247Monitor blog
Field notes on staying up.
Practical, jargon-light writing about uptime monitoring, alerting and reliability — what to watch, why it matters, and how to set it up without a war room.
8 articles · more shipping regularly
What is a good uptime percentage? 99.9% vs 99.99% explained
A good uptime percentage is usually 99.9% — but the right target depends on what you run. What the “nines” cost in real downtime, 99.9% vs 99.99% compared, and how to pick a target you can keep.
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Best free status page tools in 2026
Free status page tools compared for 2026: what each free plan really includes — monitors, subscribers, custom domains — and where the catch hides.
11 June 2026
What is synthetic monitoring? A plain-English guide
Synthetic monitoring uses scripted, automated checks — from a simple uptime ping to a real browser walking through login or checkout — to test your site like a user would, on a schedule, before real customers hit the problem. Here's how it works and when you need it.
6 June 2026
What is API monitoring? (and how to do it)
API monitoring is the practice of continuously calling your APIs to check they're reachable, fast and returning the right data — and alerting you the moment they aren't. Here's what to check, the metrics that matter, and how to set it up.
2 June 2026
How to monitor cron jobs and scheduled tasks
Cron jobs fail silently — there's no error page for a backup that never ran. Here's how to monitor cron jobs, systemd timers, Kubernetes CronJobs and scheduled tasks with heartbeat checks that alert on the run that didn't happen.
29 May 2026
Best free uptime monitoring tools (2026)
The uptime monitoring tools with genuinely free plans in 2026, compared honestly — what each free tier actually includes, where the limits bite, and how to pick the right one for your site.
25 May 2026
How to monitor website uptime: a step-by-step guide
A step-by-step guide to website uptime monitoring: what to watch, how to check from multiple regions, the alert thresholds that stop false alarms, and how to read the data once it's flowing.
20 May 2026
What is uptime monitoring? A beginner's guide
Uptime monitoring is the practice of automatically checking that your website, API or service is reachable and working — and alerting you the moment it isn't. Here's how it works, what to watch, and what 'good' uptime really means.
14 May 2026
What we write about
Four kinds of useful.
Explainer
Plain-English answers to “what is…” and “how does…”.
Guide
Step-by-step how-tos for setting things up properly.
Comparison
Honest, like-for-like looks at the alternatives.
Data
What the numbers say about outages and reliability.