Title: EssentialHeaders
Author: Alex Hedström
Published: <strong>August 14, 2026</strong>
Last modified: August 14, 2026

---

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# EssentialHeaders

 By [Alex Hedström](https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexhedstrom/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/essentialheaders.1.0.0.zip)

 * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentialheaders/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentialheaders/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentialheaders/#installation)
 * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentialheaders/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/essentialheaders/)

## Description

EssentialHeaders is a focused WordPress plugin that attaches the HTTP security headers
browsers expect, so protection is not left to chance or buried in server config.

Under Settings  EssentialHeaders you get three tabs:

 * Headers — overview of which headers are enabled and will be sent
 * Settings — toggles and editable values for each header
 * About — plugin info

Headers covered:

 * Content-Security-Policy (CSP)
 * Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS)
 * X-Frame-Options
 * X-Content-Type-Options
 * Referrer-Policy
 * Permissions-Policy

Safer headers ship enabled with sensible defaults. CSP starts off so you can adopt
it deliberately. Headers apply to public site responses (pages, feeds, and the login
screen)—not wp-admin, AJAX, REST, GraphQL, JSON API, or XML-RPC. HSTS is only sent
over HTTPS. Default HSTS uses max-age only; add includeSubDomains yourself when 
every subdomain is ready.

## Installation

 1. Upload the `essentialheaders` folder to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory.
 2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
 3. Open Settings  EssentialHeaders to review and configure headers.

## FAQ

### Will this break my site?

The default set is conservative. Content-Security-Policy is off by default because
a strict CSP can block scripts or styles your theme needs. Enable CSP when you are
ready to tune it.

### Does HSTS work on HTTP?

No. Strict-Transport-Security is only sent when the visitor reaches the site over
HTTPS.

### Does the login screen get these headers?

Yes. The login screen is treated as a public response. wp-admin, AJAX, REST, GraphQL,
JSON API, and XML-RPC are excluded so dashboards and APIs are not broken by a strict
CSP.

### Does this change site content?

No. The plugin only stores its own options and adds HTTP response headers on public
responses.

## Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

## Contributors & Developers

“EssentialHeaders” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ Alex Hedström ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexhedstrom/)

[Translate “EssentialHeaders” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/essentialheaders)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/essentialheaders/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/essentialheaders/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/essentialheaders/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/essentialheaders/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 1.0.0

 * Initial release.

## Meta

 *  Version **1.0.0**
 *  Last updated **12 hours ago**
 *  Active installations **Fewer than 10**
 *  WordPress version ** 6.3 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **7.1**
 *  PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
 * Tags
 * [csp](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/csp/)[hardening](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/hardening/)
   [headers](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/headers/)[hsts](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/hsts/)
   [security](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/security/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/essentialheaders/advanced/)

## Ratings

No reviews have been submitted yet.

[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/essentialheaders/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/essentialheaders/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ Alex Hedström ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexhedstrom/)

## Support

Got something to say? Need help?

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/essentialheaders/)