diff --git a/python/core/auto_generated/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.sip.in b/python/core/auto_generated/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.sip.in
index 353d88fbc234..2b56b1a3c981 100644
--- a/python/core/auto_generated/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.sip.in
+++ b/python/core/auto_generated/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.sip.in
@@ -10,13 +10,12 @@
 
 
 
-
-class QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator
+class QgsAbstractBaseValidator
 {
 %Docstring
-Abstract base class for metadata validators.
+Abstract base class for validators.
 
-.. versionadded:: 3.0
+.. versionadded:: 3.14
 %End
 
 %TypeHeaderCode
@@ -24,6 +23,9 @@ Abstract base class for metadata validators.
 %End
   public:
 
+
+    virtual ~QgsAbstractBaseValidator();
+
     struct ValidationResult
     {
 
@@ -38,10 +40,26 @@ Constructor for ValidationResult.
 
       QString note;
     };
+};
+
+
+
+class QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator : QgsAbstractBaseValidator
+{
+%Docstring
+Abstract base class for metadata validators.
+
+.. versionadded:: 3.0
+%End
+
+%TypeHeaderCode
+#include "qgslayermetadatavalidator.h"
+%End
+  public:
 
     virtual ~QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator();
 
-    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results /Out/ ) const = 0;
+    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results /Out/ ) const = 0;
 %Docstring
 Validates a ``metadata`` object, and returns ``True`` if the
 metadata is considered valid.
@@ -71,7 +89,7 @@ A validator for the native base QGIS metadata schema definition.
 Constructor for QgsNativeMetadataBaseValidator.
 %End
 
-    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results /Out/ ) const;
+    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results /Out/ ) const;
 
 
 };
@@ -96,7 +114,7 @@ A validator for the native QGIS layer metadata schema definition.
 Constructor for QgsNativeMetadataValidator.
 %End
 
-    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results /Out/ ) const;
+    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results /Out/ ) const;
 
 
 };
@@ -120,7 +138,7 @@ A validator for the native QGIS project metadata schema definition.
 Constructor for QgsNativeProjectMetadataValidator.
 %End
 
-    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results /Out/ ) const;
+    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results /Out/ ) const;
 
 
 };
diff --git a/python/core/auto_generated/qgsprojectservervalidator.sip.in b/python/core/auto_generated/qgsprojectservervalidator.sip.in
index d6caa6045f26..a9b4a6856b5e 100644
--- a/python/core/auto_generated/qgsprojectservervalidator.sip.in
+++ b/python/core/auto_generated/qgsprojectservervalidator.sip.in
@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@
  ************************************************************************/
 
 
-class QgsProjectServerValidator
+
+
+
+class QgsProjectServerValidator : QgsAbstractBaseValidator
 {
 %Docstring
 Project server validator.
@@ -20,20 +23,12 @@ Project server validator.
 %End
   public:
 
-    static void checkOWS( QgsLayerTreeGroup *treeGroup, QStringList &owsNames, QStringList &encodingMessages );
+    QgsProjectServerValidator();
 %Docstring
-Recursive function to check a layer tree group.
-The function will collect OWS names and encoding for each layers.
-
-.. versionadded:: 3.14
+Constructor for :py:class:`QgsNativeMetadataBaseValidator`.
 %End
 
-    static QString projectStatusHtml( QgsLayerTree *layerTree );
-%Docstring
-Check a layer tree.
-
-.. versionadded:: 3.14
-%End
+    bool validate( QgsLayerTree *layerTree, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results /Out/ ) const;
 
 };
 
diff --git a/src/app/qgsprojectproperties.cpp b/src/app/qgsprojectproperties.cpp
index de5cbf6312f2..695296aaef7b 100644
--- a/src/app/qgsprojectproperties.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgsprojectproperties.cpp
@@ -1906,10 +1906,33 @@ void QgsProjectProperties::pbnWCSLayersDeselectAll_clicked()
 
 void QgsProjectProperties::pbnLaunchOWSChecker_clicked()
 {
+  QList<QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult> validationResults;
+  QgsProjectServerValidator validator;
+  bool results = validator.validate( QgisApp::instance()->layerTreeView()->layerTreeModel()->rootGroup(), validationResults );
+
+  QString errors;
+  if ( !results )
+  {
+    for ( const QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult &result : qgis::as_const( validationResults ) )
+    {
+      errors += QLatin1String( "<b>" ) % result.section % QLatin1String( " :</b> " );
+      if ( ! result.identifier.isNull() )
+      {
+        errors += QLatin1String( " " ) % result.identifier.toString();
+      }
+      errors += QLatin1String( " : " ) % result.note % QLatin1String( "<br />" );
+    }
+  }
+  else
+  {
+    errors = QString( tr( "Ok, it seems valid." ) );
+  }
+
   QString myStyle = QgsApplication::reportStyleSheet();
+  myStyle.append( QStringLiteral( "body { margin: 10px; }\n " ) );
   teOWSChecker->clear();
   teOWSChecker->document()->setDefaultStyleSheet( myStyle );
-  teOWSChecker->setHtml( QgsProjectServerValidator::projectStatusHtml( QgisApp::instance()->layerTreeView()->layerTreeModel()->rootGroup() ) );
+  teOWSChecker->setHtml( errors );
 }
 
 void QgsProjectProperties::pbnAddScale_clicked()
diff --git a/src/core/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.cpp b/src/core/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.cpp
index 1708fb4438d7..73a404b8c29f 100644
--- a/src/core/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.cpp
+++ b/src/core/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.cpp
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 // QgsNativeMetadataBaseValidator
 //
 
-bool QgsNativeMetadataBaseValidator::validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList<QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult> &results ) const
+bool QgsNativeMetadataBaseValidator::validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList<QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult> &results ) const
 {
   results.clear();
   if ( !metadata )
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ bool QgsNativeMetadataValidator::validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *baseMe
 // QgsNativeProjectMetadataValidator
 //
 
-bool QgsNativeProjectMetadataValidator::validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *baseMetadata, QList<QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult> &results ) const
+bool QgsNativeProjectMetadataValidator::validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *baseMetadata, QList<QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult> &results ) const
 {
   results.clear();
 
diff --git a/src/core/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.h b/src/core/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.h
index de2e8321d239..02691063b772 100644
--- a/src/core/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.h
+++ b/src/core/metadata/qgslayermetadatavalidator.h
@@ -28,16 +28,17 @@ class QgsLayerMetadata;
 
 /**
  * \ingroup core
- * \class QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator
- * \brief Abstract base class for metadata validators.
- * \since QGIS 3.0
+ * \class QgsAbstractBaseValidator
+ * \brief Abstract base class for validators.
+ * \since QGIS 3.14
  */
-
-class CORE_EXPORT QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator
+class CORE_EXPORT QgsAbstractBaseValidator
 {
-
   public:
 
+
+    virtual ~QgsAbstractBaseValidator() = default;
+
     /**
      * Contains the parameters describing a metadata validation
      * failure.
@@ -68,6 +69,20 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator
       //! The reason behind the validation failure.
       QString note;
     };
+};
+
+
+/**
+ * \ingroup core
+ * \class QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator
+ * \brief Abstract base class for metadata validators.
+ * \since QGIS 3.0
+ */
+
+class CORE_EXPORT QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator : public QgsAbstractBaseValidator
+{
+
+  public:
 
     virtual ~QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator() = default;
 
@@ -78,7 +93,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator
      * items describing why the validation failed and what needs to be rectified
      * to fix the metadata.
      */
-    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results SIP_OUT ) const = 0;
+    virtual bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results SIP_OUT ) const = 0;
 
 };
 
@@ -99,7 +114,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsNativeMetadataBaseValidator : public QgsAbstractMetadataBas
      */
     QgsNativeMetadataBaseValidator() = default;
 
-    bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results SIP_OUT ) const override;
+    bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results SIP_OUT ) const override;
 
 };
 
@@ -121,7 +136,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsNativeMetadataValidator : public QgsNativeMetadataBaseValid
      */
     QgsNativeMetadataValidator() = default;
 
-    bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results SIP_OUT ) const override;
+    bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results SIP_OUT ) const override;
 
 };
 
@@ -142,7 +157,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsNativeProjectMetadataValidator : public QgsNativeMetadataBa
      */
     QgsNativeProjectMetadataValidator() = default;
 
-    bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractMetadataBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results SIP_OUT ) const override;
+    bool validate( const QgsAbstractMetadataBase *metadata, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results SIP_OUT ) const override;
 
 };
 
diff --git a/src/core/qgsprojectservervalidator.cpp b/src/core/qgsprojectservervalidator.cpp
index 51e9e96cd76b..a10be3441645 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsprojectservervalidator.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsprojectservervalidator.cpp
@@ -1,10 +1,28 @@
+/***************************************************************************
+                             qgsprojectservervalidator.cpp
+                             ---------------------------
+    begin                : March 2020
+    copyright            : (C) 2020 by Etienne Trimaille
+    email                : etienne dot trimaille at gmail dot com
+ ***************************************************************************/
+
+/***************************************************************************
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ *   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ *   the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or     *
+ *   (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                         *
+ ***************************************************************************/
+
+
 #include "qgsapplication.h"
 #include "qgslayertreelayer.h"
 #include "qgsprojectservervalidator.h"
 #include "qgsvectorlayer.h"
 
 
-void QgsProjectServerValidator::checkOWS( QgsLayerTreeGroup *treeGroup, QStringList &owsNames, QStringList &encodingMessages )
+void QgsProjectServerValidator::browseLayerTree( QgsLayerTreeGroup *treeGroup, QStringList &owsNames, QStringList &encodingMessages )
 {
   QList< QgsLayerTreeNode * > treeGroupChildren = treeGroup->children();
   for ( int i = 0; i < treeGroupChildren.size(); ++i )
@@ -18,7 +36,7 @@ void QgsProjectServerValidator::checkOWS( QgsLayerTreeGroup *treeGroup, QStringL
         owsNames << treeGroupChild->name();
       else
         owsNames << shortName;
-      checkOWS( treeGroupChild, owsNames, encodingMessages );
+      browseLayerTree( treeGroupChild, owsNames, encodingMessages );
     }
     else
     {
@@ -35,7 +53,7 @@ void QgsProjectServerValidator::checkOWS( QgsLayerTreeGroup *treeGroup, QStringL
         {
           QgsVectorLayer *vl = static_cast<QgsVectorLayer *>( l );
           if ( vl->dataProvider()->encoding() == QLatin1String( "System" ) )
-            encodingMessages << QObject::tr( "Update layer \"%1\" encoding" ).arg( l->name() );
+            encodingMessages << l->name();
         }
       }
     }
@@ -43,13 +61,16 @@ void QgsProjectServerValidator::checkOWS( QgsLayerTreeGroup *treeGroup, QStringL
 }
 
 
-QString QgsProjectServerValidator::projectStatusHtml( QgsLayerTree *layerTree )
+bool QgsProjectServerValidator::validate( QgsLayerTree *layerTree, QList<QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult> &results ) const
 {
+  results.clear();
+  bool result = true;
 
-  QString html = QStringLiteral( "<h1>" ) + QObject::tr( "Start checking QGIS Server" ) + QStringLiteral( "</h1>" );
+  if ( !layerTree )
+    return false;
 
   QStringList owsNames, encodingMessages;
-  checkOWS( layerTree, owsNames, encodingMessages );
+  browseLayerTree( layerTree, owsNames, encodingMessages );
 
   QStringList duplicateNames, regExpMessages;
   QRegExp snRegExp = QgsApplication::shortNameRegExp();
@@ -57,46 +78,38 @@ QString QgsProjectServerValidator::projectStatusHtml( QgsLayerTree *layerTree )
   for ( const QString &name : constOwsNames )
   {
     if ( !snRegExp.exactMatch( name ) )
-      regExpMessages <<  QObject::tr( "Use short name for \"%1\"" ).arg( name );
+    {
+      regExpMessages << name;
+    }
+
     if ( duplicateNames.contains( name ) )
+    {
       continue;
+    }
+
     if ( owsNames.count( name ) > 1 )
+    {
       duplicateNames << name;
+    }
   }
 
   if ( !duplicateNames.empty() )
   {
-    QString nameMessage = QStringLiteral( "<h1>" ) +  QObject::tr( "Some layers and groups have the same name or short name" ) + QStringLiteral( "</h1>" );
-    nameMessage += "<h2>" +  QObject::tr( "Duplicate names:" ) + "</h2>";
-    nameMessage += duplicateNames.join( QStringLiteral( "</li><li>" ) ) + QStringLiteral( "</li></ul>" );
-    html += nameMessage;
-  }
-  else
-  {
-    html += QStringLiteral( "<h1>" ) + QObject::tr( "All names and short names of layer and group are unique" ) + QStringLiteral( "</h1>" );
+    result = false;
+    results << ValidationResult( QObject::tr( "Duplicated names" ), QObject::tr( "Layers/groups have the same name or short name." ), duplicateNames.join( QStringLiteral( ", " ) ) );
   }
 
   if ( !regExpMessages.empty() )
   {
-    html += QStringLiteral( "<h1>" ) + QObject::tr( "Some layer short names have to be updated:" ) + QStringLiteral( "</h1><ul><li>" );
-    html += regExpMessages.join( QStringLiteral( "</li><li>" ) );
-    html += QStringLiteral( "</li></ul>" );
-  }
-  else
-  {
-    html += QStringLiteral( "<h1>" ) + QObject::tr( "All layer short names are well formed" ) + QStringLiteral( "</h1>" );
+    result = false;
+    results << ValidationResult( QObject::tr( "Short names" ), QObject::tr( "Layers short names have to be updated." ), regExpMessages.join( QStringLiteral( ", " ) ) );
   }
 
   if ( !encodingMessages.empty() )
   {
-    html += QStringLiteral( "<h1>" ) + QObject::tr( "Some layer encodings are not set:" ) + QStringLiteral( "</h1><ul><li>" );
-    html += encodingMessages.join( QStringLiteral( "</li><li>" ) );
-    html += QStringLiteral( "</li></ul>" );
-  }
-  else
-  {
-    html += QStringLiteral( "<h1>" ) + QObject::tr( "All layer encodings are set" ) + QStringLiteral( "</h1>" );
+    result = false;
+    results << ValidationResult( QObject::tr( "Encoding" ), QObject::tr( "Encoding is not set." ), encodingMessages.join( QStringLiteral( ", " ) ) );
   }
 
-  return html;
+  return result;
 }
diff --git a/src/core/qgsprojectservervalidator.h b/src/core/qgsprojectservervalidator.h
index 8ed51f877ee8..67b0478c681b 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsprojectservervalidator.h
+++ b/src/core/qgsprojectservervalidator.h
@@ -1,9 +1,28 @@
+/***************************************************************************
+                             qgsprojectservervalidator.h
+                             ---------------------------
+    begin                : March 2020
+    copyright            : (C) 2020 by Etienne Trimaille
+    email                : etienne dot trimaille at gmail dot com
+ ***************************************************************************/
+
+/***************************************************************************
+ *                                                                         *
+ *   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify  *
+ *   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by  *
+ *   the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or     *
+ *   (at your option) any later version.                                   *
+ *                                                                         *
+ ***************************************************************************/
+
+#ifndef QGSPROJECTSERVERVALIDATOR_H
+#define QGSPROJECTSERVERVALIDATOR_H
+
 #include "qgis_core.h"
+#include "qgslayermetadatavalidator.h"
 #include "qgslayertreegroup.h"
 #include "qgslayertree.h"
 
-#ifndef QGSPROJECTSERVERVALIDATOR_H
-#define QGSPROJECTSERVERVALIDATOR_H
 
 /**
  * \ingroup core
@@ -11,23 +30,29 @@
  * \brief Project server validator.
  * \since QGIS 3.14
  */
-class CORE_EXPORT QgsProjectServerValidator
+class CORE_EXPORT QgsProjectServerValidator : public QgsAbstractBaseValidator
 {
 
   public:
 
     /**
-     * Recursive function to check a layer tree group.
-     * The function will collect OWS names and encoding for each layers.
-     * \since QGIS 3.14
+     * Constructor for QgsProjectServerValidator.
      */
-    static void checkOWS( QgsLayerTreeGroup *treeGroup, QStringList &owsNames, QStringList &encodingMessages );
+    QgsProjectServerValidator() = default;
 
     /**
-     * Check a layer tree.
+     * Validates a layer tree to avoid some problems on QGIS Server, and returns TRUE if it's considered valid.
+     * If validation fails, the \a results list will be filled with a list of
+     * items describing why the validation failed and what needs to be rectified
+     * \param layerTree input layer tree
+     * \param results results of the validation
+     * \returns bool
      * \since QGIS 3.14
      */
-    static QString projectStatusHtml( QgsLayerTree *layerTree );
+    bool validate( QgsLayerTree *layerTree, QList< QgsAbstractBaseValidator::ValidationResult > &results SIP_OUT ) const;
+
+  private:
+    static void browseLayerTree( QgsLayerTreeGroup *treeGroup, QStringList &owsNames, QStringList &encodingMessages );
 
 };
 
diff --git a/tests/src/python/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/src/python/CMakeLists.txt
index 32a056c8f48c..8cf5020c3a43 100644
--- a/tests/src/python/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/src/python/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -186,6 +186,7 @@ ADD_PYTHON_TEST(PyQgsProcessingAlgDecorator test_processing_alg_decorator.py)
 ADD_PYTHON_TEST(PyQgsImportIntoPostGIS test_processing_importintopostgis.py)
 ADD_PYTHON_TEST(PyQgsProjectionSelectionWidgets test_qgsprojectionselectionwidgets.py)
 ADD_PYTHON_TEST(PyQgsProjectMetadata test_qgsprojectmetadata.py)
+ADD_PYTHON_TEST(PyQgsProjectServerValidator test_qgsprojectservervalidator.py)
 ADD_PYTHON_TEST(PyQgsPropertyOverrideButton test_qgspropertyoverridebutton.py)
 ADD_PYTHON_TEST(PyQgsProviderConnectionComboBox test_qgsproviderconnectioncombobox.py)
 ADD_PYTHON_TEST(PyQgsProviderConnectionModel test_qgsproviderconnectionmodel.py)
diff --git a/tests/src/python/test_qgsprojectservervalidator.py b/tests/src/python/test_qgsprojectservervalidator.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..dabbe4dd3f15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/src/python/test_qgsprojectservervalidator.py
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+"""QGIS Unit tests for QgsProjectServerValidator
+
+From build dir, run:
+ctest -R PyQgsProjectServerValidator -V
+
+.. note:: This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
+(at your option) any later version.
+"""
+__author__ = 'Etienne Trimaille'
+__date__ = '27/03/2020'
+__copyright__ = 'Copyright 2020, The QGIS Project'
+
+from qgis.core import (
+    QgsProject,
+    QgsVectorLayer,
+    QgsProjectServerValidator,
+)
+from qgis.testing import start_app, unittest
+
+app = start_app()
+
+
+class TestQgsprojectServerValidator(unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def test_project_server_validator(self):
+        """Test project server validator."""
+        validator = QgsProjectServerValidator()
+        project = QgsProject()
+        layer = QgsVectorLayer("Point?field=fldtxt:string", "layer_1", "memory")
+        project.addMapLayers([layer])
+
+        valid, results = validator.validate(project.layerTreeRoot())
+        self.assertTrue(valid)
+        self.assertFalse(results)
+
+        layer_1 = QgsVectorLayer("Point?field=fldtxt:string", "layer_1", "memory")
+        project.addMapLayers([layer_1])
+
+        valid, results = validator.validate(project.layerTreeRoot())
+        self.assertFalse(valid)
+        self.assertEqual(results[0].section, 'Duplicated names')
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    unittest.main()