The World of Website Monitoring: Understanding the Differences between Services

Website monitoring services have definitely evolved over the years. In the not-so-distant past, the companies that designed websites offered customers “maintenance” packages in order to drive recurring revenue. Oftentimes these maintenance packages included website monitoring and uptime monitoring reports in addition to hit reports and other similar services. It wasn’t too long before online businesses realized that the services they were paying for really didn’t offer any real value, yet they still realized the importance of uptime and website monitoring. This paved the way for today’s website monitoring services to evolve. It is important to note, however, that while the industry has evolved, not all website monitoring services are created equal and it is important to understand the differences between them if you hope to hire a service that can actually provide you with the monitoring your website needs.

Website Uptime is More Important than Ever

Just as website monitoring services have evolved in recent years, so has the way in which websites work and the roles they play. Gone are the days when websites were merely an online business card – an informational online representation of your company. We now live in a day and age where businesses utilize the Web to such a degree that it oftentimes becomes the lifeblood of a company. Websites are used for marketing, generating business and leads, making sales, and more. Website downtime is no longer a mere inconvenience. That, too, has evolved into something that can make or break an online business, causing the need for quality website monitoring services to become more important than ever.

Understanding the Different Types of Website Monitoring Services

As stated, not all website monitoring services are created equal. Some services offer performance monitoring and uptime monitoring while others perform things like traffic monitoring and content monitoring. While traffic monitoring and content monitoring may be important services, they are not the same thing as a website monitoring service that monitors the uptime of your website. A traffic monitoring service can tell you if you site experiences a sudden drop in traffic, which would indicate downtime may have occurred. Content monitoring can tell you how well specific content on your pages is performing. A quality uptime monitoring service, on the other hand, will actively monitor your site for any downtime that may occur and will notify you the moment your site goes down so you can do what is necessary to fix whatever is causing the problem. Oftentimes these services will also monitor the performance of your site, since your site’s performance is also tied to its success, with consumer demands on the rise and patience dwindling. A site that doesn’t perform well does not thrive in today’s online world. As monitoring various facets of today’s online businesses is becoming increasingly important, it is vital to work with a quality website monitoring service that provides performance monitoring in addition to quality downtime monitoring for your website. Be sure you understand exactly what a company is offering before you sign on for any monitoring package in order to ensure that your dollars are being invested wisely.