Even with the most careful maintenance and constant monitoring, a website can be inaccessible or malfunction. And problems can occur on the website, hosting, or server side, as well as on the network side. For example, the website may be slow to load, some services may not work or it may be unavailable in some specific regions. And all of these problems must be solved by the owner of the website or webmaster. Therefore, it is important to know what exactly will be encountered in the process of maintaining the website.
Possible problems with websites and solutions
Although there are many problems with websites, many of them are rarely encountered by webmasters. But some problems with websites happen quite often. And in order for the website owner and his finances, as well as the webmaster and users, not to suffer from long downtime or other difficulties, it is important to know at least the most basic ones.
- Problems with page loading speeds. The most common type of problems with websites. In this case the reasons for problems with speed may be mass. Starting with problems with the website and its optimization and ending with stressful loads on the server hardware or hosting.
- Problems with the availability of the website. It is also common for websites to have malfunctions. In this case, the website can be unavailable for a variety of reasons. Starting with problems on the network side, and ending with problems on the server side.
- Database problems. Typically, these problems occur with online stores and other web services. This type of website often works with users and various kinds of data. And these problems can be associated with both incorrectly configured databases, and with problems on the side of the website.
- Problems on the server or hosting side. Not the most common type of problem, but one of the most complex. Often the server can have problems because of the wrong service plan on the hosting. Or due to improper configuration of the server itself by the webmaster. And also because the webmaster is unprepared for the excessive load on the server and the influx of users on the website.
Webmasters’ ways for website monitoring
Website monitoring and maintenance is something that website owners should not neglect. If only because without constant maintenance, the site will sooner or later stop working as it should. And without constant monitoring, the webmaster or site owner simply won’t be able to quickly understand the situation. And this means that they won’t be able to quickly find the source of the problems and eliminate them as soon as possible.
Usually the webmaster, who is hired by the owner of the website, is responsible for monitoring the website. And large companies hire a full technical team. And, in the case of large companies, they usually work using monitoring systems located on their own servers. But in smaller companies, they have to use special software and do everything almost manually. However, in any of these cases the webmaster has to look through the logs himself in search of errors. And it is precisely in order to reduce the time for finding the sources of problems that today people often resort to the use of outsourced platforms for automatic monitoring of websites.
Best automated website monitoring tools
Currently, there are many advanced monitoring services on the Internet with varying degrees of usability. There are some very useful services with their own pros and cons. These services offer a range of additional benefits, including site optimization, security enhancements, data preservation and more. However, these features almost always differ only in terms of fees and testing time.
Users consider HostTracker, a feature-rich website monitoring platform, one of the best services. Webmasters can easily use host-tracker online website tracker either manually or perform various checks and tests automatically. This system will perform all procedures automatically within a set schedule. At the same time, different access points around the world will be used to increase the accuracy of the checks. This approach will allow you to achieve maximum effect with minimum effort. You can adapt this particular monitoring platform to almost any task.
This monitoring platform, as mentioned above, includes many useful tools to meet the needs of the webmaster. From manual checks and full-fledged try to check website hosting on host-tracker and up to even monitoring multiple websites using multiple user accounts. You can even try it for yourself during a 30-day trial period after signing up.
In addition to all of the above, this service provides an instant notification system to support monitoring automation. It will do literally what its name suggests. If there is something wrong with the site based on the results of the checks, it will mark it in the logs, add a note to the statistics, and instantly notify the webmaster via the selected messaging method. And the notification will indicate the source of the problem.
How a proper website monitoring saves money
For any website, downtime or lack of user access is a source of reputational loss. And hence the reason for regular visitors to leave for competitors. For a business website it is also the departure of potential customers. Which means a decrease in profits. On average, if the website is idle for 2 hours a day and users can not get on it, then about 8-10% of the audience is lost. And that means 8-10% of the potential profit.
Separately, it is worth mentioning that problems with the website lead to the fact that its ranking in search engines and advertising systems is reduced. Since search and advertising bots when testing the site can easily identify most of the problems. This includes an uptime ratio which is considered as one of the vital parts of website performance. And if they are not eliminated, the website ranking goes down.
And the right approach to website maintenance leads to minimizing the above-mentioned problems. As automatic monitoring systems notify the webmaster or website owner about the problems. Which allows in the shortest possible time to restore normal operation of the website. And thus reduce the risk of reputational and financial losses.
