Essential Metrics for Effective Website & Server Monitoring

Website downtime, slow loading pages, and hidden server errors can quickly erode trust, cost you revenue, and damage your brand. To prevent small problems from turning into big losses, monitoring the right metrics is essential. Here’s what you should be tracking—and why.

Looking for a simpler way to track all these metrics? Try Watchman Tower free for 14 days.

1. Uptime

Why it matters: Even short downtimes can break user trust and hurt your SEO rankings.

Uptime is the percentage of time your website is available to visitors. Even “99% uptime” means over 7 hours of downtime per month—a risk for any business. With Watchman Tower (WT), you receive instant alerts if your website becomes inaccessible, so you can act before your users or Google notices.

Learn how to set uptime targets and alert rules in our uptime monitoring checklist →

2. Response Time

Why it matters: Slow responses frustrate users, lower conversions, and impact SEO visibility.

How fast does your website respond to a user’s request? Slow response times lead to higher bounce rates and lower SEO rankings. Monitoring your response times helps you detect slowdowns before they impact your users’ experience.

Discover how to detect slowdowns before they affect users →

3. HTTP Status Codes

Why it matters: Tracking status codes helps you catch broken links and errors before users do.

Every visit triggers an HTTP response. By tracking codes like 200 (OK), 404 (Not Found), or 500 (Server Error), you get early warning when something breaks or when pages are missing.

4. SSL Certificate Status

Why it matters: Expired SSL certificates damage user trust and search visibility.

Expired or invalid SSL certificates not only scare away users (“Not Secure” warning) but can also get your site de-ranked in search results. WT automatically monitors your certificate expiry dates and notifies you before it’s too late.

5. Server Resource Usage (Combine with Website Monitoring for Maximum Insight)

Why it matters: Server overload often hides behind slow websites—knowing resource usage saves hours of guessing.

Sometimes, your website slows down due to underlying server issues—like high CPU, memory, or disk usage. Watchman Tower doesn’t just monitor your website from the outside; with built-in server monitoring, you can see what’s happening on your infrastructure in real-time.

Example: If your site gets slow alerts and WT shows high server CPU, you know it’s an infrastructure problem—not just web code.

See how simplifying your monitoring can improve performance →

6. Ping & Network Performance

Why it matters: Global performance monitoring ensures all your users get the same fast experience.

Global users may experience latency or connectivity issues. WT tracks ping times and packet loss from multiple regions, so you know if your site is globally accessible and fast.

7. Key Service Monitoring (APIs, Email, etc.)

Why it matters: Critical background services like APIs or payment gateways can fail silently—monitoring them protects uptime.

For SaaS and complex websites, APIs and background services are just as critical as the main page. Watchman Tower can monitor any endpoint—API, mail server, or payment gateway—to ensure all vital services are healthy.

Why Monitor Both Website and Server?

Why it matters: Correlating website and server data reveals the true cause of performance issues.

Many issues look like “website problems” but are actually server-side: CPU spikes, memory leaks, or failing disks. By combining WT’s website and server monitoring, you get a complete picture—from external uptime to internal health. This means faster troubleshooting, less downtime, and a smoother user experience.

Start Monitoring in Minutes

Why it matters: Simple setup means less time configuring and more time improving your site.

Getting started with Watchman Tower is easy. Add your website and (optionally) connect your server for integrated monitoring. You’ll receive real-time alerts via Email, Slack, and Push Notifications—so you’re always the first to know.

Ready to see what’s really happening with your website and server?
Start your free 14-day trial with Watchman Tower today—no credit card required.