[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":337},["ShallowReactive",2],{"content:\u002Fguides\u002Fhow-to-set-up-uptime-monitoring-for-client-websites":3,"related:\u002Fguides\u002Fwebsite-monitoring-checklist-for-freelancers,\u002Fuse-cases\u002Ffreelancers-client-sites,\u002Fguides\u002Fssl-certificate-expired-how-to-fix":325},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":296,"description":297,"extension":298,"faq":299,"h1":312,"meta":313,"navigation":314,"path":315,"published":316,"readingMinutes":317,"related":318,"seo":322,"stem":323,"updated":316,"__hash__":324},"guides\u002Fguides\u002Fhow-to-set-up-uptime-monitoring-for-client-websites.md","Set up uptime monitoring for client websites",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":285},"minimark",[9,13,16,21,110,113,117,134,145,184,188,191,224,228,231,251,255,258,262,265,269,272,276],[10,11,12],"p",{},"Uptime monitoring is simple in principle: something outside your network asks for a page every few minutes and tells you when the answer is wrong. The details decide whether you get useful alerts or a stream of noise.",[10,14,15],{},"This guide covers what to check, how often, how to avoid false alarms and how to repeat the setup across many client sites.",[17,18,20],"h2",{"id":19},"what-types-of-uptime-checks-are-there","What types of uptime checks are there?",[22,23,24,40],"table",{},[25,26,27],"thead",{},[28,29,30,34,37],"tr",{},[31,32,33],"th",{},"Check",[31,35,36],{},"What it proves",[31,38,39],{},"When to use it",[41,42,43,55,66,77,88,99],"tbody",{},[28,44,45,49,52],{},[46,47,48],"td",{},"HTTP or HTTPS status",[46,50,51],{},"The page answers with a success code",[46,53,54],{},"Every site",[28,56,57,60,63],{},[46,58,59],{},"Keyword",[46,61,62],{},"A phrase that only appears when the page is healthy is present",[46,64,65],{},"Pages that can return a success code with an error message",[28,67,68,71,74],{},[46,69,70],{},"Port",[46,72,73],{},"A service such as mail or a database accepts connections",[46,75,76],{},"Servers you manage",[28,78,79,82,85],{},[46,80,81],{},"Ping",[46,83,84],{},"The machine responds to a network request",[46,86,87],{},"Servers, not websites",[28,89,90,93,96],{},[46,91,92],{},"SSL certificate",[46,94,95],{},"The certificate is valid and not close to its end date",[46,97,98],{},"Every HTTPS site",[28,100,101,104,107],{},[46,102,103],{},"Heartbeat",[46,105,106],{},"A scheduled job reported in on time",[46,108,109],{},"Cron jobs and background tasks",[10,111,112],{},"For a client website, an HTTPS check with a keyword on the homepage plus a certificate check is the right starting point.",[17,114,116],{"id":115},"how-do-i-set-up-uptime-monitoring-for-a-client-website","How do I set up uptime monitoring for a client website?",[118,119,120,128],"ol",{},[121,122,123,127],"li",{},[124,125,126],"strong",{},"Pick the pages."," The homepage, one inner page and the page that earns the client money.",[121,129,130,133],{},[124,131,132],{},"Verify the address by hand first."," Make sure it answers directly, without a redirect loop:",[135,136,142],"pre",{"className":137,"code":139,"language":140,"meta":141},[138],"language-bash","curl -sI https:\u002F\u002Fexample.com\u002F | head -n 5\n","bash","",[143,144,139],"code",{"__ignoreMap":141},[118,146,148,154,160,166,172,178],{"start":147},3,[121,149,150,153],{},[124,151,152],{},"Choose the check."," HTTPS with a keyword that only appears on a healthy page, such as the footer text or a form button.",[121,155,156,159],{},[124,157,158],{},"Set the interval."," One to five minutes is typical.",[121,161,162,165],{},[124,163,164],{},"Set a timeout."," A page that takes ten seconds is a failure in practice, so decide what slow means for this site.",[121,167,168,171],{},[124,169,170],{},"Require confirmation."," Alert only after a second check, from a different location or a few seconds later, also fails.",[121,173,174,177],{},[124,175,176],{},"Name it clearly."," Include the client in the monitor's name, so an alert tells you which site is affected without opening anything.",[121,179,180,183],{},[124,181,182],{},"Add the alert contacts"," and send a test alert.",[17,185,187],{"id":186},"how-do-i-avoid-false-alarms","How do I avoid false alarms?",[10,189,190],{},"False alarms train you to ignore alerts, which is worse than not monitoring.",[192,193,194,200,206,212,218],"ul",{},[121,195,196,199],{},[124,197,198],{},"Confirm failures."," One failed check is often a network blip.",[121,201,202,205],{},[124,203,204],{},"Check from more than one place."," A problem only in one region is not an outage for everyone.",[121,207,208,211],{},[124,209,210],{},"Do not watch a cached page only."," A CDN can keep serving the homepage while the application is down. Add an inner page or a health endpoint that bypasses the cache.",[121,213,214,217],{},[124,215,216],{},"Silence planned maintenance."," Pause the monitor, or use a maintenance window, before you deploy something risky.",[121,219,220,223],{},[124,221,222],{},"Review the setup every quarter."," Old contacts and removed sites are the usual gaps.",[17,225,227],{"id":226},"where-should-alerts-go","Where should alerts go?",[10,229,230],{},"Match the channel to the urgency.",[192,232,233,239,245],{},[121,234,235,238],{},[124,236,237],{},"Downtime and certificates about to expire:"," a channel you will see on your phone, such as push notifications or a chat app. Use two channels, so one missed message is not the end of the story.",[121,240,241,244],{},[124,242,243],{},"Slow degradation and renewals months away:"," a weekly digest or a calendar entry.",[121,246,247,250],{},[124,248,249],{},"Everything:"," include the client name and the check that failed.",[17,252,254],{"id":253},"do-i-need-a-public-status-page","Do I need a public status page?",[10,256,257],{},"Not for most client sites. A public page helps clients who ask often whether the site is down, and it is a visible sign of professionalism. It is an extra service to maintain, so add it when a client asks, not by default. An internal view of every site's health is the thing you need first.",[17,259,261],{"id":260},"how-do-i-report-uptime-to-a-client","How do I report uptime to a client?",[10,263,264],{},"A monthly note with the uptime percentage, any incidents with their cause and duration and what was done is enough. Keep the raw check history so you can answer questions with data.",[17,266,268],{"id":267},"which-tool-should-i-use","Which tool should I use?",[10,270,271],{},"Look at the number of monitors you need, whether the plan allows commercial use, how failures are confirmed, which alert channels are included and whether it shows certificate expiry as well. Some free plans are for personal use only, so read the terms before you build a client service on one.",[17,273,275],{"id":274},"where-datumboard-fits","Where Datumboard fits",[10,277,278,279,284],{},"Datumboard shows health per project, next to deploys, renewals, search data and costs, so a failing check appears where you already look. A project with no checks reads Not monitored, never green. It is in early access, and you can ",[280,281,283],"a",{"href":282},"#early-access","join the list below",".",{"title":141,"searchDepth":286,"depth":286,"links":287},2,[288,289,290,291,292,293,294,295],{"id":19,"depth":286,"text":20},{"id":115,"depth":286,"text":116},{"id":186,"depth":286,"text":187},{"id":226,"depth":286,"text":227},{"id":253,"depth":286,"text":254},{"id":260,"depth":286,"text":261},{"id":267,"depth":286,"text":268},{"id":274,"depth":286,"text":275},"How-to","Choose the right checks, set sensible intervals, avoid false alarms and send alerts to the right place, with a setup you can repeat for every client.","md",[300,303,306,309],{"q":301,"a":302},"How often should uptime monitoring check a website?","Every one to five minutes is typical. Shorter intervals find short outages sooner, but for most client sites a one to five minute check, confirmed by a second check before alerting, is enough and avoids noise.",{"q":304,"a":305},"What should I monitor on a client website besides the homepage?","At least one inner page and the page that earns the client money, such as a contact form, booking step or checkout. A homepage served from a cache can stay up while the application behind it is down.",{"q":307,"a":308},"How do I avoid false alarms from uptime monitoring?","Require a failure to be confirmed before alerting, either by a second check from another location or by several failed checks in a row. Set a sensible timeout and exclude planned maintenance windows.",{"q":310,"a":311},"Is free uptime monitoring allowed for client sites?","Check the terms. Some free plans are limited to personal or non-commercial use, which can rule out monitoring a client's site for pay. Read the plan's terms before you build a client service on it.","How to set up uptime monitoring for client websites",{},true,"\u002Fguides\u002Fhow-to-set-up-uptime-monitoring-for-client-websites","2026-10-12",9,[319,320,321],"\u002Fguides\u002Fwebsite-monitoring-checklist-for-freelancers","\u002Fuse-cases\u002Ffreelancers-client-sites","\u002Fguides\u002Fssl-certificate-expired-how-to-fix",{"title":5,"description":297},"guides\u002Fhow-to-set-up-uptime-monitoring-for-client-websites","hqo6xx7hXfvnbQOSH3KQ3OuFUOsXGXuBk3jtJQYDFJ8",[326,330,334],{"title":327,"description":328,"path":319,"category":329},"Website monitoring checklist for freelancers","A practical checklist of what to monitor on every client website, from uptime and SSL to domains, deploys and search, and how often to check each.","Checklist",{"title":331,"description":332,"path":320,"category":333},"Dashboard for managing multiple client websites","See uptime, SSL and domain renewals, deploys, Search Console and costs for every client site on one screen, and hear about problems before your client does.","Use case",{"title":335,"description":336,"path":321,"category":296},"SSL certificate expired? How to fix it","Visitors see a full-page browser warning. Confirm the certificate expired, renew it for your kind of hosting, verify the fix and stop it happening again.",1791830036169]