Ecommerce uptime monitoring that watches the checkout, not just the homepage
A store can answer with a fast homepage while the cart is empty, the checkout throws an error and the payment page never loads. UptimePilot checks the pages that make money from two regions, looks for the words that must be on them, and sends an SMS to the person on call the moment a confirmed failure starts.
Why a store needs more than a homepage check
Most store outages are partial. A theme update hides the Add to cart button. An app conflict breaks the cart drawer. A plugin update takes the checkout down while the catalog still loads from cache. A certificate on the checkout subdomain expires. The homepage looks fine, so a basic uptime check stays green, and the first signal is a drop in orders hours later.
- Product pages that load without the Add to cart button
- A cart or checkout page that returns an error
- A payment step that times out under sale day traffic
- Slow pages during a promotion, when every second costs conversions
- An expired certificate or domain on the store or checkout hostname
What to monitor on an online store
| Page or service | Monitor type | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | HTTP | Status 200 and response time |
| Best selling product page | Keyword present | "Add to cart" appears on the page |
| Cart page | Keyword present | The cart heading or checkout button appears |
| Checkout entry | HTTP with keyword | The checkout loads and shows the payment step heading |
| Store search or catalog API | API check | Status code and a non empty result |
| Order export, feed or inventory sync | Heartbeat | The scheduled job reports in on time |
| Store and checkout hostnames | SSL and domain | Days left before expiry |
Keyword checks work on any platform, whether the store runs on Shopify, WooCommerce, a headless frontend or a custom build. Learn more about website monitoring and cron job monitoring for feeds and syncs.
Keyword checks that catch a broken store
A keyword monitor loads the page and confirms that a phrase is present, or that a phrase is absent. Use "Add to cart" on a product page that is always in stock, and "Proceed to checkout" on the cart page. Use an absent keyword for the phrases that mean trouble, such as "Error establishing a database connection" or "We'll be back soon". A page that answers 200 but shows the wrong content is then reported as down.
Pick a product that is never removed from the catalog, or a dedicated monitoring product hidden from search, so a sold out item does not trigger an alert.
SMS to the person on call, escalation to the next
During a sale, an email that is read in two hours is too late. Send confirmed checkout failures by SMS to the person on call, post them to the team channel in Slack or Microsoft Teams, and set escalation so the alert goes to the next person when nobody acknowledges it within a few minutes. Starter includes 30 SMS alerts a month, Team 150, Business 500 and Enterprise 1,500.
Every alert is confirmed from a second region first, so a short network blip on one route does not wake anyone. See how website downtime tracker rules and escalation work.
Response time on the days that matter
Slow pages cost orders even when nothing is down. UptimePilot records the response time of every check and shows p50, p95 and p99 over time, so you can see a store getting slower as traffic builds before a promotion starts. Set a response time threshold on the checkout and the product page you advertise, and get a warning when it is crossed. Read about website performance monitoring.
Tell shoppers what is going on
When payments fail for a while, a short notice on a status page such as status.yourstore.com keeps customers from abandoning the brand and reduces messages to support. Team and higher include status pages on your own domain with your logo and colors.
Which plan fits your store
- Starter, $49 a month or $24 a month billed yearly: 50 monitors, 1 minute checks, 30 SMS a month, 3 members, enough for one store with its key pages
- Team, $99 a month or $49 a month billed yearly: 200 monitors, 30 second checks, 150 SMS a month, 5 status pages with custom domains, monthly SLA PDF
- Business, $249 a month or $124 a month billed yearly: 1,000 monitors, 500 SMS a month, 25 members, white-label reports, for brands with several stores or an agency running stores for clients
- Enterprise, $599 a month or $299 a month billed yearly: 3,000 monitors, 1,500 SMS a month, 100 members, SSO (SAML), audit log, invoicing
Compare every limit on uptime monitoring pricing.
Running WooCommerce? The checks that catch a broken checkout after a plugin update are listed on WordPress uptime monitoring.
01
Can UptimePilot complete a test purchase?
No. Monitors load pages and call endpoints, and they never place orders or charge cards. Keyword checks on the product, cart and checkout pages show whether the path to payment is working.
02
Does it work with any ecommerce platform?
Yes. Checks load your public pages and endpoints over HTTP, so the platform behind them does not matter.
03
What if the product I monitor sells out?
Choose a product that is always available, or a dedicated product hidden from search. A sold out product can hide the Add to cart button and trigger an alert.
04
How fast will I hear about a broken checkout?
With 30 second checks on Team and higher, a confirmed failure usually reaches you within about a minute. On Starter, with 1 minute checks, within about two minutes.
05
Will monitoring add load to my store?
Very little. One monitor at a 30 second interval loads one page about 2,880 times a day from its primary region, which is small next to normal visitor traffic.
Protect the pages that take the money
Add your homepage, your best selling product, your cart and your checkout, with keyword checks and SMS alerts. UptimePilot starts checking them right away.