The flexible and easy nature of web development facilitated by WordPress has made it the first choice for the majority of users and people from other platforms also migrate to it using services which convert HTML to WordPress, to enjoy its benefits. A website owner though has to keep track of a few essential things to ensure that the interface performs optimally and remains productive. One such necessary actions that must be conducted periodically is to monitor uptime and downtime in WordPress websites and a simple guide explaining the significance of the activity and the methods through which it can be done is being presented here.
Uptime And Downtime Of A Website
It will be pertinent to know what exactly is meant by the two terms before moving on to learning about their significance and the methods which can be used for monitoring them.
Uptime: The uptime of a website is the amount of time during which the interface has been in operation and is available in relevant search results. It can also be defined as the time period for which the server hosting the website is working properly and is available. The ideal uptime figure is popularly called as five 9s i.e 99.999%.
Downtime: The downtime of any website denotes the time period for which the virtual interface is not only inoperational but also does not show up in any related searches conducted by users. The most common causes for the occurrence of downtime are system breakdown and problems in the server connection.
Importance Of Monitoring A Website’s Uptime
A glance at the ideal uptime percentile would have made it evident how difficult it is to achieve it and most owners aspire to achieve a rate of 99.9% which means that the website is among the top levels of best-performing interfaces. These figures also demonstrate the significance of monitoring the uptime of any web interface for reducing its downtime to the minimum possible level and for keeping its performance at optimum levels. A website with low uptime and high downtime rates will not be providing the satisfying experience to visitors and therefore be causing immense harm to the business. It is therefore mandatory to invest in a system that helps to monitor uptime and downtime in WordPress website.
Tests Used For Assessing The Uptime Of A Website
It is practically impossible for a human being to do the monitoring for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and therefore several tests have been devised which help in assessing the website’s uptime. Let’s take a look at a few of them :
- HTTP Test: A very basic test that helps in finding out the about the exchange of data packets between a system and the internet.
- Transmission Control Protocol Port Monitor: The transmission of data between two device over the internet, is tested through this method.
- DNS Server Monitor: Protocol and network issues are identified through this test which checks whether the address on the DNS server and the website match or not.
- Ping Monitor: This test assesses whether the website is functioning properly and also checks its speed.
Plugins That Can Be Used For Evaluating The Uptime
There are many people who do not possess the requisite knowledge or expertise to conduct the above mentioned tests and assess the performance of the interface and they can make use of various plugins that are available for evaluating the uptime of a WordPress website. Following is a list of some of the best plugins that can be used for the purpose :
1. ManageWP
The plugin checks the website every minute and if any issue is found, it confirms whether the website is really down and then sends a notification to the user through email, SMS or Slack messenger. More than one interface can be added for monitoring and ManageWP’s uptime monitor tracks the uptime percentage and response delay which are included in the client report.
2. Jetpack
Jetpack is one of the most well known WordPress plugins which can be used for a number of purposes including monitoring downtime. The product instantly notifies a user through email or phone, in case a website is down and also tells the period of time for which it was down. The service checks the website at intervals of 5 minutes from various locations around the world.
3. Pingdom
The service has more than 70 servers located in different corners of the globe and when a problem is detected, Pingdom does a Root Cause Analysis to identify the reason behind the issue. The plugin provides instant alerts to users through SMS, email or webhook and offers a 14 day free trial to all subscribers.
4. Uptime Robot
Uptime Robot conducts periodic checks on the website at 5 minute intervals and if a problem is detected, then it performs some more checks in the next 30 seconds and on confirming the issue notifies the user via SMS, email and many popular messenger services.
5. Site24X7
The plugin provides comprehensive monitoring of a website with the help of tools like SSL/TLS Monitor, Domain Expiry Monitor and Website Defacement Monitor. Site24X7 plugin keeps an eye on the website’s uptime from over 90 locations spread around the world and in case of an issue notifies users with details like start and end time along with location and duration of the downtime.
Conclusion
WordPress has undoubtedly made the process of web development and management effortless but it is essential for owners to perform tasks like monitor uptime and downtime in WordPress to ensure that the performance of the interface does not suffer.
About Author:
Brandon Graves is a WordPress developer at HireWPGeeks in the USA and manages the services for html to wordpress conversion. He also shares his articles with tech savvy peoples to help them in the form of tips and tutorials. Follow him on Facebook to get instant updates.
