diff --git a/actix-web-actors/src/ws.rs b/actix-web-actors/src/ws.rs
index c6bc440c8..a8846ea47 100644
--- a/actix-web-actors/src/ws.rs
+++ b/actix-web-actors/src/ws.rs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ where
     A: Actor<Context = WebsocketContext<A>> + StreamHandler<Message, ProtocolError>,
     T: Stream<Item = Bytes, Error = PayloadError> + 'static,
 {
-    let mut res = handshake(req, &vec![])?;
+    let mut res = handshake(req)?;
     Ok(res.streaming(WebsocketContext::create(actor, stream)))
 }
 
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ where
 /// `protocols` is a sequence of known protocols.
 pub fn start_with_protocols<A, T>(
     actor: A,
-    protocols: &Vec<&str>,
+    protocols: &[&str],
     req: &HttpRequest,
     stream: T,
 ) -> Result<HttpResponse, Error>
@@ -48,10 +48,18 @@ where
     A: Actor<Context = WebsocketContext<A>> + StreamHandler<Message, ProtocolError>,
     T: Stream<Item = Bytes, Error = PayloadError> + 'static,
 {
-    let mut res = handshake(req, protocols)?;
+    let mut res = handshake_with_protocols(req, protocols)?;
     Ok(res.streaming(WebsocketContext::create(actor, stream)))
 }
 
+/// Prepare `WebSocket` handshake response.
+///
+/// This function returns handshake `HttpResponse`, ready to send to peer.
+/// It does not perform any IO.
+pub fn handshake(req: &HttpRequest) -> Result<HttpResponseBuilder, HandshakeError> {
+    handshake_with_protocols(req, &[])
+}
+
 /// Prepare `WebSocket` handshake response.
 ///
 /// This function returns handshake `HttpResponse`, ready to send to peer.
@@ -60,9 +68,9 @@ where
 /// `protocols` is a sequence of known protocols. On successful handshake,
 /// the returned response headers contain the first protocol in this list
 /// which the server also knows.
-pub fn handshake(
+pub fn handshake_with_protocols(
     req: &HttpRequest,
-    protocols: &Vec<&str>,
+    protocols: &[&str],
 ) -> Result<HttpResponseBuilder, HandshakeError> {
     // WebSocket accepts only GET
     if *req.method() != Method::GET {
@@ -476,13 +484,13 @@ mod tests {
             .to_http_request();
         assert_eq!(
             HandshakeError::GetMethodRequired,
-            handshake(&req, &vec![]).err().unwrap()
+            handshake(&req).err().unwrap()
         );
 
         let req = TestRequest::default().to_http_request();
         assert_eq!(
             HandshakeError::NoWebsocketUpgrade,
-            handshake(&req, &vec![]).err().unwrap()
+            handshake(&req).err().unwrap()
         );
 
         let req = TestRequest::default()
@@ -490,7 +498,7 @@ mod tests {
             .to_http_request();
         assert_eq!(
             HandshakeError::NoWebsocketUpgrade,
-            handshake(&req, &vec![]).err().unwrap()
+            handshake(&req).err().unwrap()
         );
 
         let req = TestRequest::default()
@@ -501,7 +509,7 @@ mod tests {
             .to_http_request();
         assert_eq!(
             HandshakeError::NoConnectionUpgrade,
-            handshake(&req, &vec![]).err().unwrap()
+            handshake(&req).err().unwrap()
         );
 
         let req = TestRequest::default()
@@ -516,7 +524,7 @@ mod tests {
             .to_http_request();
         assert_eq!(
             HandshakeError::NoVersionHeader,
-            handshake(&req, &vec![]).err().unwrap()
+            handshake(&req).err().unwrap()
         );
 
         let req = TestRequest::default()
@@ -535,7 +543,7 @@ mod tests {
             .to_http_request();
         assert_eq!(
             HandshakeError::UnsupportedVersion,
-            handshake(&req, &vec![]).err().unwrap()
+            handshake(&req).err().unwrap()
         );
 
         let req = TestRequest::default()
@@ -554,7 +562,7 @@ mod tests {
             .to_http_request();
         assert_eq!(
             HandshakeError::BadWebsocketKey,
-            handshake(&req, &vec![]).err().unwrap()
+            handshake(&req).err().unwrap()
         );
 
         let req = TestRequest::default()
@@ -578,7 +586,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         assert_eq!(
             StatusCode::SWITCHING_PROTOCOLS,
-            handshake(&req, &vec![]).unwrap().finish().status()
+            handshake(&req).unwrap().finish().status()
         );
 
         let req = TestRequest::default()
@@ -604,15 +612,22 @@ mod tests {
             )
             .to_http_request();
 
-        let protocols = vec!["graphql"];
+        let protocols = ["graphql"];
 
         assert_eq!(
             StatusCode::SWITCHING_PROTOCOLS,
-            handshake(&req, &protocols).unwrap().finish().status()
+            handshake_with_protocols(&req, &protocols)
+                .unwrap()
+                .finish()
+                .status()
         );
         assert_eq!(
             Some(&header::HeaderValue::from_static("graphql")),
-            handshake(&req, &protocols).unwrap().finish().headers().get(&header::SEC_WEBSOCKET_PROTOCOL)
+            handshake_with_protocols(&req, &protocols)
+                .unwrap()
+                .finish()
+                .headers()
+                .get(&header::SEC_WEBSOCKET_PROTOCOL)
         );
 
         let req = TestRequest::default()
@@ -642,11 +657,18 @@ mod tests {
 
         assert_eq!(
             StatusCode::SWITCHING_PROTOCOLS,
-            handshake(&req, &protocols).unwrap().finish().status()
+            handshake_with_protocols(&req, &protocols)
+                .unwrap()
+                .finish()
+                .status()
         );
         assert_eq!(
             Some(&header::HeaderValue::from_static("p2")),
-            handshake(&req, &protocols).unwrap().finish().headers().get(&header::SEC_WEBSOCKET_PROTOCOL)
+            handshake_with_protocols(&req, &protocols)
+                .unwrap()
+                .finish()
+                .headers()
+                .get(&header::SEC_WEBSOCKET_PROTOCOL)
         );
     }
 }