{"id":145,"date":"2021-04-17T15:49:28","date_gmt":"2021-04-17T15:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/?p=145"},"modified":"2021-04-19T11:33:57","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T11:33:57","slug":"how-to-use-uptime-robot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Use Uptime Robot To Monitor Your Website (With Pictures)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This tutorial shows you how to use Uptime Robot to create a monitor that alerts you if your home page isn\u2019t loading for visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you create your <a href=\"https:\/\/uptimerobot.com\/signUp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free account<\/a>, you can start monitoring a website immediately. There are several types of monitoring to choose from, but you\u2019ll probably start with checking the availability of the home page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_64 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6610d19b2ddd9\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6610d19b2ddd9\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/#How_to_Use_Uptime_Robot_To_Monitor_Your_Website\" title=\"How to Use Uptime Robot To Monitor Your Website\">How to Use Uptime Robot To Monitor Your Website<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/#Step_1_Create_A_New_Uptime_Robot_Monitor\" title=\"Step 1. Create A New Uptime Robot Monitor\">Step 1. Create A New Uptime Robot Monitor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/#Step_2_Choose_The_First_Monitor_Type_%E2%80%93_HTPPs\" title=\"Step 2. Choose The First Monitor Type \u2013 HTPP(s)\">Step 2. Choose The First Monitor Type \u2013 HTPP(s)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/#Step_3_Set_A_Friendly_Name_For_Your_Uptime_Robot_Monitor\" title=\"Step 3: Set A Friendly Name For Your Uptime Robot Monitor\">Step 3: Set A Friendly Name For Your Uptime Robot Monitor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/#Step_4_Provide_Your_Home_Page_URL\" title=\"Step 4: Provide Your Home Page URL\">Step 4: Provide Your Home Page URL<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/#Step_5_Confirm_The_Contact_For_Alerts\" title=\"Step 5: Confirm The Contact For Alerts\">Step 5: Confirm The Contact For Alerts<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/#Step_6_Create_And_Close\" title=\"Step 6: Create And Close\">Step 6: Create And Close<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/#Step_7_Check_That_Your_Uptime_Robot_Monitor_Is_Working\" title=\"Step 7: Check That Your Uptime Robot Monitor Is Working\">Step 7: Check That Your Uptime Robot Monitor Is Working<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/#How_to_Set_Up_Other_Types_Of_Uptime_Robot_Monitors\" title=\"How to Set Up Other Types Of Uptime Robot Monitors\">How to Set Up Other Types Of Uptime Robot Monitors<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Use_Uptime_Robot_To_Monitor_Your_Website\"><\/span>How to Use Uptime Robot To Monitor Your Website<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In this tutorial, we\u2019ll be focusing on the type of monitor which checks that a web page is available. This is the most commonly used monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can create up to 50 monitors with the free plan. So, if you wanted to place a monitor on every web page on your website, then you might run out of free monitors. But this is not a good use of resources for checking the uptime of your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should start with the most basic check of whether your website is down. This would mean that all pages are unavailable. So, we usually put the first monitor on the Home Page of the website. This tutorial steps through the setup process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If this is your first time working with website monitoring, we have a general <a href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/uptime-robot-guide\/\">guide to Uptime Robot<\/a>. This should answer any basic questions about the service. But if you want to fire ahead and set up a monitor, continue reading this tutorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_1_Create_A_New_Uptime_Robot_Monitor\"><\/span>Step 1. Create A New Uptime Robot Monitor<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cAdd New Monitor\u201d button is on the top left of the home page or Dashboard screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"583\" height=\"203\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/add_monitor_button.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/add_monitor_button.png 583w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/add_monitor_button-300x104.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 583px) 100vw, 583px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_2_Choose_The_First_Monitor_Type_%E2%80%93_HTPPs\"><\/span>Step 2. Choose The First Monitor Type \u2013 HTPP(s)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The free plan gives you four types of monitors. We are going to choose the first type on the list: the HTTP(s) monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This type behaves like your web visitors: the monitor sends a request to the specified web page. If the web page does not respond i.e. does not load properly, then you will be alerted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/uptime-robot-guide\/\">Uptime Robot Guide<\/a> for a description of the other types and when you might use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"336\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/select_https_type.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/select_https_type.png 576w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/select_https_type-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_3_Set_A_Friendly_Name_For_Your_Uptime_Robot_Monitor\"><\/span>Step 3: Set A Friendly Name For Your Uptime Robot Monitor<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is important when you will be monitoring several websites. The name appears in your email or SMS alerts and is also part of the Uptime Robot dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Email alerts will have a subject line reading \u201cMonitor is UP: [Friendly Name]\u201d. So, if you have several monitors, you don\u2019t want to use generic names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll make like easy for yourself if you choose a good descriptive moniker for the alert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_4_Provide_Your_Home_Page_URL\"><\/span>Step 4: Provide Your Home Page URL<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can provide any URL of course, but we are setting up the most basic and essential monitoring on our website. So, we choose the home page of the website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Include the full address i.e. this should start with https: as long as your website is secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Does your webpage actually start with http:?\u00a0 This means it is not secure. You should address this by adding an SSL certificate. However, don\u2019t let that stop you with monitoring. Go ahead and specify the http URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"632\" height=\"269\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/friendly_name_and_url.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/friendly_name_and_url.png 632w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/friendly_name_and_url-300x128.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Monitoring Interval<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll leave the default monitoring interval at 5 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you try to reduce it, you\u2019ll be invited to upgrade to the paid plan. You can freely increase it, but there\u2019s rarely a reason to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Advanced Settings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The section for Advanced Settings is collapsed by default. If you expand the section, you\u2019ll see a variety of options. All but one are only available on the paid tier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exception is the Authentication Settings. You\u2019ll use this if you have a membership site where the home page is behind a login and password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_5_Confirm_The_Contact_For_Alerts\"><\/span>Step 5: Confirm The Contact For Alerts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The default contact is the email you used to sign up for your Uptime Robot account. Just tick the box to confirm here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to set up a different contact method, then you\u2019ll need to jump to the Settings page to create a new contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_6_Create_And_Close\"><\/span>Step 6: Create And Close<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ve completed the necessary set-up steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hit the \u201cCreate\u201d button and then you can close the set-up page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_7_Check_That_Your_Uptime_Robot_Monitor_Is_Working\"><\/span>Step 7: Check That Your Uptime Robot Monitor Is Working<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You should take a look at the dashboard to be sure that you\u2019ve entered the correct details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you click on the monitor entry on the left-hand side of the dashboard, you want to see a green \u201cUp\u201d status on the detailed pane on the right. It should look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/monitor_up_status.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-149\" width=\"299\" height=\"156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/monitor_up_status.png 346w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/monitor_up_status-300x157.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you see that the current status is green, then your setup is correct. You have successfully added an uptime monitor for your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Troubleshooting setup issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s perfectly possible to add an invalid URL! The monitor will kick in, and of course, will report failures. The dashboard will look something like the picture below, with a big red-lettered status of DOWN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"585\" height=\"307\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/monitor_down_status.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/monitor_down_status.png 585w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/monitor_down_status-300x157.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 585px) 100vw, 585px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Editing Your Monitor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a tip from experience: if you have to edit the details, you may also need to pause and restart the monitor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The status will change to \u201cNot Checked\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"418\" height=\"213\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/not_checked_yet.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/not_checked_yet.png 418w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/not_checked_yet-300x153.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Wait for five minutes and take another look at the dashboard. It should show the green \u201cUp\u201d status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you continue to have problems after you made an initial mistake, you can delete the monitor and start again. It literally takes under a minute to create another monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Set_Up_Other_Types_Of_Uptime_Robot_Monitors\"><\/span>How to Set Up Other Types Of Uptime Robot Monitors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With standard websites, you may only need the HTTP(s) type of monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, you may also want to take a look at keyword monitors. This service can alert you if your website has been hacked and your web pages defaced in some way. We have a separate tutorial on <a href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-the-uptime-robot-keyword-monitor\/\">how to set up an Uptime Robot Keyword Monitor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rest of the types are more specialist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This tutorial shows you how to use Uptime Robot to create a monitor that alerts you if your home page isn\u2019t loading for visitors. When you create your free account, you can start monitoring a website immediately. There are several types of monitoring to choose from, but you\u2019ll probably start with checking the availability of &#8230; <a title=\"How To Use Uptime Robot To Monitor Your Website (With Pictures)\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/how-to-use-uptime-robot\/\" aria-label=\"More on How To Use Uptime Robot To Monitor Your Website (With Pictures)\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145\/revisions\/158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}