diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8c6a923..d5e9b57 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -24,17 +24,13 @@ require __DIR__ . '/../vendor/autoload.php';
 $app = new FrameworkX\App();
 
 $app->get('/', function () {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         "Hello wörld!\n"
     );
 });
 
 $app->get('/users/{name}', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         "Hello " . $request->getAttribute('name') . "!\n"
     );
 });
diff --git a/docs/api/app.md b/docs/api/app.md
index 81a926b..a7fd6ad 100644
--- a/docs/api/app.md
+++ b/docs/api/app.md
@@ -23,12 +23,12 @@ multiple routes using inline closures like this:
 
 ```php
 $app->get('/user', function () {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(200, [], "hello everybody!");
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Hello everybody!\n");
 });
 
 $app->get('/user/{id}', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
     $id = $request->getAttribute('id');
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(200, [], "hello $id");
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Hello $id!\n");
 });
 ```
 
@@ -76,17 +76,17 @@ The `App` also offers a convenient helper method to redirect a matching route to
 a new URL like this:
 
 ```php
-$app->redirect('/promo/reactphp', 'http://reactphp.org/');
+$app->redirect('/promo/reactphp', 'https://reactphp.org/');
 ```
 
 Browsers and search engine crawlers will automatically follow the redirect with
 the `302 Found` status code by default. You can optionally pass a custom redirect
 status code in the `3xx` range to use. If this is a permanent redirect, you may
-want to use the `301 Permanent Redirect` status code to instruct search engine
+want to use the `301 Moved Permanently` status code to instruct search engine
 crawlers to update their index like this:
 
 ```php
-$app->redirect('/blog.html', '/blog', 301);
+$app->redirect('/blog.html', '/blog', React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_MOVED_PERMANENTLY);
 ```
 
 See [response status codes](response.md#status-codes) for more details.
@@ -98,9 +98,7 @@ examples more concise:
 
 ```
 $app->get('/', function () {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         "Hello wörld!\n"
     );
 });
@@ -144,9 +142,7 @@ class HelloController
 {
     public function __invoke()
     {
-        return new Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return Response::plaintext(
             "Hello wörld!\n"
         );
     }
diff --git a/docs/api/middleware.md b/docs/api/middleware.md
index 2eabb29..b199545 100644
--- a/docs/api/middleware.md
+++ b/docs/api/middleware.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ $app->get(
     '/user',
     function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request, callable $next) {
         // optionally return response without passing to next handler
-        // return new React\Http\Message\Response(403, [], "Forbidden!\n");
+        // return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Done.\n");
         
         // optionally modify request before passing to next handler
         // $request = $request->withAttribute('admin', false);
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ $app->get(
     },
     function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
         $role = $request->getAttribute('admin') ? 'admin' : 'user';
-        return new React\Http\Message\Response(200, [], "Hello $role!\n");
+        return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Hello $role!\n");
     }
 );
 ```
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class DemoMiddleware
     public function __invoke(ServerRequestInterface $request, callable $next)
     {
         // optionally return response without passing to next handler
-        // return new React\Http\Message\Response(403, [], "Forbidden!\n");
+        // return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Done.\n");
 
         // optionally modify request before passing to next handler
         // $request = $request->withAttribute('admin', false);
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ class UserController
     public function __invoke(ServerRequestInterface $request)
     {
         $role = $request->getAttribute('admin') ? 'admin' : 'user';
-        return new Response(200, [], "Hello $role!\n");
+        return Response::plaintext("Hello $role!\n");
     }
 }
 ```
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ class UserController
     public function __invoke(ServerRequestInterface $request)
     {
         $name = 'Alice';
-        return new Response(200, [], "Hello $name!\n");
+        return Response::plaintext("Hello $name!\n");
     }
 }
 ```
@@ -416,7 +416,7 @@ a response object synchronously:
             $name = yield $promise;
             assert(is_string($name));
 
-            return new Response(200, [], "Hello $name!\n");
+            return Response::plaintext("Hello $name!\n");
         }
 
         /**
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ a response object synchronously:
         {
             // async pseudo code to load some data from an external source
             return $this->fetchRandomUserName()->then(function (string $name) {
-                return new Response(200, [], "Hello $name!\n");
+                return Response::plaintext("Hello $name!\n");
             });
         }
 
diff --git a/docs/api/request.md b/docs/api/request.md
index 033b688..f9dd7aa 100644
--- a/docs/api/request.md
+++ b/docs/api/request.md
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ You can access request attributes like this:
 $app->get('/user/{id}', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
     $id = $request->getAttribute('id');
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(200, [], "Hello $id");
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Hello $id!\n");
 });
 ```
 
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ An HTTP request can be sent like this:
 
 ```bash
 $ curl http://localhost:8080/user/Alice
-Hello Alice
+Hello Alice!
 ```
 
 These custom attributes are most commonly used when using URI placeholders
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ $app->post('/user', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request)
     $data = json_decode((string) $request->getBody());
     $name = $data->name ?? 'anonymous';
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(200, [], "Hello $name");
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Hello $name!\n");
 });
 ```
 
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ An HTTP request can be sent like this:
 
 ```bash
 $ curl http://localhost:8080/user --data '{"name":"Alice"}'
-Hello Alice
+Hello Alice!
 ```
 
 Additionally, you may want to validate the `Content-Type: application/json` request header
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ $app->post('/user', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request)
     $data = $request->getParsedBody();
     $name = $data['name'] ?? 'Anonymous';
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(200, [], "Hello $name");
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Hello $name!\n");
 });
 ```
 
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ An HTTP request can be sent like this:
 
 ```bash
 $ curl http://localhost:8080/user -d name=Alice
-Hello Alice
+Hello Alice!
 ```
 
 This method returns a possibly nested array of form fields, very similar to
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ $app->post('/user', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request)
     $files = $request->getUploadedFiles();
     $name = isset($files['image']) ? $files['image']->getClientFilename() : 'x';
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(200, [], "Uploaded $name");
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Uploaded $name\n");
 });
 ```
 
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ You can access all HTTP request headers like this:
 $app->get('/user', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
     $agent = $request->getHeaderLine('User-Agent');
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(200, [], "Hello $agent");
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Hello $agent\n");
 });
 ```
 
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ $app->get('/user', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
     $params = $request->getServerParams();
     $ip = $params['REMOTE_ADDR'] ?? 'unknown';
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(200, [], "Hello $ip");
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext("Hello $ip\n");
 });
 ```
 
diff --git a/docs/api/response.md b/docs/api/response.md
index 28119a4..df580e8 100644
--- a/docs/api/response.md
+++ b/docs/api/response.md
@@ -26,35 +26,10 @@ Here's everything you need to know to get started.
 You can send JSON data as an HTTP response body like this:
 
 ```php
-$app->get('/user', function () {
-    $data = [
-        [
-            'name' => 'Alice'
-        ],
-        [
-            'name' => 'Bob'
-        ]
-    ];
-
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        ['Content-Type' => 'application/json'],
-        json_encode($data)
-    );
-});
-```
-
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
-
-```bash
-$ curl http://localhost:8080/user
-[{"name":"Alice"},{"name":"Bob"}]
-```
+<?php
 
-If you want to return pretty-printed JSON, all you need to do is passing the
-correct flags when encoding:
+// …
 
-```php hl_lines="14-17"
 $app->get('/user', function () {
     $data = [
         [
@@ -65,18 +40,18 @@ $app->get('/user', function () {
         ]
     ];
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        ['Content-Type' => 'application/json'],
-        json_encode(
-            $data,
-            JSON_PRETTY_PRINT |  JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES |  JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE
-        )
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::json(
+        $data
     );
 });
 ```
 
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
+This example returns a simple JSON response from some static data.
+In real-world applications, you may want to load this from a
+[database](../integrations/database.md).
+For common API usage, you may also want to receive a [JSON request](request.md#json).
+
+You can try out this example by sending an HTTP request like this:
 
 ```bash
 $ curl http://localhost:8080/user
@@ -85,72 +60,128 @@ $ curl http://localhost:8080/user
         "name": "Alice"
     },
     {
-        "name":"Bob"
+        "name": "Bob"
     }
 ]
 ```
 
-This example returns a simple JSON response from some static data.
-In real-world applications, you may want to load this from a
-[database](../integrations/database.md).
-For common API usage, you may also want to receive a [JSON request](request.md#json).
+> By default, the response will use the `200 OK` status code and will
+> automatically include an appropriate `Content-Type: application/json` response
+> header, see also [status codes](#status-codes) and [response headers](#headers)
+> below for more details.
+>
+> If you want more control over the response such as using custom JSON flags,
+> you can also manually create a [`React\Http\Message\Response`](https://reactphp.org/http/#response)
+> object like this:
+>
+> ```php
+> <?php
+>
+> // …
+>
+> $app->get('/user', function () {
+>     $data = [];
+>
+>     return new React\Http\Message\Response(
+>         React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK,
+>         [
+>             'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
+>         ],
+>         json_encode(
+>             $data,
+>             JSON_PRETTY_PRINT | JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE
+>         ) . "\n"
+>     );
+> });
+> ```
 
 ## HTML
 
 You can send HTML data as an HTTP response body like this:
 
 ```php
+<?php
+
+// …
+
 $app->get('/user', function () {
     $html = <<<HTML
 <h1>Hello Alice</h1>
+
 HTML;
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        ['Content-Type' => 'text/html; charset=utf-8'],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::html(
         $html
     );
 });
 ```
 
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
+This example returns a simple HTML response from some static data.
+In real-world applications, you may want to load this from a
+[database](../integrations/database.md) and perhaps use
+[templates](../integrations/templates.md) to render your HTML.
+
+You can try out this example by sending an HTTP request like this:
 
 ```bash
 $ curl http://localhost:8080/user
 <h1>Hello Alice</h1>
 ```
 
-This example returns a simple HTML response from some static data.
-In real-world applications, you may want to load this from a
-[database](../integrations/database.md) and perhaps use
-[templates](../integrations/templates.md) to render your HTML.
+> By default, the response will use the `200 OK` status code and will
+> automatically include an appropriate `Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8`
+> response header, see also [status codes](#status-codes) and
+> [response headers](#headers) below for more details.
+>
+> If you want more control over this behavior, you can also manually create a
+> [`React\Http\Message\Response`](https://reactphp.org/http/#response) object
+> like this:
+>
+> ```php
+> <?php
+>
+> // …
+>
+> $app->get('/user', function () {
+>     $html = "Hello Wörld!\n";
+>
+>     return new React\Http\Message\Response(
+>         React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK,
+>         [
+>             'Content-Type' => 'text/html; charset=utf-8'
+>         ],
+>         $html
+>     );
+> });
+> ```
 
 ## Status Codes
 
-You can assign status codes like this:
+The [`json()`](#json) and [`html()`](#html) methods used above automatically use
+a `200 OK` status code by default. You can assign status codes like this:
+
+```php hl_lines="10"
+<?php
+
+// …
 
-```php hl_lines="5 12"
 $app->get('/user/{id}', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
     $id = $request->getAttribute('id');
     if ($id === 'admin') {
-        return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-            403,
-            [],
-            'Forbidden'
-        );
+        return React\Http\Message\Response::html(
+            "Forbidden\n"
+        )->withStatus(React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_FORBIDDEN);
     }
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
-        "Hello $id"
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::html(
+        "Hello $id\n"
     );
 });
 ```
 
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
+You can try out this example by sending an HTTP request like this:
 
-```bash hl_lines="2 6"
+```bash
 $ curl -I http://localhost:8080/user/Alice
 HTTP/1.1 200 OK
 …
@@ -160,51 +191,77 @@ HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden
 …
 ```
 
-Each HTTP response message contains a status code that describes whether the
-HTTP request has been successfully completed.
-Here's a list of the most common HTTP status codes:
-
-* `200 OK`
-* `301 Permanent Redirect`
-* `302 Found` (previously `302 Temporary Redirect`)
-* `304 Not Modified` (see [HTTP caching](#http-caching) below)
-* `403 Forbidden`
-* `404 Not Found`
-* `500 Internal Server Error`
-* …
-
-See [list of HTTP status codes](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Status) for more details.
+> Each HTTP response message contains a status code that describes whether the
+> HTTP request has been successfully completed. Here's a list with some of the
+> most common HTTP status codes:
+>
+> * `200 OK`
+> * `301 Moved Permanently`
+> * `302 Found` (previously `302 Temporary Redirect`)
+> * `304 Not Modified` (see [HTTP caching](#http-caching) below)
+> * `403 Forbidden`
+> * `404 Not Found`
+> * `500 Internal Server Error`
+> * …
+>
+> See [list of HTTP status codes](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Status)
+> for more details. Each status code can be referenced by its matching status code
+> constant name such as `React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK` or `React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND`
+> or by its status code number.
 
 ## Headers
 
-You can assign HTTP response headers like this:
+The [`json()`](#json) and [`html()`](#html) methods used above automatically use
+an appropriate `Content-Type` response header by default. You can assign HTTP
+response headers like this:
+
+```php hl_lines="8"
+<?php
+
+// …
 
-```php hl_lines="4"
 $app->get('/user', function () {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        ['Content-Type' => 'text/plain; charset=utf-8'],
-        "Hello wörld"
-    );
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::html(
+        "Hello wörld!\n"
+    )->withHeader('Cache-Control', 'public');
 });
 ```
 
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
+You can try out this example by sending an HTTP request like this:
 
-```bash  hl_lines="3"
+```bash
 $ curl -I http://localhost:8080/user
 HTTP/1.1 200 OK
-Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
-…
-```
+Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8
+Cache-Control: public
 
-Each HTTP response message can contain an arbitrary number of response headers.
-You can pass these headers as an associative array to the response object.
+Hello wörld!
+```
 
-Additionally, the application will automatically include default headers required
-by the HTTP protocol.
-It's not recommended to mess with these default headers unless you're sure you
-know what you're doing.
+> Each HTTP response message can contain an arbitrary number of response
+> headers. Additionally, the application will automatically include default
+> headers required by the HTTP protocol. It's not recommended to mess with these
+> default headers unless you're sure you know what you're doing.
+>
+> If you want more control over this behavior, you can also manually create a
+> [`React\Http\Message\Response`](https://reactphp.org/http/#response) object like this:
+>
+> ```php
+> <?php
+>
+> // …
+>
+> $app->get('/user', function () {
+>     return new React\Http\Message\Response(
+>         React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK,
+>         [
+>             'Content-Type' => 'text/html; charset=utf-8',
+>             'Cache-Control' => 'public'
+>         ],
+>         "Hello wörld!\n"
+>     );
+> });
+> ```
 
 ## HTTP caching
 
@@ -228,6 +285,7 @@ response header to control the lifetime of a cached response like this:
 
 ```php
 <?php
+
 // …
 
 $app->get('/user', function () {
@@ -235,18 +293,13 @@ $app->get('/user', function () {
 <h1>Hello Alice</h1>
 HTML;
 
-    return new Response(
-        200,
-        [
-            'Content-Type' => 'text/html; charset=utf-8',
-            'Cache-Control' => 'max-age=3600',
-        ],
+    return new React\Http\Message\Response::html(
         $html
-    );
+    )->withHeader('Cache-Control', 'max-age=3600');
 });
 ```
 
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
+You can try out this example by sending an HTTP request like this:
 
 ```bash
 $ curl -I http://localhost:8080/user
@@ -269,6 +322,7 @@ response and omit the response body like this:
 
 ```php
 <?php
+
 // …
 
 $app->get('/user', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
@@ -279,8 +333,8 @@ HTML;
 
     $etag = '"' . sha1($html) . '"';
     if ($request->getHeaderLine('If-None-Match') === $etag) {
-        return new Response(
-            304,
+        return new React\Http\Message\Response(
+            React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_NOT_MODIFIED,
             [
                 'Cache-Control' => 'max-age=0, must-revalidate',
                 'ETag' => $etag
@@ -288,8 +342,8 @@ HTML;
         );
     }
 
-    return new Response(
-        200,
+    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
+        React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK,
         [
             'Content-Type' => 'text/html; charset=utf-8',
             'Cache-Control' => 'max-age=0, must-revalidate',
@@ -300,7 +354,7 @@ HTML;
 });
 ```
 
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
+You can try out this example by sending an HTTP request like this:
 
 ```bash
 $ curl http://localhost:8080/user
@@ -327,6 +381,7 @@ response and omit the response body like this:
 
 ```php
 <?php
+
 // …
 
 $app->get('/user', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
@@ -341,8 +396,8 @@ HTML;
 
     $modified = $date->setTimezone(new DateTimeZone('UTC'))->format(DATE_RFC7231);
     if ($request->getHeaderLine('If-Modified-Since') === $modified) {
-        return new Response(
-            304,
+        return new React\Http\Message\Response(
+            React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_NOT_MODIFIED,
             [
                 'Cache-Control' => 'max-age=0, must-revalidate',
                 'Last-Modified' => $modified
@@ -350,8 +405,8 @@ HTML;
         );
     }
 
-    return new Response(
-        200,
+    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
+        React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK,
         [
             'Content-Type' => 'text/html; charset=utf-8',
             'Cache-Control' => 'max-age=0, must-revalidate',
@@ -362,7 +417,7 @@ HTML;
 });
 ```
 
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
+You can try out this example by sending an HTTP request like this:
 
 ```bash
 $ curl http://localhost:8080/user
@@ -411,6 +466,7 @@ to catch any output and return it as a response body like this:
 
 ```php
 <?php
+
 // …
 
 $app->get('/dump', function () {
@@ -419,15 +475,13 @@ $app->get('/dump', function () {
     var_dump(42);
     $body = ob_get_clean();
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        ['Content-Type' => 'text/plain; charset=utf-8'],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         $body
     );
 });
 ```
 
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
+You can try out this example by sending an HTTP request like this:
 
 ```bash
 $ curl http://localhost:8080/dump
@@ -460,12 +514,16 @@ HTTP request will automatically be rejected with a `500 Internal Server Error`
 HTTP error response:
 
 ```php
+<?php
+
+// …
+
 $app->get('/user', function () {
     throw new BadMethodCallException();
 });
 ```
 
-An HTTP request can be sent like this:
+You can try out this example by sending an HTTP request like this:
 
 ```bash hl_lines="2"
 $ curl -I http://localhost:8080/user
diff --git a/docs/async/coroutines.md b/docs/async/coroutines.md
index 33050ef..3833bf3 100644
--- a/docs/async/coroutines.md
+++ b/docs/async/coroutines.md
@@ -26,9 +26,7 @@ $app->get('/book', function () use ($db) {
     );
 
     $data = "Found " . $result->resultRows[0]['count'] . " books\n";
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         $data
     );
 });
@@ -72,9 +70,7 @@ $app->get('/book', function () use ($db) {
     );
 
     $data = "Found " . $result->resultRows[0]['count'] . " books\n";
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         $data
     );
 });
@@ -158,17 +154,13 @@ class BookLookupController
         assert($book === null || $book instanceof Book);
 
         if ($book === null) {
-            return new Response(
-                404,
-                [],
+            return Response::plaintext(
                 "Book not found\n"
-            );
+            )->withStatus(Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
         }
 
         $data = $book->title;
-        return new Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return Response::plaintext(
             $data
         );
     }
diff --git a/docs/async/fibers.md b/docs/async/fibers.md
index 04db94d..263c9b8 100644
--- a/docs/async/fibers.md
+++ b/docs/async/fibers.md
@@ -28,9 +28,7 @@ $app->get('/book', function () use ($db) {
     ));
 
     $data = "Found " . $result->resultRows[0]['count'] . " books\n";
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         $data
     );
 });
diff --git a/docs/async/promises.md b/docs/async/promises.md
index 6a1ff16..01cb5ce 100644
--- a/docs/async/promises.md
+++ b/docs/async/promises.md
@@ -25,9 +25,7 @@ $app->get('/book', function () use ($db) {
         'SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM book'
     )->then(function (React\MySQL\QueryResult $result) {
         $data = "Found " . $result->resultRows[0]['count'] . " books\n";
-        return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
             $data
         );
     });
@@ -70,9 +68,7 @@ $app->get('/book', function () use ($db) {
         'SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM book'
     )->then(function (React\MySQL\QueryResult $result) {
         $data = "Found " . $result->resultRows[0]['count'] . " books\n";
-        return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
             $data
         );
     });
@@ -156,17 +152,13 @@ class BookLookupController
         $isbn = $request->getAttribute('isbn');
         return $this->repository->findBook($isbn)->then(function (?Book $book) {
             if ($book === null) {
-                return new Response(
-                    404,
-                    [],
+                return Response::plaintext(
                     "Book not found\n"
-                );
+                )->withStatus(Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND;
             }
 
             $data = $book->title;
-            return new Response(
-                200,
-                [],
+            return Response::plaintext(
                 $data
             );
         });
diff --git a/docs/best-practices/controllers.md b/docs/best-practices/controllers.md
index f5d1b1c..eed6ce0 100644
--- a/docs/best-practices/controllers.md
+++ b/docs/best-practices/controllers.md
@@ -17,17 +17,13 @@ require __DIR__ . '/../vendor/autoload.php';
 $app = new FrameworkX\App();
 
 $app->get('/', function () {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         "Hello wörld!\n"
     );
 });
 
 $app->get('/users/{name}', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         "Hello " . $request->getAttribute('name') . "!\n"
     );
 });
@@ -85,9 +81,7 @@ class HelloController
 {
     public function __invoke()
     {
-        return new Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return Response::plaintext(
             "Hello wörld!\n"
         );
     }
@@ -106,9 +100,7 @@ class UserController
 {
     public function __invoke(ServerRequestInterface $request)
     {
-        return new Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return Response::plaintext(
             "Hello " . $request->getAttribute('name') . "!\n"
         );
     }
diff --git a/docs/best-practices/testing.md b/docs/best-practices/testing.md
index 3b208dc..03f8061 100644
--- a/docs/best-practices/testing.md
+++ b/docs/best-practices/testing.md
@@ -33,9 +33,7 @@ class HelloController
 {
     public function __invoke()
     {
-        return new Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return Response::plaintext(
             "Hello wörld!\n"
         );
     }
@@ -127,9 +125,7 @@ class UserController
 {
     public function __invoke(ServerRequestInterface $request)
     {
-        return new Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return Response::plaintext(
             "Hello " . $request->getAttribute('name') . "!\n"
         );
     }
diff --git a/docs/getting-started/quickstart.md b/docs/getting-started/quickstart.md
index 1fe9d08..cf382c4 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started/quickstart.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started/quickstart.md
@@ -26,17 +26,13 @@ require __DIR__ . '/../vendor/autoload.php';
 $app = new FrameworkX\App();
 
 $app->get('/', function () {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         "Hello wörld!\n"
     );
 });
 
 $app->get('/users/{name}', function (Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface $request) {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         "Hello " . $request->getAttribute('name') . "!\n"
     );
 });
diff --git a/docs/integrations/database.md b/docs/integrations/database.md
index 88b4e5e..68452f8 100644
--- a/docs/integrations/database.md
+++ b/docs/integrations/database.md
@@ -27,9 +27,7 @@ Let's take a look at the most basic async database integration possible with X:
         ));
 
         $data = "Found " . $result->resultRows[0]['count'] . " books\n";
-        return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
             $data
         );
     });
@@ -57,9 +55,7 @@ Let's take a look at the most basic async database integration possible with X:
         );
 
         $data = "Found " . $result->resultRows[0]['count'] . " books\n";
-        return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
             $data
         );
     });
@@ -86,9 +82,7 @@ Let's take a look at the most basic async database integration possible with X:
             'SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM book'
         )->then(function (React\MySQL\QueryResult $result) {
             $data = "Found " . $result->resultRows[0]['count'] . " books\n";
-            return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-                200,
-                [],
+            return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
                 $data
             );
         });
@@ -234,17 +228,13 @@ from a [route placeholder](../api/app.md#routing) like this:
         assert($result instanceof React\MySQL\QueryResult);
 
         if (count($result->resultRows) === 0) {
-            return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-                404,
-                [],
+            return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
                 "Book not found\n"
-            );
+            )->withStatus(React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
         }
 
         $data = $result->resultRows[0]['title'];
-        return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
             $data
         );
 
@@ -276,17 +266,13 @@ from a [route placeholder](../api/app.md#routing) like this:
         assert($result instanceof React\MySQL\QueryResult);
 
         if (count($result->resultRows) === 0) {
-            return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-                404,
-                [],
+            return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
                 "Book not found\n"
-            );
+            )->withStatus(React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
         }
 
         $data = $result->resultRows[0]['title'];
-        return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-            200,
-            [],
+        return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
             $data
         );
 
@@ -318,17 +304,13 @@ from a [route placeholder](../api/app.md#routing) like this:
 
 
             if (count($result->resultRows) === 0) {
-                return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-                    404,
-                    [],
+                return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
                     "Book not found\n"
-                );
+                )->withStatus(React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
             }
 
             $data = $result->resultRows[0]['title'];
-            return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-                200,
-                [],
+            return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
                 $data
             );
         });
@@ -560,17 +542,13 @@ interface with each other using a simple async API:
 
 
             if ($book === null) {
-                return new Response(
-                    404,
-                    [],
+                return Response::plaintext(
                     "Book not found\n"
-                );
+                )->withStatus(Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
             }
 
             $data = $book->title;
-            return new Response(
-                200,
-                [],
+            return Response::plaintext(
                 $data
             );
         }
@@ -641,17 +619,13 @@ interface with each other using a simple async API:
             assert($book === null || $book instanceof Book);
 
             if ($book === null) {
-                return new Response(
-                    404,
-                    [],
+                return Response::plaintext(
                     "Book not found\n"
-                );
+                )->withStatus(Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
             }
 
             $data = $book->title;
-            return new Response(
-                200,
-                [],
+            return Response::plaintext(
                 $data
             );
         }
@@ -721,17 +695,13 @@ interface with each other using a simple async API:
             return $this->repository->findBook($isbn)->then(function (?Book $book) {
 
                 if ($book === null) {
-                    return new Response(
-                        404,
-                        [],
+                    return Response::plaintext(
                         "Book not found\n"
-                    );
+                    )->withStatus(Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND);
                 }
 
                 $data = $book->title;
-                return new Response(
-                    200,
-                    [],
+                return Response::plaintext(
                     $data
                 );
             });
diff --git a/examples/index.php b/examples/index.php
index 3cc7546..5f87b49 100644
--- a/examples/index.php
+++ b/examples/index.php
@@ -8,9 +8,7 @@
 $app = new FrameworkX\App();
 
 $app->get('/', function () {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         "Hello world!\n"
     );
 });
@@ -21,21 +19,13 @@
         return htmlspecialchars_decode(htmlspecialchars($str, ENT_SUBSTITUTE | ENT_DISALLOWED, 'utf-8'));
     };
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [
-            'Content-Type' => 'text/plain; charset=utf-8'
-        ],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         "Hello " . $escape($request->getAttribute('name')) . "!\n"
     );
 });
 
 $app->get('/uri[/{path:.*}]', function (ServerRequestInterface $request) {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [
-            'Content-Type' => 'text/plain'
-        ],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         (string) $request->getUri() . "\n"
     );
 });
@@ -45,7 +35,7 @@
     // Note that this assumes UTF-8 data in query params and may break for other encodings,
     // see also JSON_INVALID_UTF8_SUBSTITUTE (PHP 7.2+) or JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR (PHP 7.3+)
     return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
+        React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK,
         [
             'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
         ],
@@ -62,11 +52,7 @@
         $info = htmlspecialchars($info, 0, 'utf-8');
     }
 
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [
-            'Content-Type' => 'text/html;charset=utf-8'
-        ],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::html(
         '<h2>Request</h2><pre>' . $info . '</pre>' . "\n"
     );
 });
@@ -90,7 +76,7 @@
     });
 
     return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
+        React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK,
         [
             'Content-Type' => 'text/plain;charset=utf-8'
         ],
@@ -103,9 +89,7 @@
 $app->redirect('/source', '/source/');
 
 $app->any('/method', function (ServerRequestInterface $request) {
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [],
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::plaintext(
         $request->getMethod() . "\n"
     );
 });
@@ -114,16 +98,15 @@
     $etag = '"_"';
     if ($request->getHeaderLine('If-None-Match') === $etag) {
         return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-            304,
+            React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_NOT_MODIFIED,
             [
                 'ETag' => $etag
-            ],
-            ''
+            ]
         );
     }
 
     return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
+        React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK,
         [
             'ETag' => $etag
         ],
@@ -134,17 +117,16 @@
     $etag = '"' . $request->getAttribute('etag') . '"';
     if ($request->getHeaderLine('If-None-Match') === $etag) {
         return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-            304,
+            React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_NOT_MODIFIED,
             [
                 'ETag' => $etag,
                 'Content-Length' => strlen($etag) - 1
-            ],
-            ''
+            ]
         );
     }
 
     return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
+        React\Http\Message\Response::STATUS_OK,
         [
             'ETag' => $etag
         ],
@@ -156,15 +138,8 @@
     // Returns a JSON representation of all request headers passed to this endpoint.
     // Note that this assumes UTF-8 data in request headers and may break for other encodings,
     // see also JSON_INVALID_UTF8_SUBSTITUTE (PHP 7.2+) or JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR (PHP 7.3+)
-    return new React\Http\Message\Response(
-        200,
-        [
-            'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
-        ],
-        json_encode(
-            (object) array_map(function (array $headers) { return implode(', ', $headers); }, $request->getHeaders()),
-            JSON_PRETTY_PRINT | JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES | JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES
-        ) . "\n"
+    return React\Http\Message\Response::json(
+        (object) array_map(function (array $headers) { return implode(', ', $headers); }, $request->getHeaders())
     );
 });
 
diff --git a/src/AccessLogHandler.php b/src/AccessLogHandler.php
index d0a5c4c..5c0a3f5 100644
--- a/src/AccessLogHandler.php
+++ b/src/AccessLogHandler.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
 use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
+use React\Http\Message\Response;
 use React\Promise\PromiseInterface;
 use React\Stream\ReadableStreamInterface;
 
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ private function log(ServerRequestInterface $request, ResponseInterface $respons
         $status = $response->getStatusCode();
 
         // HEAD requests and `204 No Content` and `304 Not Modified` always use an empty response body
-        if ($method === 'HEAD' || $status === 204 || $status === 304) {
+        if ($method === 'HEAD' || $status === Response::STATUS_NO_CONTENT || $status === Response::STATUS_NOT_MODIFIED) {
             $responseSize = 0;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/App.php b/src/App.php
index 0b27246..cf8ed4e 100644
--- a/src/App.php
+++ b/src/App.php
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
 use React\EventLoop\Loop;
 use React\Http\HttpServer;
+use React\Http\Message\Response;
 use React\Promise\Deferred;
 use React\Promise\PromiseInterface;
 use React\Socket\SocketServer;
@@ -162,7 +163,7 @@ public function map(array $methods, string $route, $handler, ...$handlers): void
      * @param string $target
      * @param int $code
      */
-    public function redirect(string $route, string $target, int $code = 302): void
+    public function redirect(string $route, string $target, int $code = Response::STATUS_FOUND): void
     {
         $this->any($route, new RedirectHandler($target, $code));
     }
diff --git a/src/ErrorHandler.php b/src/ErrorHandler.php
index 100c747..40691a1 100644
--- a/src/ErrorHandler.php
+++ b/src/ErrorHandler.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
 use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
+use React\Http\Message\Response;
 use React\Promise\PromiseInterface;
 
 /**
@@ -107,7 +108,7 @@ private function coroutine(\Generator $generator): \Generator
     public function requestNotFound(): ResponseInterface
     {
         return $this->htmlResponse(
-            404,
+            Response::STATUS_NOT_FOUND,
             'Page Not Found',
             'Please check the URL in the address bar and try again.'
         );
@@ -118,7 +119,7 @@ public function requestMethodNotAllowed(array $allowedMethods): ResponseInterfac
         $methods = \implode('/', \array_map(function (string $method) { return '<code>' . $method . '</code>'; }, $allowedMethods));
 
         return $this->htmlResponse(
-            405,
+            Response::STATUS_METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED,
             'Method Not Allowed',
             'Please check the URL in the address bar and try again with ' . $methods . ' request.'
         )->withHeader('Allow', \implode(', ', $allowedMethods));
@@ -127,7 +128,7 @@ public function requestMethodNotAllowed(array $allowedMethods): ResponseInterfac
     public function requestProxyUnsupported(): ResponseInterface
     {
         return $this->htmlResponse(
-            400,
+            Response::STATUS_BAD_REQUEST,
             'Proxy Requests Not Allowed',
             'Please check your settings and retry.'
         );
@@ -139,7 +140,7 @@ public function errorInvalidException(\Throwable $e): ResponseInterface
         $message = '<code>' . $this->html->escape($e->getMessage()) . '</code>';
 
         return $this->htmlResponse(
-            500,
+            Response::STATUS_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
             'Internal Server Error',
             'The requested page failed to load, please try again later.',
             'Expected request handler to return <code>' . ResponseInterface::class . '</code> but got uncaught <code>' . \get_class($e) . '</code> with message ' . $message . $where . '.'
@@ -149,7 +150,7 @@ public function errorInvalidException(\Throwable $e): ResponseInterface
     public function errorInvalidResponse($value): ResponseInterface
     {
         return $this->htmlResponse(
-            500,
+            Response::STATUS_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
             'Internal Server Error',
             'The requested page failed to load, please try again later.',
             'Expected request handler to return <code>' . ResponseInterface::class . '</code> but got <code>' . $this->describeType($value) . '</code>.'
@@ -161,7 +162,7 @@ public function errorInvalidCoroutine($value, string $file, int $line): Response
         $where = ' near or before '. $this->where($file, $line) . '.';
 
         return $this->htmlResponse(
-            500,
+            Response::STATUS_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
             'Internal Server Error',
             'The requested page failed to load, please try again later.',
             'Expected request handler to yield <code>' . PromiseInterface::class . '</code> but got <code>' . $this->describeType($value) . '</code>' . $where
diff --git a/src/FilesystemHandler.php b/src/FilesystemHandler.php
index acc2642..5deaf47 100644
--- a/src/FilesystemHandler.php
+++ b/src/FilesystemHandler.php
@@ -88,11 +88,7 @@ public function __invoke(ServerRequestInterface $request)
             }
             $response .= '</ul>' . "\n";
 
-            return new Response(
-                200,
-                [
-                    'Content-Type' => 'text/html; charset=utf-8'
-                ],
+            return Response::html(
                 $response
             );
         } elseif ($valid && \is_file($path)) {
@@ -112,12 +108,12 @@ public function __invoke(ServerRequestInterface $request)
                 $headers['Last-Modified'] = \gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', $stat['mtime']) . ' GMT';
 
                 if ($request->getHeaderLine('If-Modified-Since') === $headers['Last-Modified']) {
-                    return new Response(304);
+                    return new Response(Response::STATUS_NOT_MODIFIED);
                 }
             }
 
             return new Response(
-                200,
+                Response::STATUS_OK,
                 $headers,
                 \file_get_contents($path)
             );
diff --git a/src/RedirectHandler.php b/src/RedirectHandler.php
index 80a9875..737d9c2 100644
--- a/src/RedirectHandler.php
+++ b/src/RedirectHandler.php
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ class RedirectHandler
     /** @var HtmlHandler */
     private $html;
 
-    public function __construct(string $target, int $redirectStatusCode = 302)
+    public function __construct(string $target, int $redirectStatusCode = Response::STATUS_FOUND)
     {
-        if ($redirectStatusCode < 300 || $redirectStatusCode === 304 || $redirectStatusCode >= 400) {
+        if ($redirectStatusCode < 300 || $redirectStatusCode === Response::STATUS_NOT_MODIFIED || $redirectStatusCode >= 400) {
             throw new \InvalidArgumentException('Invalid redirect status code given');
         }
 
diff --git a/src/SapiHandler.php b/src/SapiHandler.php
index e34f86f..ecf776c 100644
--- a/src/SapiHandler.php
+++ b/src/SapiHandler.php
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
 use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
+use React\Http\Message\Response;
 use React\Http\Message\ServerRequest;
 use React\Stream\ReadableStreamInterface;
 
@@ -87,10 +88,10 @@ public function sendResponse(ResponseInterface $response): void
 
         header($_SERVER['SERVER_PROTOCOL'] . ' ' . $status . ' ' . $response->getReasonPhrase());
 
-        if ($status === 204) {
-            // 204 MUST NOT include "Content-Length" response header
+        if ($status === Response::STATUS_NO_CONTENT) {
+            // `204 No Content` MUST NOT include "Content-Length" response header
             $response = $response->withoutHeader('Content-Length');
-        } elseif (!$response->hasHeader('Content-Length') && $body->getSize() !== null && ($status !== 304 || $body->getSize() !== 0)) {
+        } elseif (!$response->hasHeader('Content-Length') && $body->getSize() !== null && ($status !== Response::STATUS_NOT_MODIFIED || $body->getSize() !== 0)) {
             // automatically assign "Content-Length" response header if known and not already present
             $response = $response->withHeader('Content-Length', (string) $body->getSize());
         }
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ public function sendResponse(ResponseInterface $response): void
         }
         ini_set('default_charset', $old);
 
-        if (($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] ?? '') === 'HEAD' || $status === 204 || $status === 304) {
+        if (($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] ?? '') === 'HEAD' || $status === Response::STATUS_NO_CONTENT || $status === Response::STATUS_NOT_MODIFIED) {
             $body->close();
             return;
         }
diff --git a/tests/acceptance.sh b/tests/acceptance.sh
index d18c531..5ecb1fd 100755
--- a/tests/acceptance.sh
+++ b/tests/acceptance.sh
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ skipif() {
     echo "$out" | grep "$@" >/dev/null && echo -n S && return 1 || return 0
 }
 
-out=$(curl -v $base/ 2>&1);         match "HTTP/.* 200" && notmatch -i "Content-Type:"
+out=$(curl -v $base/ 2>&1);         match "HTTP/.* 200" && match -iP "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8[\r\n]"
 out=$(curl -v $base/invalid 2>&1);  match "HTTP/.* 404" && match -iP "Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8[\r\n]"
 out=$(curl -v $base// 2>&1);        match "HTTP/.* 404"
 out=$(curl -v $base/ 2>&1 -X POST); match "HTTP/.* 405"