# Hidden HTTP Pages Can Break Your Site Name in Google

**URL:** <https://intoguide.com/t/hidden-http-pages-can-break-your-site-name-in-google/329>\
**Category:** SEO\
**Created:** [March 13, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://intoguide.com/t/hidden-http-pages-can-break-your-site-name-in-google/329 "2026-03-13T11:54:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![wasabi](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/intoguide.com/wasabi/32/646_2.png) [@wasabi](https://intoguide.com/u/wasabi)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://intoguide.com/t/hidden-http-pages-can-break-your-site-name-in-google/329/1 "2026-03-13T11:54:13Z")

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## Google Warns About Hidden HTTP Homepages Causing Site-Name and Favicon Issues

Google’s **John Mueller** recently shared a case where a leftover HTTP homepage caused unexpected site-name and favicon problems in search results. The issue can be easy to miss because **Chrome automatically upgrades HTTP requests to HTTPS** , hiding the HTTP version from normal browsing. Googlebot, however, does **not** follow this upgrade.

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### What Happened

Mueller described the case as “a weird one.” The site used HTTPS, but a server-default HTTP homepage was still accessible. He explained:

> “A hidden homepage causing site-name & favicon problems in Search. This was a weird one. The site used HTTPS, however there was a server-default HTTP homepage remaining.”

Since Google’s **site name system** pulls the site name and favicon from the homepage using structured data, title tags, headings, `og:site_name`, and other signals, Googlebot ended up reading the wrong page. The HTTP version contained default content, not the intended HTTPS homepage, leading to incorrect display in search results.

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### How To Check For This

Mueller suggested two practical ways to see what Googlebot sees:

1. **Command line with curl:**

2. **URL Inspection tool in Search Console:**

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### Why This Matters

Since Google replaced title tags with site names in 2022, display issues have continued to evolve. Site-name support expanded to subdomains in 2023, and bugs with internal pages persisted for nearly a year.

This case highlights a new complication: the issue may **not** be in your HTTPS homepage or structured data, but in a hidden HTTP version that your browser never exposes. Google’s documentation recommends ensuring **structured data is consistent on both HTTP and HTTPS versions** , but this example shows the risks when a server-default HTTP page exists.

**Key takeaway:** If site names or favicons look wrong in search results, **check the HTTP version directly** , don’t rely on your browser.

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### How to Fix It

- Confirm whether an HTTP homepage exists using `curl` or the Live Test.

- Remove the leftover HTTP page **or** implement a server-level redirect from HTTP → HTTPS.

- Ensure structured data (`WebSite`) on the HTTPS homepage is correct, as Google considers the homepage (domain-level root URI) the authoritative source.

Following these steps should resolve site-name and favicon discrepancies in search results.