It’s common for website owners to face the nightmare of their site being down when they want to showcase their work to clients, which is why hosting companies offer uptime guarantees.
What is uptime and availability time? These terms are often encountered when looking for a website hosting service. Understanding their meaning and impact on your site is important.
This article aims to explain the importance of uptime in website hosting. By the end, you will learn how to assess companies’ uptime offers, understand your rights when guaranteed uptime is not met, recognize the negative impact of low uptime, and know how to address it. Stay tuned for more information!
Compare two companies with excellent uptime to find the best option for an uptime accommodation above 99.9%. Check out our comparison of HostGator and Hostinger.
Site hosting uptime
Uptime refers to the period during which a computer is connected and functioning properly. It is the time when a computer or operating system is operational without any interruptions, and the timer resets each time the system is restarted.
In website hosting, uptime indicates the duration a server is accessible to users, including system administrators and visitors. Another term for uptime in Portuguese is availability time.
How measurement of uptime occurs
Companies typically measure server uptime using percentages rather than time units, such as hours or minutes. This calculation is based on the server’s availability within a specific timeframe, typically on a monthly basis. For example, a server may be reported to have had 99.5% uptime in the last month.
A website may go offline even when the server is functioning properly, due to various reasons like programming errors or expired domain. In such cases, the downtime of the website does not affect the uptime of the server.
Difference between uptime and downtime
Downtime, a term commonly used in technology, refers to the period when a computer or system is not available, contrasting with uptime when the system is operational. This term also applies to hosting websites, where it signifies the duration when a server is offline.
Uptime Guarantee: Understanding Your Entitlements
Many online service providers commonly incorporate service agreements into their contracts, known as SLAs, or Service Level Agreements. This agreement typically outlines a specified level of service for server availability, ensuring that the company commits to making the service accessible to customers for a defined duration. In the context of hosting companies, SLAs are particularly focused on server uptime.
The contract of a hosting company often includes a clause specifying a minimum uptime requirement, such as ensuring a 99.9% service availability each month. This translates to a potential downtime of up to 43 minutes within a 30-day period.
If the company fails to meet the SLA by having uptime below the agreed level, customers can ask for a refund based on the time the service was unavailable. This refund is usually given as a discount on the recurring hosting service fee, so the amount can vary depending on the duration of downtime.
To determine the SLA provided by a hosting company, refer to the service agreement, also known as terms of service or TOS.
Poor uptime can have a direct impact on the revenue produced by your website.
Being in a poor hosting arrangement can significantly impact the revenue generated by your website, especially during important campaigns or promotions. This situation is particularly critical for online businesses whose revenue relies solely on their virtual store.
There is a clear connection between SEO and hosting, as search engines like Google assess technical aspects when ranking websites. Slow or unreliable servers can negatively impact a site’s position in search results, complicating the ranking process.
Your company’s reputation may suffer if your website’s service or information is unavailable, leading to frustration for customers and visitors, as well as negative impacts on your business.
A potential discount from your hosting provider may seem insignificant when weighed against the risks of website downtime. If you encounter such a scenario, it might be wise to consider switching hosting providers.
How to verify if the uptime requirement is being met
Is it humanly impossible for a website owner to constantly monitor their site to ensure it is online? How can one determine if their site is live and if the hosting service is meeting the uptime guarantee?
There are several methods available to perform this check, with one convenient option being to utilize a monitoring service for your hosting or website. This service will regularly check for any unavailability and can notify you through alerts via email, SMS, or mobile notifications so that you can take necessary actions, such as contacting hosting support promptly to restore service.
Using a monitoring service allows you to track the downtime of your website and promptly request compensation from your service provider as per the contract terms.
Many monitoring services are accessible, with some being free. Two popular ones are PingDom and Uptime Robot. PingDom no longer offers a free plan but provides a 30-day free trial. On the other hand, Uptime Robot allows monitoring of up to 50 sites for free. Both services offer paid plans with added features like reduced monitoring intervals and extended uptime logs.
To delve further, check out the article on monitoring hosting uptime to receive alerts when your website goes down.
In conclusion
Website owners desire continuous online presence, but uptime reliability varies. Thus, understanding the guaranteed uptime in your hosting plan is crucial. Top hosting providers ensure uptime between 99.5% and 100%.
It is crucial to ensure that the guaranteed uptime (SLA) is being met and to request compensation if it is not. Thankfully, there are both free and paid services available to assist in monitoring the uptime of websites or services.
If you need clarification or have additional information, feel free to comment, and we’ll gladly assist you!
Publication date: 20/02/2018 (last updated on 14/08/2019)
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