diff --git a/assets/js/main.js b/assets/js/main.js
index 8d8e886..c5a25e5 100644
--- a/assets/js/main.js
+++ b/assets/js/main.js
@@ -94,3 +94,47 @@ document.querySelectorAll('.card').forEach(card => {
     });
 });
 
+// ── Server Status Badges (async) ───────────────────────────
+(async function () {
+    const cards = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('.card[data-status-url]'));
+    if (cards.length === 0) return;
+
+    try {
+        const res = await fetch('/server_status.php', { cache: 'no-store' });
+        if (!res.ok) return;
+        const payload = await res.json();
+        const byUrl = payload && payload.byUrl ? payload.byUrl : {};
+
+        // Normalisierung muss zur PHP-Normalisierung passen (Trailing Slash entfernen)
+        const normalize = (url) => {
+            if (!url) return '';
+            return String(url).replace(/\/+$/, '');
+        };
+
+        for (const card of cards) {
+            const key = normalize(card.getAttribute('data-status-url'));
+            const svc = byUrl[key] || byUrl[key + '/'] || null;
+            if (!svc) continue;
+
+            const state = svc.state || 'unknown';
+            const badge = card.querySelector('[data-status-badge="1"]');
+            if (!badge) continue;
+
+            badge.classList.remove('status-badge--unknown', 'status-badge--up', 'status-badge--down');
+            badge.classList.add('status-badge--' + state);
+
+            if (state === 'up') {
+                badge.textContent = 'Online';
+                badge.title = 'Online';
+            } else if (state === 'down') {
+                badge.textContent = 'Offline';
+                badge.title = svc.detail || 'Offline';
+            } else {
+                badge.textContent = 'Unbekannt';
+                badge.title = svc.detail || 'Unbekannt';
+            }
+        }
+    } catch (e) {
+        // still fine: keep "Unbekannt"
+    }
+})();
diff --git a/includes/lib/server_status.php b/includes/lib/server_status.php
index cecfb6b..0a077ee 100644
--- a/includes/lib/server_status.php
+++ b/includes/lib/server_status.php
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 <?php
 declare(strict_types=1);
 
+/**
+ * Default-Timeouts: schnell genug für den Seitenaufbau.
+ * (Wenn ein Dienst nicht antwortet, lieber kurz "Offline" als die ganze Seite zu blockieren.)
+ */
+const SERVER_STATUS_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 0.9;
+const SERVER_STATUS_TIMEOUT_GET_FALLBACK_SECONDS = 1.2;
+
 /**
  * Serverstatus (dependency-free, mit Cache & SSRF-Guards)
  *
@@ -198,14 +205,84 @@ function check_http_request(string $url, string $method, float $timeoutSeconds =
     return $res;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Parallel HTTP status checks using curl_multi if available.
+ * @param array<int,string> $urls
+ * @return array<string,array{code:int|null, error:string|null, ms:int|null, headers:array<int,string>}> map url => result
+ */
+function curl_multi_head_status(array $urls, float $timeoutSeconds): array
+{
+    $out = [];
+    if (empty($urls) || !function_exists('curl_multi_init')) {
+        return $out;
+    }
+
+    $mh = curl_multi_init();
+    $handles = [];
+
+    foreach ($urls as $url) {
+        $ch = curl_init();
+        curl_setopt_array($ch, [
+            CURLOPT_URL => $url,
+            CURLOPT_NOBODY => true,
+            CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => 'HEAD',
+            CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
+            CURLOPT_HEADER => true,
+            CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION => false,
+            CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 0,
+            CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT_MS => (int)round($timeoutSeconds * 1000),
+            CURLOPT_TIMEOUT_MS => (int)round($timeoutSeconds * 1000),
+            CURLOPT_USERAGENT => 'ServerStatus/1.2',
+            CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => true,
+            CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST => 2,
+        ]);
+        curl_multi_add_handle($mh, $ch);
+        $handles[(string)$url] = $ch;
+    }
+
+    $running = null;
+    do {
+        $mrc = curl_multi_exec($mh, $running);
+        if ($running) {
+            // wait for activity (avoid busy loop)
+            curl_multi_select($mh, 0.2);
+        }
+    } while ($running && $mrc === CURLM_OK);
+
+    foreach ($handles as $url => $ch) {
+        $code = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_RESPONSE_CODE);
+        $err = curl_error($ch);
+        $totalTime = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_TOTAL_TIME);
+        $ms = is_float($totalTime) ? (int)round($totalTime * 1000) : null;
+
+        $rawHeaders = curl_multi_getcontent($ch);
+        $headers = [];
+        if (is_string($rawHeaders) && $rawHeaders !== '') {
+            foreach (preg_split("/\r\n|\n|\r/", trim($rawHeaders)) as $line) {
+                if ($line !== '') $headers[] = $line;
+            }
+        }
+
+        $out[$url] = [
+            'code' => ($code > 0 ? (int)$code : null),
+            'error' => ($err !== '' ? $err : null),
+            'ms' => $ms,
+            'headers' => $headers,
+        ];
+
+        curl_multi_remove_handle($mh, $ch);
+        curl_close($ch);
+    }
+
+    curl_multi_close($mh);
+    return $out;
+}
+
 /**
  * HTTP check (no redirects).
- * - Tries HEAD first.
- * - If result is a redirect, probes the Location once, because we don't follow redirects automatically.
- * - If HEAD fails, tries a minimal GET with Range.
  * @return array{ok:bool, code:int|null, ms:int|null, error:string|null}
  */
-function check_http_head(string $url, float $timeoutSeconds = 1.6): array
+function check_http_head(string $url, float $timeoutSeconds = SERVER_STATUS_TIMEOUT_SECONDS): array
 {
     $head = check_http_request($url, 'HEAD', $timeoutSeconds);
 
@@ -281,6 +358,18 @@ function build_server_status(array $targets): array
     $allowedHosts = array_values(array_unique($allowedHosts));
 
     $results = [];
+
+    // Attempt fast parallel HEAD checks via cURL.
+    $urls = [];
+    foreach ($targets as $t) {
+        $u = (string)($t['url'] ?? '');
+        if ($u !== '' && is_allowed_http_url($u, $allowedHosts)) {
+            $urls[] = $u;
+        }
+    }
+
+    $curlHeadMap = curl_multi_head_status($urls, SERVER_STATUS_TIMEOUT_SECONDS);
+
     foreach ($targets as $t) {
         $url = (string)($t['url'] ?? '');
         if ($url === '' || !is_allowed_http_url($url, $allowedHosts)) {
@@ -288,7 +377,35 @@ function build_server_status(array $targets): array
             continue;
         }
 
-        $r = check_http_head($url);
+        // If we have a curl result, use it as a quick first pass.
+        if (isset($curlHeadMap[$url])) {
+            $c = $curlHeadMap[$url];
+            $code = $c['code'];
+            $ok = is_reachable_http_code($code);
+
+            // Handle redirects: probe location once using existing logic (stream-based) for correctness.
+            if ($code !== null && $code >= 300 && $code < 400) {
+                $r = check_http_head($url, SERVER_STATUS_TIMEOUT_SECONDS);
+                $results[] = [
+                    'url' => $url,
+                    'state' => $r['ok'] ? 'up' : 'down',
+                    'ms' => $r['ms'],
+                    'detail' => $r['ok'] ? null : ($r['error'] ?? null),
+                ];
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            $results[] = [
+                'url' => $url,
+                'state' => $ok ? 'up' : 'down',
+                'ms' => $c['ms'],
+                'detail' => $ok ? null : ($c['error'] ?? ($code !== null ? ('HTTP ' . (string)$code) : null)),
+            ];
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        // Fallback: previous sequential stream-based check.
+        $r = check_http_head($url, SERVER_STATUS_TIMEOUT_SECONDS);
         $results[] = [
             'url' => $url,
             'state' => $r['ok'] ? 'up' : 'down',
diff --git a/includes/views/projects_section.php b/includes/views/projects_section.php
index 1ddc163..29726cb 100644
--- a/includes/views/projects_section.php
+++ b/includes/views/projects_section.php
@@ -57,6 +57,16 @@ foreach ($serverStatusByUrl as $__u => $__svc) {
             $status = null;
             $statusKey = null;
 
+            // Für JS-Update: eine kanonische Status-URL bestimmen
+            $statusUrl = null;
+            if (!empty($project['url']) && is_string($project['url'])) {
+                if (substr($project['url'], 0, 1) === '/') {
+                    $statusUrl = $__normalize_status_url('https://fabianschieder.com' . $project['url']);
+                } else {
+                    $statusUrl = $__normalize_status_url((string)$project['url']);
+                }
+            }
+
             // 1) Externe absolute URL direkt matchen
             if (!empty($project['url']) && isset($__serverStatusByUrlNormalized[$__normalize_status_url((string)$project['url'])])) {
                 $statusKey = $__normalize_status_url((string)$project['url']);
@@ -75,11 +85,11 @@ foreach ($serverStatusByUrl as $__u => $__svc) {
                 $status = $__serverStatusByUrlNormalized[$statusKey];
             }
 
-            $state = $status ? (string)($status['state'] ?? 'unknown') : null;
+            $state = $status ? (string)($status['state'] ?? 'unknown') : 'unknown';
             $detail = $status && !empty($status['detail']) ? (string)$status['detail'] : '';
 
             $badgeText = null;
-            if ($state !== null && $category !== 'dienste') {
+            if ($category !== 'dienste') {
                 $badgeText = 'Unbekannt';
                 if ($state === 'up') $badgeText = 'Online';
                 elseif ($state === 'down') $badgeText = 'Offline';
@@ -91,6 +101,7 @@ foreach ($serverStatusByUrl as $__u => $__svc) {
                 class="card"
                 <?= !empty($project['external']) ? 'target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"' : '' ?>
                 style="--accent: <?= htmlspecialchars((string)($project['color'] ?? '#6366f1'), ENT_QUOTES) ?>;"
+                <?= $statusUrl ? 'data-status-url="' . htmlspecialchars($statusUrl, ENT_QUOTES) . '"' : '' ?>
             >
 
                 <div class="card-icon">
@@ -117,6 +128,7 @@ foreach ($serverStatusByUrl as $__u => $__svc) {
                 <?php if ($badgeText !== null): ?>
                     <div class="status-right">
                         <span class="status-badge status-badge--<?= htmlspecialchars((string)$state, ENT_QUOTES) ?>"
+                              data-status-badge="1"
                               title="<?= htmlspecialchars($detail !== '' ? $detail : (string)$badgeText, ENT_QUOTES) ?>">
                             <?= htmlspecialchars((string)$badgeText, ENT_QUOTES) ?>
                         </span>
diff --git a/index.php b/index.php
index 38410d7..7db2710 100644
--- a/index.php
+++ b/index.php
@@ -14,39 +14,10 @@ $serverStatusTargets = require __DIR__ . '/includes/config/server_status_targets
 require_once __DIR__ . '/includes/lib/server_status.php';
 require_once __DIR__ . '/includes/lib/view_helpers.php';
 
-// ── Serverstatus (mit Cache) ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-$cacheTtlSeconds = 30;
-$cacheKey = 'server_status_v4';
-$cacheFile = rtrim(sys_get_temp_dir(), DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR) . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $cacheKey . '.json';
-
-$serverStatus = null;
-if (is_file($cacheFile)) {
-    $raw = @file_get_contents($cacheFile);
-    if ($raw !== false) {
-        $decoded = json_decode($raw, true);
-        if (is_array($decoded) && isset($decoded['ts'], $decoded['data']) && is_array($decoded['data'])) {
-            $age = time() - (int)$decoded['ts'];
-            if ($age >= 0 && $age <= $cacheTtlSeconds) {
-                $serverStatus = $decoded['data'];
-            }
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-if (!is_array($serverStatus)) {
-    $serverStatus = build_server_status($serverStatusTargets);
-    @file_put_contents($cacheFile, json_encode(['ts' => time(), 'data' => $serverStatus], JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES));
-}
-
-// Index: url => status
+// ── Serverstatus ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Wichtig für Performance: Beim initialen Rendern NICHT blockierend live prüfen.
+// Die Badges starten als „Unbekannt“ und werden clientseitig über /server_status.php aktualisiert.
 $serverStatusByUrl = [];
-if (is_array($serverStatus)) {
-    foreach ($serverStatus as $svc) {
-        if (!empty($svc['url']) && is_string($svc['url'])) {
-            $serverStatusByUrl[$svc['url']] = $svc;
-        }
-    }
-}
 
 require __DIR__ . '/includes/views/layout_head.php';
 require __DIR__ . '/includes/views/header.php';
diff --git a/scripts/inspect_encoding.php b/scripts/inspect_encoding.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..12a65d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/inspect_encoding.php
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+<?php
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+$path = $argv[1] ?? null;
+if (!$path) {
+    fwrite(STDERR, "Usage: php scripts/inspect_encoding.php <file>\n");
+    exit(2);
+}
+
+$fp = fopen($path, 'rb');
+if (!$fp) {
+    fwrite(STDERR, "Cannot open: $path\n");
+    exit(1);
+}
+
+$bytes = fread($fp, 16);
+fclose($fp);
+
+$arr = [];
+for ($i = 0; $i < strlen($bytes); $i++) {
+    $arr[] = ord($bytes[$i]);
+}
+
+fwrite(STDOUT, json_encode($arr));
+fwrite(STDOUT, PHP_EOL);
+
diff --git a/server_status.php b/server_status.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0baad63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server_status.php
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+<?php
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+// Ensure clean UTF-8 JSON output
+@ini_set('default_charset', 'UTF-8');
+
+// JSON endpoint for server status (used for async UI updates)
+
+$serverStatusTargets = require __DIR__ . '/includes/config/server_status_targets.php';
+require_once __DIR__ . '/includes/lib/server_status.php';
+
+header('Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8');
+header('Cache-Control: no-store, max-age=0');
+
+$cacheTtlSeconds = 30;
+$cacheKey = 'server_status_v4';
+$cacheFile = rtrim(sys_get_temp_dir(), DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR) . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $cacheKey . '.json';
+
+$noCache = isset($_GET['nocache']) && $_GET['nocache'] === '1';
+
+$serverStatus = null;
+$cacheTs = null;
+
+if (!$noCache && is_file($cacheFile)) {
+    $raw = @file_get_contents($cacheFile);
+    if ($raw !== false) {
+        $decoded = json_decode($raw, true);
+        if (is_array($decoded) && isset($decoded['ts'], $decoded['data']) && is_array($decoded['data'])) {
+            $cacheTs = (int)$decoded['ts'];
+            $age = time() - $cacheTs;
+            if ($age >= 0 && $age <= $cacheTtlSeconds) {
+                $serverStatus = $decoded['data'];
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+if (!is_array($serverStatus)) {
+    $serverStatus = build_server_status($serverStatusTargets);
+    @file_put_contents($cacheFile, json_encode(['ts' => time(), 'data' => $serverStatus], JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES));
+}
+
+// index by (normalized-ish) url
+$byUrl = [];
+foreach ($serverStatus as $svc) {
+    if (!empty($svc['url']) && is_string($svc['url'])) {
+        $byUrl[$svc['url']] = $svc;
+    }
+}
+
+$json = json_encode([
+    'ts' => time(),
+    'data' => $serverStatus,
+    'byUrl' => $byUrl,
+], JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
+
+if ($json === false) {
+    http_response_code(500);
+    $json = '{"error":"json_encode_failed"}';
+}
+
+// Write as raw bytes to avoid any output-encoding conversion.
+fwrite(STDOUT, $json);
+