Website Uptime Checker: How to Monitor Your Site 24/7

Who This Is For

This guide is for website owners, developers, and small business owners who need to ensure their website stays online. Whether you run an e-commerce store, a SaaS application, or a company website, uptime monitoring is essential.

If you've ever discovered your site was down only after a customer complained, you need an uptime checker.

What Is a Website Uptime Checker?

A website uptime checker is an automated monitoring service that:

Sends requests to your website at regular intervals
Verifies responses are correct (HTTP 200, expected content)
Measures response time to detect slowdowns
Alerts you immediately when problems occur
Tracks history so you can report uptime percentage

How It Works

Every 30 seconds:
├── Request sent from US server
├── Request sent from EU server
├── Request sent from Asia server
└── If 2/3 fail → Alert triggered → You're notified

Why You Need a Website Uptime Checker

You Can't Monitor Manually

You're not sitting at your computer 24/7 refreshing your website. A checker does this automatically.

Users Won't Tell You

Most users who experience downtime simply leave. They don't email support—they go to a competitor.

Downtime Costs Money

Business Type	Hourly Cost of Downtime
Small e-commerce	$100-500
Medium SaaS	$1,000-5,000
Enterprise	$10,000-100,000+

SEO Impact

Google considers site reliability in rankings. Frequent downtime can hurt your search position.

Wakestack: Website Uptime Checker with Status Pages

Feature	Wakestack	Basic Uptime Checkers
Uptime checks	Yes	Yes
Status pages	Included	Separate tool
Server monitoring	Yes	No
Check interval	30 seconds	Usually 1-5 minutes
Nested organization	Yes	No

Why Wakestack Is Different

Most uptime checkers only tell you IF your site is down. Wakestack tells you WHY:

Server agent shows CPU/memory/disk issues
Nested hosts connect endpoints to infrastructure
Status pages communicate with users
All-in-one reduces tool sprawl

Setting Up Your Website Uptime Checker

Create your free account at wakestack.co.uk/signup. No credit card required.

Step 2: Add Your Website

Name: My Website
URL: https://yourwebsite.com
Method: GET
Interval: 1 minute
Timeout: 30 seconds

Step 3: Configure Checks

What to monitor:

Endpoint	Why
Homepage	Main user entry point
/api/health	API availability
/login	Authentication working
/checkout	Revenue-critical path

Step 4: Set Up Alerts

Configure notifications for your team:

Slack - Real-time team channel alerts
Email - Reliable backup notification
SMS - Critical alerts that can't wait
Webhook - Connect to your own systems

Step 5: Create a Status Page

Show users your service status:

Builds trust through transparency
Reduces "is it down?" support tickets
Single source of truth during incidents

What Should Your Uptime Checker Verify?

1. HTTP Status Code

Check for 200 OK. Watch out for:

301/302 - Redirects (may indicate misconfiguration)
4xx - Client errors (URL changed?)
5xx - Server errors (application problem)

2. Response Time

Set thresholds:

Good: < 500ms
Warning: 500ms - 2000ms
Critical: > 2000ms

3. Response Content

Verify expected content exists:

Specific text on the page
JSON field in API response
Key elements that confirm functionality

4. SSL Certificate

Check certificate validity:

Alert 30 days before expiry
Detect SSL misconfigurations
Avoid "Not Secure" browser warnings

Understanding Uptime Percentage

The Math

Uptime % = (Total time - Downtime) / Total time × 100

What the Numbers Mean

Uptime	Monthly Downtime	Reality
99%	7.3 hours	Nearly 2 full work days/year
99.5%	3.6 hours	Half a day/year
99.9%	43.8 minutes	Under an hour/year
99.95%	21.9 minutes	Very reliable
99.99%	4.38 minutes	Enterprise-grade