In this article · 7 sections
Websites go down for many reasons: server problems, expired domains, SSL errors, hacked files or a bad update. Without monitoring, you often find out from a customer, hours later. Website uptime monitoring tools check your site every few minutes and alert you immediately when something's wrong.
Features and free-plan limits change; check current details.
What to monitor
- HTTP check: does the page load with status 200?
- Keyword check: does the page contain expected text (catches error pages that still return 200)?
- SSL expiry: alerts before your certificate expires
- Domain expiry: alerts before your domain lapses
- Response time: spots slowdowns
- Key pages: homepage, booking page, checkout, contact form endpoint
Popular tools
UptimeRobot
Simple, widely used, with a free tier offering regular checks and email/app alerts. Paid plans add faster intervals and more alert channels.
Better Stack (Better Uptime)
Polished monitoring with incident management, on-call schedules and attractive status pages.
Freshping, StatusCake, Pingdom and others
Various free and paid options with different check intervals, locations and integrations.
Hosting and Cloudflare tools
Some hosts and CDNs include basic health checks or analytics. Useful, but an external monitor is still recommended.
Alert channels
- Email (easy to miss)
- Mobile app push notifications
- SMS or calls (paid on many tools)
- Slack/Telegram/webhooks
- Send alerts to at least two people
Status pages
A public status page shows customers that you know about an issue. It's more relevant for SaaS products and apps than brochure sites.
Don't just monitor, respond
Have a plan: who checks first, who contacts the host, how to restore from backup. See IT disaster recovery plan and website downtime guide.
Check frequency
- Business sites: every 5 minutes is usually fine
- Online stores and booking systems: 1–3 minutes if available
FAQs
Does monitoring prevent downtime?
No, but it shortens downtime by alerting you quickly.
Will monitoring slow my site?
No. A check every few minutes is negligible traffic.
Every website on a Joboo Web maintenance plan is monitored, with backups ready for fast recovery. Ask us.