diff --git a/progressbar.go b/progressbar.go
index 0ccec7d..460360b 100644
--- a/progressbar.go
+++ b/progressbar.go
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
-	"log"
 	"math"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
@@ -449,17 +448,15 @@ func NewOptions64(max int64, options ...Option) *ProgressBar {
 		go func() {
 			ticker := time.NewTicker(b.config.spinnerChangeInterval)
 			defer ticker.Stop()
-			for {
-				select {
-				case <-ticker.C:
-					if b.IsFinished() {
-						return
-					}
-					if b.IsStarted() {
-						b.lock.Lock()
-						b.render()
-						b.lock.Unlock()
-					}
+
+			for range ticker.C {
+				if b.IsFinished() {
+					return
+				}
+				if b.IsStarted() {
+					b.lock.Lock()
+					b.render()
+					b.lock.Unlock()
 				}
 			}
 		}()
@@ -1014,27 +1011,48 @@ func (p *ProgressBar) State() State {
 
 // StartHTTPServer starts an HTTP server dedicated to serving progress bar updates. This allows you to
 // display the status in various UI elements, such as an OS status bar with an `xbar` extension.
-// It is recommended to run this function in a separate goroutine to avoid blocking the main thread.
+// When the progress bar is finished, call `server.Shutdown()` or `server.Close()` to shut it down manually.
 //
 // hostPort specifies the address and port to bind the server to, for example, "0.0.0.0:19999".
-func (p *ProgressBar) StartHTTPServer(hostPort string) {
-	// for advanced users, we can return the data as json
-	http.HandleFunc("/state", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/json")
-		// since the state is a simple struct, we can just ignore the error
+func (p *ProgressBar) StartHTTPServer(hostPort string) *http.Server {
+	mux := http.NewServeMux()
+
+	// register routes
+	mux.HandleFunc("/state", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
 		bs, _ := json.Marshal(p.State())
 		w.Write(bs)
 	})
-	// for others, we just return the description in a plain text format
-	http.HandleFunc("/desc", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+
+	mux.HandleFunc("/desc", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/plain")
+		state := p.State()
 		fmt.Fprintf(w,
 			"%d/%d, %.2f%%, %s left",
-			p.State().CurrentNum, p.State().Max, p.State().CurrentPercent*100,
-			(time.Second * time.Duration(p.State().SecondsLeft)).String(),
+			state.CurrentNum, state.Max, state.CurrentPercent*100,
+			(time.Second * time.Duration(state.SecondsLeft)).String(),
 		)
 	})
-	log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(hostPort, nil))
+
+	// create the server instance
+	server := &http.Server{
+		Addr:    hostPort,
+		Handler: mux,
+	}
+
+	// start the server in a goroutine and ignore errors
+	go func() {
+		defer func() {
+			if err := recover(); err != nil {
+				fmt.Println("encounter panic: ", err)
+			}
+		}()
+
+		_ = server.ListenAndServe()
+	}()
+
+	// return the server instance for use by the caller
+	return server
 }
 
 // regex matching ansi escape codes
diff --git a/progressbar_test.go b/progressbar_test.go
index 1a4aad7..fd6ac3a 100644
--- a/progressbar_test.go
+++ b/progressbar_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package progressbar
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"context"
 	"crypto/md5"
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"encoding/json"
@@ -471,7 +472,7 @@ func TestOptionSetTheme(t *testing.T) {
 	bar.RenderBlank()
 	result := strings.TrimSpace(buf.String())
 	expect := "0% >----------<"
-	if strings.Index(result, expect) == -1 {
+	if !strings.Contains(result, expect) {
 		t.Errorf("Render miss-match\nResult: '%s'\nExpect: '%s'\n%+v", result, expect, bar)
 	}
 	buf.Reset()
@@ -487,7 +488,7 @@ func TestOptionSetTheme(t *testing.T) {
 	bar.Finish()
 	result = strings.TrimSpace(buf.String())
 	expect = "100% >##########<"
-	if strings.Index(result, expect) == -1 {
+	if !strings.Contains(result, expect) {
 		t.Errorf("Render miss-match\nResult: '%s'\nExpect: '%s'\n%+v", result, expect, bar)
 	}
 }
@@ -506,7 +507,7 @@ func TestOptionSetThemeFilled(t *testing.T) {
 	bar.RenderBlank()
 	result := strings.TrimSpace(buf.String())
 	expect := "0% >----------<"
-	if strings.Index(result, expect) == -1 {
+	if !strings.Contains(result, expect) {
 		t.Errorf("Render miss-match\nResult: '%s'\nExpect: '%s'\n%+v", result, expect, bar)
 	}
 	buf.Reset()
@@ -522,7 +523,7 @@ func TestOptionSetThemeFilled(t *testing.T) {
 	bar.Finish()
 	result = strings.TrimSpace(buf.String())
 	expect = "100% ]##########["
-	if strings.Index(result, expect) == -1 {
+	if !strings.Contains(result, expect) {
 		t.Errorf("Render miss-match\nResult: '%s'\nExpect: '%s'\n%+v", result, expect, bar)
 	}
 }
@@ -1067,7 +1068,7 @@ func TestOptionSetSpinnerChangeIntervalZero(t *testing.T) {
 		bar.lock.Lock()
 		s, _ := vt.String()
 		bar.lock.Unlock()
-		s = strings.TrimSpace(s)
+		_ = strings.TrimSpace(s)
 	}
 	for i := range actuals {
 		assert.Equal(t, expected[i], actuals[i])
@@ -1130,7 +1131,7 @@ func TestStartHTTPServer(t *testing.T) {
 	bar.Add(1)
 
 	hostPort := "localhost:9696"
-	go bar.StartHTTPServer(hostPort)
+	svr := bar.StartHTTPServer(hostPort)
 
 	// check plain text
 	resp, err := http.Get(fmt.Sprintf("http://%s/desc", hostPort))
@@ -1162,4 +1163,19 @@ func TestStartHTTPServer(t *testing.T) {
 	if result.Max != bar.State().Max || result.CurrentNum != bar.State().CurrentNum {
 		t.Errorf("wrong state: %v", result)
 	}
+
+	// shutdown server
+	err = svr.Shutdown(context.Background())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("shutdown server failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// start new bar server
+	bar = Default(10, "test")
+	bar.Add(1)
+	svr = bar.StartHTTPServer(hostPort)
+	err = svr.Close()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("shutdown server failed: %v", err)
+	}
 }