Getting Started
What is PingPuffin?
PingPuffin is a minimalist uptime monitoring platform that helps businesses monitor website availability 24/7 and receive instant notifications when sites go down or experience issues. It's designed to be simple, fast, and reliable with no complex configuration needed.
How does PingPuffin work?
PingPuffin monitors your websites and APIs by checking them every 5 minutes from multiple locations. When a site goes down or experiences issues, you receive instant notifications via email, Slack, SMS, WhatsApp, or webhooks. The platform tracks uptime statistics, response times, and incident history automatically.
How do I set up PingPuffin?
Setting up PingPuffin takes just minutes. Sign up with your email, password, and name. Then add your first website URL - that's it. No complex configuration needed. Sensible defaults handle everything, and monitoring starts immediately.
How much does PingPuffin cost?
All PingPuffin plans are currently free during our launch period. This includes the Freelancer, Business, and Huge Business plans. Paid tiers will follow later, and we'll give plenty of notice before we start charging.
Is PingPuffin free?
Yes, all PingPuffin plans are currently free during our launch period. This includes unlimited monitors, all notification channels, status pages, team members, and all features. Paid plans will be introduced later with plenty of advance notice.
Monitoring Features
What can I monitor with PingPuffin?
You can monitor any website, API endpoint, or URL with PingPuffin. This includes public websites, protected endpoints with authentication, API endpoints using POST requests, and even WordPress sites through our official plugin.
How often does PingPuffin check my websites?
PingPuffin checks your websites every 5 minutes by default. This interval is configurable, ensuring you're notified quickly when issues occur while not overwhelming your servers with too many requests.
Can I monitor multiple websites?
Yes, you can monitor unlimited websites with PingPuffin. All plans include unlimited monitors, so you can track as many sites, APIs, or endpoints as you need from a single dashboard.
How do I add a website to monitor?
Adding a website is simple: enter the URL in the add monitor form, give it a friendly name, and click save. PingPuffin immediately performs the first check and starts monitoring. No configuration needed - sensible defaults handle everything.
What happens when my website goes down?
When your website goes down, PingPuffin detects it within 5 minutes and sends instant notifications to all configured channels (email, Slack, SMS, etc.). An incident is automatically created, your status page updates, and you receive alerts until the site recovers.
Can I monitor API endpoints?
Yes, PingPuffin fully supports API monitoring. You can monitor API endpoints using GET or POST requests, send custom request bodies (JSON or form data), and monitor protected endpoints with authentication. Perfect for tracking API availability and response times.
Can I monitor protected endpoints?
Yes, PingPuffin supports monitoring protected endpoints with basic authentication. You can securely store credentials and monitor endpoints that require login. The platform handles authentication automatically during checks.
Does PingPuffin support SSL monitoring?
Yes, PingPuffin monitors SSL certificates and detects certificate issues. You can configure HTTP fallback options and track SSL errors. The platform automatically detects SSL problems and notifies you when certificates are about to expire or have issues.
Can I monitor redirects?
Yes, PingPuffin automatically detects redirects and shows where they go. You can configure redirect handling and get notified about unexpected redirects. The platform tracks redirect chains and helps you identify configuration issues.
Does PingPuffin detect Cloudflare challenges?
Yes, PingPuffin detects Cloudflare challenge pages and handles them appropriately. The platform recognizes challenge pages and provides clear status indicators, so you know when your site is being challenged rather than actually down.
Can I monitor staging environments?
Yes, you can monitor any environment including staging, development, or production. Many developers use PingPuffin to track staging environments, API endpoints, and personal projects. All environments are treated equally with the same monitoring capabilities.
Can I monitor subdomains?
Yes, you can monitor any subdomain just like any other URL. Add the full subdomain URL (e.g., api.example.com, status.example.com) and PingPuffin will monitor it independently. Each subdomain is treated as a separate monitor.
How do I disable monitoring temporarily?
You can disable any monitor with one click. This pauses monitoring and stops notifications without deleting the monitor. Re-enable it anytime to resume monitoring. Perfect for temporarily pausing monitoring during migrations or maintenance.
How do I manually trigger a check?
You can manually trigger an immediate check for any monitor from the monitor page. Click 'Check Now' and see results instantly without waiting for the scheduled check. Perfect for testing after making changes or verifying status.
What is the minimum check interval?
The default check interval is 5 minutes, which provides a good balance between quick detection and not overwhelming your servers. You can configure this interval, but 5 minutes is recommended for most use cases.
Can I monitor localhost or internal networks?
PingPuffin monitors from external locations, so it can't directly monitor localhost or internal networks. However, you can use webhooks or the API to send status updates from internal systems to PingPuffin for tracking.
Notifications
What notification channels does PingPuffin support?
PingPuffin supports multiple notification channels including email (built-in), Slack, SMS, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, PagerDuty, and custom webhooks. You can configure multiple channels and choose which status changes trigger notifications.
How do I set up Slack notifications?
Setting up Slack notifications takes just 2 clicks. Add your Slack webhook URL in PingPuffin's notification settings, choose which status changes to notify about, and you're done. Beautiful formatted messages appear in your Slack workspace with site name, URL, status, and timestamp.
How do I set up email notifications?
Email notifications are built-in and work automatically. Just add your email address in notification settings, choose which status changes to be notified about, and you'll receive HTML emails with all relevant information when issues occur.
Can I get SMS notifications?
Yes, PingPuffin supports SMS notifications. Add your phone number in notification settings, choose which alerts to receive via SMS, and get instant text messages when issues occur. Perfect for critical alerts when you're away from your computer.
Can I use custom webhooks?
Yes, PingPuffin supports custom webhooks for maximum flexibility. Send notifications to any endpoint with JSON payloads containing all monitor data. Perfect for custom integrations, automation workflows, or connecting to services like PagerDuty, Zapier, or your own systems.
What notification preferences can I set?
You can choose to be notified about: Down (always enabled), Up (when sites recover), Warning (redirects or issues), and Redirect (specific redirect notifications). You can set quiet hours, mute notifications during maintenance, and configure per-monitor targets.
Can I get recovery notifications?
Yes, you can enable recovery notifications to be alerted when your site comes back online. This helps you know immediately when issues are resolved, so you can verify everything is working correctly.
Can I set up quiet hours?
Yes, you can configure quiet hours to mute notifications during specific times (e.g., nights or weekends). Notifications are still logged, but you won't be disturbed. Perfect for maintaining work-life balance while staying informed.
How do I change my notification settings?
You can change notification settings anytime from the notification settings page. Add or remove channels, change which status changes trigger notifications, configure quiet hours, and update preferences. Changes take effect immediately.
How do I integrate PingPuffin with PagerDuty?
You can integrate PingPuffin with PagerDuty using webhooks. Configure a PagerDuty webhook URL in PingPuffin's notification settings, and incidents will automatically create PagerDuty incidents. The JSON payload includes all monitor data for proper routing.
Status Pages
What are status pages?
Status pages are public pages that show the current status of your monitored services. They display uptime statistics, incident history, response times, and real-time status updates. You can customize branding, use custom domains, and share them with customers to provide transparency.
How do I create a status page?
Creating a status page takes about 60 seconds. Connect your uptime monitors, pick your headline tone, and the page is ready. No design skills needed - PingPuffin handles the rest automatically, including incident updates and uptime history.
Can I customize status pages?
Yes, status pages are fully customizable. You can set custom branding (title, description, logo), use custom domains, choose headline tone, and configure which monitors appear. The design is beautiful by default but can be tailored to match your brand.
Can I monitor multiple status pages?
Yes, you can create multiple status pages for different products, clients, or environments. Each page can have custom branding, custom domains, and show different sets of monitors. Perfect for agencies managing multiple clients.
How do status page subscribers work?
Visitors to your status page can subscribe via email, SMS, or webhook to receive updates when incidents occur. Subscribers get the same notifications as your team, keeping customers informed automatically without manual updates.
Statistics & Analytics
What uptime statistics does PingPuffin provide?
PingPuffin provides comprehensive uptime statistics including 24-hour and 31-day uptime percentages, response time history, incident tracking, downtime duration, and recovery time. You can view optional charts and graphs, export data as CSV, and see historical trends.
What response time metrics does PingPuffin track?
PingPuffin tracks response times for every check, showing current response time, average response time, and response time history. You can see response time graphs, identify slow performance, and track improvements over time.
How do I see incident history?
Incident history is available in your dashboard for each monitor. You can see all downtime periods with start time, end time, duration, and recovery time. Active incidents are highlighted, and you can export the full history as CSV.
How do I export my data?
You can export uptime statistics, incident history, and activity logs as CSV files. This includes all downtime periods, response time data, and monitor events. Perfect for reporting, analysis, or backup purposes.
What are weekly health reports?
Weekly health reports are AI-generated summaries sent every Monday morning. They include a summary of all monitors, status overview, recent incidents, uptime statistics, and personalized insights. Ultra-minimalist format focusing on what matters - you can enable or disable them anytime.
Team & Collaboration
Can I invite team members?
Yes, PingPuffin supports unlimited team members and clients. You can invite owners, editors, and viewers with different permission levels. There are no extra seats or confusing roles - just simple team management that works.
What is the difference between owners, editors, and viewers?
Owners have full control over the workspace and can manage everything. Editors can create and modify monitors but can't change workspace settings. Viewers can see all monitors and status but can't make changes. Simple, clear roles without complexity.
What is the maximum number of monitors I can have?
All PingPuffin plans include unlimited monitors. You can monitor as many websites, APIs, or endpoints as you need. There are no limits on the number of monitors, status pages, or team members.
Can I use PingPuffin for agencies?
Absolutely. Many agencies use PingPuffin to monitor all client websites from one dashboard. You can create separate status pages for each client, invite clients as viewers, and manage everything centrally. Perfect for agencies managing multiple clients.
Integrations
What is the WordPress integration?
PingPuffin offers an official WordPress plugin that automatically monitors your WordPress site. Easy setup from WordPress admin, no manual configuration needed. The plugin securely connects to PingPuffin and starts monitoring immediately.
Can I monitor my WordPress site automatically?
Yes, with the official PingPuffin WordPress plugin, your WordPress site is automatically monitored. Install the plugin from WordPress admin, connect it to your PingPuffin account, and monitoring starts immediately. No manual URL entry needed.
Does PingPuffin have an API?
Yes, PingPuffin provides a RESTful API for programmatic access to your monitor data. Simple authentication with API key, JSON responses, and easy integration. Perfect for building custom dashboards, automating workflows, or integrating with other tools.
Can I use PingPuffin for API monitoring?
Yes, PingPuffin is excellent for API monitoring. You can monitor API endpoints with GET or POST requests, send custom JSON payloads, monitor protected APIs with authentication, and track response times. Perfect for SaaS companies and developers.
Maintenance & Advanced
How do maintenance windows work?
Maintenance windows allow you to pause monitoring and mute alerts during planned maintenance. Set a start and end time, select which monitors to pause, and PingPuffin automatically silences notifications and updates status pages. Monitoring resumes automatically when the window closes.
How do I delete a monitor?
You can delete any monitor from the monitor settings page. Simply click delete, confirm the action, and the monitor is removed along with its history. This action can't be undone, so make sure you want to remove it permanently.
What is the difference between online, offline, and problematic status?
Online means your site is up and running normally. Offline means your site is down or unreachable. Problematic means your site has issues like redirects, Cloudflare challenges, or configuration problems. PingPuffin clearly distinguishes between these states.
How accurate is PingPuffin's monitoring?
PingPuffin checks from multiple locations and confirms issues before sending alerts. This prevents false positives and ensures you only get notified about real problems. The platform uses reliable infrastructure and redundant checking to maintain high accuracy.
Use Cases
Can I use PingPuffin for e-commerce monitoring?
Absolutely. Many e-commerce businesses use PingPuffin to monitor their online stores, detect issues before customers do, track performance during peak times, and ensure availability. Set up takes under 5 minutes and provides peace of mind.
Can I use PingPuffin for agencies?
Absolutely. Many agencies use PingPuffin to monitor all client websites from one dashboard. You can create separate status pages for each client, invite clients as viewers, and manage everything centrally. Perfect for agencies managing multiple clients.
Technical & Support
What languages does PingPuffin support?
PingPuffin currently supports English, Danish, Spanish, Swedish, and Norwegian. The interface, documentation, and all features are fully localized. More languages are coming soon.
What browsers does PingPuffin support?
PingPuffin works in all modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera. The interface is responsive and optimized for all screen sizes. We support the latest versions of all major browsers.
Does PingPuffin work on mobile?
Yes, PingPuffin is fully responsive and works perfectly on mobile devices, tablets, and desktops. The interface is optimized for all screen sizes, so you can check status, view incidents, and manage monitors from anywhere.
What happens if PingPuffin goes down?
PingPuffin uses redundant infrastructure and multiple monitoring locations to ensure high availability. However, if there's ever an issue with PingPuffin itself, we have status pages and transparent communication to keep you informed. We monitor our own infrastructure 24/7.
What data does PingPuffin store?
PingPuffin stores monitor configurations, check results, response times, incident history, and uptime statistics. We don't store sensitive data from your websites. All data is securely stored and you can export or delete it anytime.
How do I contact PingPuffin support?
You can contact PingPuffin support through the support section in your account, via email, or through our documentation. During the launch period, we're actively listening to feedback and improving based on user needs.
What happens when I exceed the free plan limits?
Currently, all plans are free with unlimited everything. When paid plans are introduced, we'll give plenty of advance notice. You'll be able to choose a plan that fits your needs, and we'll help you transition smoothly.
What People Typically Ask When Looking for an Uptime Monitor
Which uptime monitor is best?
The best uptime monitor depends on your needs. PingPuffin is designed for teams who want simplicity and quick setup without complex configuration. If you need enterprise features with minimal setup time, PingPuffin offers the perfect balance of functionality and ease of use.
What is the best free uptime monitoring service?
PingPuffin is currently free during our launch period, offering unlimited monitors, all notification channels, status pages, and team members. Unlike many free services with limitations, PingPuffin provides full functionality without restrictions during launch.
How do I choose an uptime monitoring tool?
When choosing an uptime monitoring tool, consider setup time, ease of use, notification options, and pricing. PingPuffin excels in all these areas - it takes minutes to set up, requires no configuration, supports multiple notification channels, and is currently free during launch.
What features should I look for in an uptime monitor?
Essential features include 24/7 monitoring, multiple notification channels (email, Slack, SMS), status pages, API access, and team collaboration. PingPuffin includes all these features plus advanced options like maintenance windows, SSL monitoring, and custom webhooks.
Is there a simple uptime monitoring solution?
Yes, PingPuffin is specifically designed to be the simplest uptime monitoring solution available. Add a URL, done. No complex configuration, no lengthy onboarding - just reliable monitoring that works immediately with sensible defaults.
What's the easiest way to monitor website uptime?
The easiest way is using PingPuffin. Simply sign up, add your website URL, and monitoring starts immediately. No configuration needed - sensible defaults handle everything. You'll receive notifications via email, and can add Slack, SMS, or other channels in seconds.
How much does uptime monitoring cost?
PingPuffin is currently free during our launch period, including all features and unlimited monitors. Many uptime monitoring services charge $10-50+ per month. We'll introduce paid plans later with plenty of advance notice, but during launch, everything is free.
Do I need technical knowledge to use an uptime monitor?
With PingPuffin, no technical knowledge is required. The platform is designed to be so simple that anyone can set it up in minutes. Just add a URL and you're done - no configuration, no complex settings, no technical expertise needed.
What's the difference between PingPuffin and other uptime monitors?
PingPuffin focuses on simplicity and speed. While other tools require extensive configuration and onboarding, PingPuffin works immediately with sensible defaults. You get 80% of the power with 20% of the setup time - perfect for teams who just want answers without the complexity.
Can I monitor multiple websites with one tool?
Yes, PingPuffin supports unlimited monitors. You can monitor as many websites, APIs, or endpoints as you need from a single dashboard. All plans include unlimited monitors, so you can track everything in one place without additional costs.
Best Practices & Advanced
What is the best practice for uptime monitoring check intervals?
For most websites, checking every 5 minutes is sufficient. For critical APIs or e-commerce sites, consider 1-2 minute intervals. Balance frequency with your monitoring service's limits and costs. More frequent checks mean faster detection but also more resource usage.
How do I prevent false alerts during maintenance?
Use maintenance windows to pause monitoring during planned maintenance. Set up maintenance windows before you begin work, and monitoring will automatically resume when the window ends. This prevents false alerts and keeps your uptime statistics accurate.
What should I do when I receive a downtime alert?
First, verify the alert is real by checking your service directly. Review recent deployments or changes, check your status page, and follow your incident response procedure. Update your status page to inform customers, and work to resolve the issue quickly.
How do I monitor APIs effectively?
API monitoring requires validating responses, not just checking status codes. Monitor critical endpoints, validate JSON structure, check response times, and use authentication support for protected APIs. See our API monitoring guide for comprehensive strategies.
What is the difference between uptime monitoring and server monitoring?
Uptime monitoring checks if your service is accessible from an end-user perspective (external). Server monitoring tracks internal metrics like CPU, memory, and disk usage. Both are important - uptime monitoring tells you when something is wrong, server monitoring helps you understand why.
How do I set up a status page for my customers?
PingPuffin makes status page creation simple. Connect your uptime monitors, choose your design, and the status page automatically updates during incidents. You can customize branding, use custom domains, and let customers subscribe for updates. See our status page guide for detailed instructions.
Can I monitor my website from multiple locations?
Yes, PingPuffin monitors from multiple geographic locations to catch regional issues. This ensures you detect problems that might only affect specific regions due to CDN issues, DNS problems, or regional infrastructure failures.
What is a good uptime percentage target?
Common targets are 99.9% (8.76 hours downtime per year), 99.95% (4.38 hours), or 99.99% (52.56 minutes). Choose based on your infrastructure capabilities and business requirements. It's better to set a realistic target and consistently meet it than promise 99.99% and frequently miss it.
How do I improve my website's uptime?
Improve uptime by building redundancy into your infrastructure, implementing automated failover, scheduling regular maintenance, monitoring capacity trends, and using uptime monitoring to catch issues early. See our downtime prevention guide for comprehensive strategies.
What notification channels should I use for critical alerts?
Use multiple channels for redundancy. SMS is best for critical outages requiring immediate attention. Email works well for detailed reports. Slack/Teams are perfect for team coordination. Configure different channels for different severity levels to prevent alert fatigue.
How do I monitor WordPress sites?
Monitor WordPress sites by setting up monitors for your homepage, key pages, and critical functionality. Use our WordPress integration for easy setup. Account for cache plugins and maintenance mode plugins that might interfere with monitoring checks.
What is the difference between uptime monitoring and performance monitoring?
Uptime monitoring focuses on availability (is the service up or down). Performance monitoring focuses on speed and efficiency (how well is it performing). Both are important - use uptime monitoring to ensure availability, performance monitoring to optimize speed.
How do I set up alert escalation?
Configure alert escalation so unresolved incidents automatically notify additional team members. For example, if an alert isn't acknowledged within 15 minutes, notify the on-call engineer. If still unresolved after 30 minutes, escalate to the team lead. This ensures incidents are always addressed.
Can I use PingPuffin for SaaS application monitoring?
Yes, PingPuffin is excellent for SaaS applications. Monitor core services, API endpoints, authentication systems, and customer-facing features. Use multi-tenant monitoring strategies and track SLA compliance. See our SaaS monitoring guide for specific strategies.
Still have questions?
Can't find what you're looking for? We're here to help. Check out our documentation or reach out to our support team.