diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b960afd..15c7d86 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ Full docs are available at [https://theoephraim.github.io/node-google-spreadshee
 
 -------------
 
-> 🌈 **Installation** - `npm i google-spreadsheet --save` OR `yarn add google-spreadsheet`
+> 🌈 **Installation** - `npm i google-spreadsheet --save`
 
 ## Examples
 _the following examples are meant to give you an idea of just some of the things you can do_
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ await rows[1].save(); // save updates
 await rows[1].delete(); // delete a row
 ```
 More info:
-- [GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet > Working With Rows](https://theoephraim.github.io/node-google-spreadsheet/#/classes/google-spreadsheet-worksheet?working-with-rows)
+- [GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet > Working With Rows](https://theoephraim.github.io/node-google-spreadsheet/#/classes/google-spreadsheet-worksheet#working-with-rows)
 - [GoogleSpreadsheetRow](https://theoephraim.github.io/node-google-spreadsheet/#/classes/google-spreadsheet-row)
 
 
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ c6.note = 'This is a note!';
 await sheet.saveUpdatedCells(); // save all updates in one call
 ```
 More info:
-- [GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet > Working With Cells](https://theoephraim.github.io/node-google-spreadsheet/#/classes/google-spreadsheet-worksheet?working-with-cells)
+- [GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet > Working With Cells](https://theoephraim.github.io/node-google-spreadsheet/#/classes/google-spreadsheet-worksheet#working-with-cells)
 - [GoogleSpreadsheetCell](https://theoephraim.github.io/node-google-spreadsheet/#/classes/google-spreadsheet-row)
 
 
diff --git a/docs/README.md b/docs/README.md
index 444ad97..ac3e4b9 100644
--- a/docs/README.md
+++ b/docs/README.md
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ _Welcome to the docs site for_
 - row-based API - read, update, delete (based on the old v3 row-based calls)
 - managing worksheets - add, remove, resize, change title, formatting
 
-?> 🌈 **Installation** - `npm i google-spreadsheet --save` OR `yarn add google-spreadsheet`
+?> 🌈 **Installation** - `npm i google-spreadsheet --save`
 
 ## Examples
 _the following examples are meant to give you an idea of just some of the things you can do_
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ await rows[1].save(); // save updates
 await rows[1].delete(); // delete a row
 ```
 More info:
-- [GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet > Working With Rows](classes/google-spreadsheet-worksheet?working-with-rows)
+- [GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet > Working With Rows](classes/google-spreadsheet-worksheet#working-with-rows)
 - [GoogleSpreadsheetRow](classes/google-spreadsheet-row)
 
 
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ c6.note = 'This is a note!';
 await sheet.saveUpdatedCells(); // save all updates in one call
 ```
 More info:
-- [GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet > Working With Cells](classes/google-spreadsheet-worksheet?working-with-cells)
+- [GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet > Working With Cells](classes/google-spreadsheet-worksheet#working-with-cells)
 - [GoogleSpreadsheetCell](classes/google-spreadsheet-row)
 
 
diff --git a/lib/GoogleSpreadsheetRow.js b/lib/GoogleSpreadsheetRow.js
index b00162b..80db238 100644
--- a/lib/GoogleSpreadsheetRow.js
+++ b/lib/GoogleSpreadsheetRow.js
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ class GoogleSpreadsheetRow {
 
     const response = await this._sheet._spreadsheet.axios.request({
       method: 'put',
-      url: `/values/${this.a1Range}`,
+      url: `/values/${encodeURIComponent(this.a1Range)}`,
       params: {
         valueInputOption: 'USER_ENTERED', // other option is RAW
         includeValuesInResponse: true,
diff --git a/lib/GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet.js b/lib/GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet.js
index 694c6d6..71668bd 100644
--- a/lib/GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet.js
+++ b/lib/GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet.js
@@ -280,7 +280,13 @@ class GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet {
 
   async loadHeaderRow() {
     const rows = await this.getCellsInRange(`A1:${this.lastColumnLetter}1`);
+    if (!rows) {
+      throw new Error('No values in the header row - fill the first row with header values before trying to interact with rows');
+    }
     this.headerValues = _.map(rows[0], (header) => header.trim());
+    if (!_.compact(this.headerValues).length) {
+      throw new Error('All your header cells are blank - fill the first row with header values before trying to interact with rows');
+    }
     checkForDuplicateHeaders(this.headerValues);
   }
 
@@ -292,6 +298,10 @@ class GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet {
     const trimmedHeaderValues = _.map(headerValues, (h) => h.trim());
     checkForDuplicateHeaders(trimmedHeaderValues);
 
+    if (!_.compact(trimmedHeaderValues).length) {
+      throw new Error('All your header cells are blank -');
+    }
+
     const response = await this._spreadsheet.axios.request({
       method: 'put',
       url: `/values/${encodeURIComponent(this.a1SheetName)}!A1`,
@@ -302,7 +312,11 @@ class GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet {
       data: {
         range: `${this.a1SheetName}!A1`,
         majorDimension: 'ROWS',
-        values: [trimmedHeaderValues],
+        values: [[
+          ...trimmedHeaderValues,
+          // pad the rest of the row with empty values to clear them all out
+          ..._.times(this.columnCount - trimmedHeaderValues.length, () => ''),
+        ]],
       },
     });
     this.headerValues = response.data.updatedData.values[0];
@@ -759,7 +773,7 @@ class GoogleSpreadsheetWorksheet {
   async clear() {
     // clears all the data in the sheet
     // sheet name without ie 'sheet1' rather than 'sheet1'!A1:B5 is all cells
-    await this._spreadsheet.axios.post(`/values/${this.a1SheetName}:clear`);
+    await this._spreadsheet.axios.post(`/values/${encodeURIComponent(this.a1SheetName)}:clear`);
     this.resetLocalCache(true);
   }
 }
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index e016d88..6bf0993 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "author": "Theo Ephraim <theozero@gmail.com> (https://theoephraim.com)",
   "name": "google-spreadsheet",
   "description": "Google Sheets API (v4) -- simple interface to read/write data and manage sheets",
-  "version": "3.0.4",
+  "version": "3.0.5",
   "license": "Unlicense",
   "keywords": [
     "google spreadsheets",
diff --git a/test/manage.test.js b/test/manage.test.js
index 7ddcd98..8178360 100644
--- a/test/manage.test.js
+++ b/test/manage.test.js
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ describe('Managing doc info and sheets', () => {
     let sheet;
 
     beforeAll(async () => {
-      sheet = await doc.addSheet({});
+      sheet = await doc.addSheet({ title: `Spécial CнArs - ${+new Date()}` });
     });
     afterAll(async () => {
       await sheet.delete();
diff --git a/test/rows.test.js b/test/rows.test.js
index fd00d72..1af4c41 100644
--- a/test/rows.test.js
+++ b/test/rows.test.js
@@ -21,7 +21,10 @@ const INITIAL_DATA = [
 describe('Row-based operations', () => {
   beforeAll(async () => {
     await doc.useServiceAccountAuth(creds);
-    sheet = await doc.addSheet({ headers: HEADERS });
+    sheet = await doc.addSheet({
+      headers: HEADERS,
+      title: `Spécial CнArs - ${+new Date()}`, // some urls have sheet title in them
+    });
     for (let i = 0; i < INITIAL_DATA.length; i++) {
       await sheet.addRow(INITIAL_DATA[i]);
     }
@@ -171,6 +174,14 @@ describe('Row-based operations', () => {
       sheet.loadCells('A1:E1');
     });
 
+    it('clears the entire header row when setting new values', async () => {
+      await sheet.setHeaderRow(['col1', 'col2', 'col3', 'col4', 'col5', 'col6', 'col7', 'col8']);
+      await sheet.setHeaderRow(['new1', 'new2']);
+      sheet.resetLocalCache(true);
+      await sheet.loadHeaderRow();
+      expect(sheet.headerValues.length).toBe(2);
+    });
+
     it('allows empty headers', async () => {
       await sheet.setHeaderRow(['', 'col1', '', 'col2']);
       rows = await sheet.getRows();
@@ -188,6 +199,12 @@ describe('Row-based operations', () => {
     it('throws an error if setting duplicate headers', async () => {
       await expect(sheet.setHeaderRow(['col1', 'col1'])).rejects.toThrow();
     });
+    it('throws an error if setting empty headers', async () => {
+      await expect(sheet.setHeaderRow([])).rejects.toThrow();
+    });
+    it('throws an error if setting empty headers after trimming', async () => {
+      await expect(sheet.setHeaderRow(['  '])).rejects.toThrow();
+    });
 
     it('throws an error if duplicate headers already exist', async () => {
       await sheet.loadCells('A1:C1');
@@ -198,23 +215,25 @@ describe('Row-based operations', () => {
       sheet.resetLocalCache(true); // forget the header values
       await expect(sheet.getRows()).rejects.toThrow();
     });
-  });
 
-  // These api calls include the range in the URL, which includes the sheet name
-  // so it's possible to have encoding issues where you wouldn't otherwise
-  describe('special character support', () => {
-    let specialCharSheet;
-    beforeAll(async () => {
-      specialCharSheet = await doc.addSheet({ title: `Активные - ${+new Date()}` });
-    });
-    afterAll(async () => {
-      await specialCharSheet.delete();
+    it('throws if headers are all blank', async () => {
+      await sheet.loadCells('A1:C1');
+      sheet.getCellByA1('A1').value = '';
+      sheet.getCellByA1('B1').value = '';
+      sheet.getCellByA1('C1').value = '';
+      await sheet.saveUpdatedCells();
+      sheet.resetLocalCache(true); // forget the header values
+      await expect(sheet.getRows()).rejects.toThrow();
     });
 
-    it('can handle sheets with special characters', async () => {
-      await specialCharSheet.setHeaderRow(['Ак', 'тив', 'ные']);
-      await specialCharSheet.addRow([1, 2, 3]);
-      await specialCharSheet.getRows();
+    it('throws if headers are all blank after trimming spaces', async () => {
+      await sheet.loadCells('A1:C1');
+      sheet.getCellByA1('A1').value = '';
+      sheet.getCellByA1('B1').value = '  ';
+      sheet.getCellByA1('C1').value = '';
+      await sheet.saveUpdatedCells();
+      sheet.resetLocalCache(true); // forget the header values
+      await expect(sheet.getRows()).rejects.toThrow();
     });
   });
 });