/2 for a speed advantage
• SEO optimization — Ensure your server configuration supports modern web standards
• Post-migration checks — Confirm HTTP/2 is active after server changes or CDN setup

How to Enable HTTP/2 on Your Server

• Nginx: Add listen 443 ssl http2; to your server block (requires SSL)
• Apache: Enable mod_http2 and add Protocols h2 h2c http/1.1 to your config
• CDN (Cloudflare, AWS CloudFront): Most CDNs enable HTTP/2 by default — just ensure SSL is active
• LiteSpeed: HTTP/2 is enabled by default with SSL

Note: HTTP/2 requires a valid SSL certificate. Make sure HTTPS is properly configured first.

Related Tools

Use these tools alongside the HTTP/2 checker for a complete performance audit:

• HTTP Headers Lookup — Inspect all server response headers and status codes
• SSL Lookup — Verify your SSL certificate is valid (required for HTTP/2)
• DNS Lookup — Check DNS records for your domain
• Ping Tool — Test server response time and connectivity
• Brotli Checker — Check if Brotli compression is enabled for faster loading

Frequently Asked Questions

What is HTTP/2?

HTTP/2 is the second major version of the HTTP network protocol, published in 2015. It introduces multiplexing, header compression, server push, and binary framing to make websites load significantly faster than with HTTP/1.1. Most modern browsers and web servers support HTTP/2.

Does HTTP/2 improve SEO?

Yes — indirectly but significantly. Google uses page speed as a ranking factor, and HTTP/2 can improve load times by 15-50% compared to HTTP/1.1. Faster pages also improve Core Web Vitals scores (LCP, FID, CLS), which are direct ranking signals.

Do I need SSL for HTTP/2?

Technically, the HTTP/2 specification allows unencrypted connections (h2c). However, all major browsers — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge — only support HTTP/2 over HTTPS (h2). In practice, you need a valid SSL/TLS certificate to use HTTP/2.

Is HTTP/3 available?

Yes, HTTP/3 (based on QUIC) is already being adopted. It further improves performance with UDP-based transport, eliminating TCP head-of-line blocking. However, HTTP/2 remains the baseline — ensure your site supports it before looking at HTTP/3.