What is Uptime Monitoring (Ultimate Resource for Beginners)

Online assets, such as servers, websites, or applications, are undoubtedly vulnerable to attacks.

If an attack takes place, the chances of losing data become high.

In this case, beginners are left empty-handed and frustrated, and often, money is lost.

To avoid such scenarios, the concept of uptime monitoring seems promising.

Let’s discuss how to monitor uptime for online assets.

What is Uptime Monitoring?

Uptime monitoring is a real-time functionality.

In this process – a server, application, or website is monitored for uptime, errors, and seamless functionality.

It helps owners ensure that their assets are accessible, error-free, and serving proposed customers online. Of course, the whole process ensures commercial asset availability, which undoubtedly helps boost Return on Investment (ROI).

We provide professional WordPress maintenance services. Our plans also include uptime monitoring. If you’d like to have a look, here is a breakdown of what we offer. Know about our Services for Uptime Monitoring

Uptime Monitoring: Importance

Let’s describe why monitoring uptime is essential.

1. Uptime monitoring ensures accessibility. It helps users periodically check an application, server, or website and reports back – if the target is accessible online or experiencing issues.
2. The process includes tracking errors before they affect a source. If, for example, a WordPress site is experiencing a white screen of death, a quick response to fixing mistakes can help reduce the number of affected users.
3. Uptime monitoring helps site owners get automated alerts. The system, responsible for checking a source every 30 seconds, sends automated alerts. Such alerts help run quick responses before an error, downtime, or issue affects online reputation.
4. User experience helps to keep customers happy. It refers to the way users interact with online assets. In this case, uptime monitoring ensures that no downtime can affect user experience.
5. Uptime monitoring helps site owners detect if a hacker is trying to penetrate online resources. As described earlier, real-time monitoring ensures that a future attack is happening, affecting user experience or possibly future updates.
6. Reputation on search engines—If a site is down, search engines, such as Google’s bots, can affect how pages are indexed, directly affecting organic traffic. So, uptime monitoring helps SEO experts ensure that search engine bots are not left empty-handed.
7. Having an eye on web hosting helps you make better decisions. For example, if a hosting company is unreliable and goes offline quickly – you can better decide if you should continue hosting your site on the hosting. Similarly, uptime monitoring helps you monitor other applications, too – such as API integrations in WordPress.
8. Uptime monitoring helps you collect data. Ultimately, you can better decide whether to continue using third-party services like web hosting.

What falls under Uptime Monitoring?

Let’s discuss what falls under uptime monitoring.

In simple words, as its name suggests, monitoring ensures that a source is accessible online. However, the whole process also provides other benefits.

Let’s dive deep into the details.

Website monitoring

Monitoring a site is the core of online revenue. If your site is making money, you need to monitor uptime.

Uptime monitoring helps ensure that a site is accessible online, doesn’t have downtime, and provides a seamless experience to users. So, in this case, automated monitoring acts as a human watching if a site is live.

SSL status monitoring

Search engines, such as Google, favor sites with active SSL. A secure socket layer (SSL) ensures that a site’s data communication across sources is safe by allowing data to be transmitted between a browser and a server.

Uptime monitoring also includes monitoring a site’s SSL status.

Sometimes, a site’s owner doesn’t notice if its SSL expires soon. So, problems with SSL can also affect domain-based redirects, affecting the site’s reputation in search engines. In this scenario, we’ve had personal experience with SSL—installing SSL on a site yielded improved rankings.

Related Reading: How to Choose the Best Service for WordPress Maintenance and Support

Check if a domain is expiring soon

Uptime monitoring keeps checking for domain expiration.

This avoids, no doubt, sudden domain name expirations. Especially if you’re managing multiple sites, such as 10-50, monitoring domain expirations can help you feel safe. Perfect.

Cron Jobs monitoring

Regarding uptime monitoring, cron jobs refer to background jobs, processes, or calls on a server.

Well, cron jobs are usually recurring, so checking if they are functioning correctly can yield a seamless experience.

Monitoring cron jobs also helps check if intranet devices are live and functioning correctly.

Port status monitoring

Port scanning ensures service availability on a server.

For example, regular port status checking helps ensure that a mail server, HTTP host, or FTP ports are available.

In this case, port scanning also helps avoid security breaches. Some ports, if opened, can pose security risks.

Ping monitoring

Ping is a signal to check if a device is live on a network.

Uptime monitoring helps administrators check network devices with ping monitoring. You get the idea.

In this situation, a signal called a Ping is sent automatically at intervals to check whether a device is responding.

Keyword-based monitoring

Monitoring tools help users monitor assets via keywords.

In this case, you pick a list of keywords to target on a page, and the tool does its magic, automatically.

Automatically, uptime monitoring plans include checking for keyword-based monitoring.

Monitoring Response Time

Response Times help site owners see if a server goes offline or experiences issues over intervals.

It helps you track down possible gaps in performance if a service is not providing uniform performance.

Using graphical data, site owners can quickly see if something unusual affects online assets. Uptime monitoring plans, in this case, provide a seamless experience for collecting data for informed decisions.

Checks from Multiple Locations

Uptime monitoring ensures checks are done from multiple locations worldwide.

For example, uptime monitoring plays a role in checking if a site is live from all locations.

It helps you serve a diverse audience properly if your product is tailored towards a country-based audience.

Checks from multiple locations also help verify data.

For example, you can see uptime data for specific locations to see if an error affects all users or users from a particular region. This ensures that a specific audience is experiencing issues.

Custom HTTP Requests

Uptime monitoring plans also include setting custom HTTP headers.

However, it depends on a company’s requirements and the features of monitoring services.

Uptime Monitoring: Challenges

Here are the challenges you can face in Uptime Monitoring.

1. Uptime monitoring cannot track application errors. For example, it can’t measure or track what caused a downtime. To figure this out, you must dig deeper into an application’s settings and configuration. In this case, you can also track errors via server logs, which list events that happened on a server.
2. Monitoring a server helps you determine the uptime status; however, it cannot help if you want to determine what caused the slow page speed. That’s another aspect of the trade. So, we can say that uptime monitoring doesn’t ensure tracking of smaller gaps that affect service uptime, response rates, and accessibility.
3. Owners can feel confused if too many alerts are generated. It can even cause false positives. So, in such scenarios – you may spend time dealing with past incidents, while the situation is different in real-time. It happens if you don’t address notifications on time.
4. If you manage and monitor a network, achieving proper results requires network visibility. In other words, you’ll need to ensure every device is visible for scanning. This, in return, can pose security risks. If a sensitive device on the network is visible, hackers can exploit potential vulnerabilities in the system.
5. As uptime monitoring ensures the monitoring of diverse regional customers, response times can vary in such scenarios. Addressing data diversity across various locations becomes harder. For example, page speed can vary for a diverse audience.
6. An uptime monitoring service requires regular research, upgrades, and scalability. As customer services grow, the uptime monitoring system needs to be updated, strategize processes, and spend more on systems, infrastructure, and professional support.
7. From a vendor’s point of view, providing uptime monitoring services is a headache. Even if you promise 100% uptime, it becomes impossible. Challenges, natural happenings, and third-party integrations can cause failures. Sometimes, although an uptime monitoring system works fine, a problem occurs in a third-party application.

How to Start Uptime Monitoring?

Let’s discuss the action part.

Note: In this tutorial, we’ve used screenshots from the “Uptime Robot” application. We value their contribution and would like to give proper credits. However, it is not a sponsored contribution.

How can you start monitoring uptime?

There are two ways:

1. Manual routines if you’re an absolute beginner
2. Using Tools can help if you can spend some money

Limitations in both procedures can affect results. Let’s discuss further.

If you’re a Beginner, manual routines can help you save money. However, here is what you should expect.

1. You’ll need to spend more time monitoring uptime, the live status of your assets, and doing everything manually.
2. It requires manual knowledge to keep track of online assets; you may need to spend time learning.
3. Limited monitoring can, without a doubt, affect results. Compared to automated procedures for monitoring, manual routines can keep you behind.
4. Falling short of addressing sensitive measures is a risk. You can’t address two things – simultaneously – feel the pain.

Let’s discuss automated routines for uptime monitoring.

If you can spend some money, you can access automated tools for uptime monitoring. Uptime Robot is an example of such a source.

However, let’s discuss another possibility.

Premium tools also provide trial versions for uptime monitoring.

Here is what you can expect in a free version.

1. Trial plans include monitoring limited sources, such as a single website.
2. To help you monitor pages via keywords, you can monitor limited keywords in a free trial.
3. A few alerts of real-time errors in a free version can keep you behind in the trade. Remember, some problems require immediate action.
4. Monitoring basic infrastructure can help you taste a service. You’ll need to sign up to get complete details of the problems, but you can feel the scenario—call it unfinished reports, data, or disputes.

Let’s describe how to start uptime monitoring.

Step 1: Create an account

First – you need to choose an Uptime Monitoring service.

So, depending on budget, taste, and technical requirements – you can choose a source.

Search for uptime monitoring tools online. A list of candidates, functionalities, and costs can help you pick one.

In this case, you can choose one after you’ve done your homework.

As stated above, proceed to create an account. In most cases, you’ll need to sign up for a Software as a Service (SaaS).

Step 2: Create a Check

Next, you’ll need to identify what kind of checks you’d like to perform or monitor.

For example, here is what you can set to monitor.

1. You can monitor a specific page, URL, or IP address.
2. Monitoring configurative assets or functionality can help reduce uninviting errors, such as HTTPs, SSL, or redirects.

Once completed, you can proceed further.

Step 3: Configure options

Here, you’d like to configure various options.

In this case, setting scan intervals is an example of configurative settings.

For example, setting the intervals for monitoring refers to how often you’d like to check a service’s availability.

Possibilities are unlimited. You can feel the difference.

Moreover, set notification frequency and a medium for alerts.

Step 4: Create an Alert

Creating an alert helps you stay informed of monitoring stats.

You can use various media for notifications, such as Email, SMS, or Chat applications.

The number of alert options depends on a platform’s flexibility. Premium plans can help you use more options. Once you’re ready to sign up, look at the plans.

Step 5: Review and Test the system

Let’s assume – you’ve set the necessary measures for monitoring. Let’s proceed further.

Wait for the alerts and see what makes sense, what needs to be changed, or how you feel the uptime monitoring service is performing.

In this case, you should have signed up for a trial period—as discussed earlier. This phase shouldn’t cost you money but can help you decide better.

So, see if you can continue using the system.

Here are some other factors you can address.

1. Review alerts, assess how things work, and consider whether you can live with the system in the future.
2. Try out various options. Set new rules to see if positive changes occur.

Reviewing stats, testing, and trial and error help you decide better.

Once you have the data, you can decide if you should continue. This decision can affect your pocket. You can leave or sign up for the service, period.

Tips for Beginners

Here is what you should consider.

1. Depending on an asset, such as a website, application, or server, you may need to address different precautions. It would be good to collect suitable data before choosing a service.
2. Set custom alerts for uptime monitoring. It helps you stay ahead of potential threats.
3. Set real-time monitoring for pages that convert users. For example, a list of commercial pages ranking high on Google is the list of pages on which you should configure alerts in uptime monitoring. Pay attention.
4. Global monitoring can help. In this scenario, you can set up to monitor your assets from all over the world. It allows you to report if an asset is affected in specific locations automatically.
5. If you manage a multiple users asset, you should monitor users’ activity, too. For example, avoiding the bad guys with login alerts is a good option. You get email alerts when a user or suspicious person tries logging into the system.
6. Set rules to monitor a few sites hosted on the same server. This will help you efficiently verify whether server downtime caused gaps in other sites.
7. If a tool supports setting monitoring with expressions, use expressions wisely. In this case, expressions refer to rule styles, statements, or formats, helping users avoid uninviting, unknown, and future errors in an automated manner.
8. Along with uptime monitoring, conduct site audits regularly. It can help you fix errors and site structure gaps and improve content visibility on search pages.
9. If possible, assess traffic logs. Logs can help admins identify bots, automated bots that target a site’s assets, such as login pages.
10. One of my procedures is to chat with the official support channel before I sign up for a new service. They can help me better understand the service, equip me well, and summarize it quickly, which can help me save time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Uptime Monitoring?

Uptime Monitoring helps site owners check if a service is available, accessible online, and up.

As its name suggests, it checks for downtimes for applications, websites, or servers.

Uptime monitoring is automated. Once you sign up for a service, you can start monitoring your site immediately.

How does uptime Monitoring work?

As discussed above, automated manners can check if a service is accessible online.

Once the system finds a downtime, an alert helps owners know about issues. Similarly, the purpose of alerts is to fix problems.

Business owners can configure alerts to monitor online assets like servers, websites, or applications.

What is the purpose of Uptime Monitoring?

Uptime monitoring is performed to ensure no revenue is left on the table.

It ensures an application serving customers is accessible online seamlessly, converting visitors into customers.

In this case, a system checks the accessibility of a system, server, or website repeatedly, regularly, and periodically. This helps ensure the target system is up and working correctly.

Here, consider a simple rule to understand uptime monitoring.

If a tool is not accessible online, it cannot serve customers and thus cannot generate income.

What does 90% uptime mean?

The percentage shows how long a system has been running successfully. In this case, a 90% value indicates that a system was running, accessible, and up 90% of the time.

So, the more a system that converts users is up, the more revenue is generated.

In such scenarios, a system that promises to provide a high percentage of uptime is what you should prefer for a website, server, or application. It helps you ensure a high uptime ratio.

How do you measure uptime?

Here is how you can measure a system’s uptime.

First, find the total uptime per month.

Second, find the total downtime duration per month.

Third, find the difference between the time durations.

Fourth, divide the Uptime by total time.

Fifth, multiply by 100, and you should get the ratio in percentage.

How much does Uptime Monitoring cost?

Uptime monitoring costs depend on how professional, deep, and technically sound monitoring you would like to perform.

For example, different tools have different pricing structures.

To have a taste, search for relevant candidates on Google.

What is the expected uptime?

A 99.99% uptime is considered normal.

It shows that most of the time, a server or application remains in uptime status.

However, you should calculate uptime per month if you want to dig deeper.

In this case, calculating uptime helps you find the exact numbers.

How do you achieve a high uptime ratio?

You need to consider the following strategies to achieve a high uptime ratio.

1. Load balancing
2. Implementing a CDN
3. Disaster recovery team
4. Data backups
5. Robust automation for uptime monitoring

Pay attention to whether your assets are generating revenue online. Take necessary precautions accordingly.

What is an example of uptime?

A server, application, or website running most of the time is an example of computer uptime.

As described above, a high uptime means availability, accessibility, and live status.

Uptime depends on how well an application is prepared online and the resources a system uses. For example, a web hosting company is vital in measuring the uptime ratio.

Can we calculate uptime?

Yes, calculating uptime is easy.

As described earlier, you can calculate the difference between total uptime and downtime for a month.

Then, dividing the uptime by total time gives you a number.

Next, multiplying the number by 100 gives you the final number.

Conclusion

So, what is uptime monitoring?

In this resource, you’ve learned the basics of uptime monitoring. This resource can help you make informed decisions if you’re an absolute beginner.

We also provide uptime monitoring services for WordPress owners. Learn how we can help in our services section.

Here is what works.

If your assets generate revenue, you must monitor them online. There should be no question. Period.

If, for example – you’re a beginner, you can leverage free resources. In this case, Uptime Robot can help.

Contact us for an analysis and more information on how professional uptime monitoring services can help your business, how to start, and how to avoid errors.