Security & SEO
    Feature Guide

    Security Headers Explained

    What security headers are, why they matter, and how to fix them.

    Part of Security header monitoring — the full answer, the facts and the alternatives in one place.

    Updated 2026-03-06
    1 min read
    security
    headers
    HSTS

    Security Headers Explained#

    LemWatch checks for essential HTTP security headers on every scan and grades your site A+ through F.

    Key Headers#

    HeaderPurposeImpact
    Strict-Transport-SecurityForces HTTPS connectionsPrevents downgrade attacks
    Content-Security-PolicyControls which resources can loadPrevents XSS attacks
    X-Frame-OptionsControls iframe embeddingPrevents clickjacking
    X-Content-Type-OptionsPrevents MIME type sniffingBlocks content-type attacks
    Referrer-PolicyControls referrer informationProtects user privacy
    Permissions-PolicyControls browser feature accessLimits API abuse

    Security Grade#

    LemWatch grades from A+ (all headers correctly configured) to F (missing critical headers):

  1. A+/A — Excellent. All critical headers present and correctly configured
  2. B — Good. Most headers present, minor improvements possible
  3. C — Fair. Missing some recommended headers
  4. D/F — Poor. Missing critical security headers
  5. How to Fix#

    Click any missing header in LemWatch for stack-specific instructions:

  6. Nginx — Add to your server block
  7. Apache — Add to .htaccess or httpd.conf
  8. Cloudflare — Use Transform Rules
  9. Vercel/Netlify — Add to vercel.json or _headers file
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