Should you set up uptime monitoring before Product Hunt?
Product Hunt and a launch tweet spike traffic you cannot watch manually. A side project that stayed green in local tests can still fail on cold starts, wrong env vars, or a database URL that works only on your laptop.
You do not need enterprise observability the week before go-live. You need an external probe on a health URL, one alert that reaches your phone, and — optionally — a public status page you can paste into support macros. StillOnline covers that on Free with one URL, five-minute probes, and a single owner channel (email, the StillOnline bot on Telegram, or Slack).
Quick answer
Yes — set up external uptime monitoring before Product Hunt if strangers will hit your production URL. Minimum: GET /health → 200 from outside your network, a StillOnline HTTP check on that URL, and one owner alert channel on Free (five-minute probes, one URL per pricing). A public status page is optional pre-launch; owner alerts are not. Wait two probe cycles (~10 minutes on Free) before you announce the link. Full comms checklist: launch day status page.
What “pre-launch monitoring” means (and what it skips)
Pre-launch monitoring answers one question: will someone outside your Wi‑Fi get HTTP 200 on the URL that matters? It is not load testing, not log aggregation, and not a substitute for fixing bugs you already know about.
| Layer | Do before PH? | StillOnline role |
|---|---|---|
| Health URL on production | Yes | Target for HTTP GET check |
| External uptime probe | Yes | Scheduled checks every 5 min on Free |
| Owner alert (email / Telegram / Slack) | Yes | One channel on Free |
| Public status page link in footer | Optional | Hosted at stillonline.tech/.../s/... when you want it |
| Load / stress test | Nice-to-have | Not provided — use k6 or platform tools |
Sentry’s uptime monitoring docs describe the same pattern: an external HTTP check on a dedicated endpoint, separate from in-app error tracking. StillOnline focuses on that wedge plus a hosted status timeline when you are ready to share it.
Timeline: T-7, T-1, launch day
Work backward from the moment traffic arrives — not from “when I have time.”
T-7 days — ship the health URL
- Pick the URL that means “customers cannot use the product” — usually
GET /api/healthon the API host, not only the marketing homepage (quickstart). - Return 200 in under two seconds; avoid login redirects and WAF challenges on the probe path (antibot guide).
- Verify from a phone on cellular:
curl -sS -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code} time:%{time_total}s\n" "https://api.yourproduct.com/health"
T-3 days — wire StillOnline (quiet mode OK)
- Start free → new project → HTTP check on the health URL.
- Connect one owner channel: Telegram via Connect Telegram, email, or Slack webhook.
- Wait until the dashboard shows UP after two successful probe cycles.
You do not have to promote the public status URL yet. Monitoring and owner alerts work even if the page stays unlinked — see when you don't need a status page yet and public vs private. Private visibility (hide anonymous visitors) is Pro ($9/mo); pre-revenue founders often stay public but simply do not paste the link until launch week.
T-1 day — decide what customers see
| Audience | Action |
|---|---|
| Friends-only beta | Owner alerts only; skip footer link |
| Product Hunt + paying waitlist | Add status URL to launch post, docs, support macro |
| B2B pilot signed | Status link in onboarding email — launch checklist |
Launch day
| Moment | Action |
|---|---|
| T-60 min | Deploy final build; confirm health URL green |
| Go-live | Watch StillOnline dashboard + owner channel |
| T+15 min | If you promised a status link, confirm public page matches dashboard |
| Support | Paste /s/... in auto-replies if tickets start |
If the check flips DOWN, fix forward and post an incident when you share the page — incident template.
Silent monitoring vs public status page
Silent monitoring = external checks + owner alerts without advertising stillonline.tech/.../s/.... That is valid for pre-revenue launches where the only person who needs to know is you.
Add the public link when:
- Paying users or API integrators depend on uptime.
- You will answer “is it down?” in public comments or support.
- A questionnaire or pilot contract asks for an operational status URL.
StillOnline Free includes a hosted public page whether you link it or not — you are choosing distribution, not whether monitoring exists. Broader production list: side-project checklist.
StillOnline setup (minimal)
- Free: one project, one URL, 5-minute probes, 24h history.
- Owner alerts: pick one of email, StillOnline bot (Telegram), or Slack on Free — settings.
- Pro ($9/mo): up to 10 URLs when API and marketing split, plus private pages for staging — which plan.
What not to block launch on
- Polishing incident copy before you have traffic — keep a template in Notion instead.
- Page-speed monitoring — add after uptime is boring (uptime vs page speed).
- Duplicating the same URL in three free tools without picking an owner-alert source of truth.
Related guides
- Launch checklist: status page before go-live
- Health check URL quickstart
- Side-project production monitoring checklist
- Public vs private status page
FAQ
Should I set up StillOnline before Product Hunt if I have zero paying users?
Yes, if strangers will hit production. Free gives you one external check and one owner alert channel — you can skip linking the public status page until trust matters. See when you don't need a status page yet.
Can I monitor quietly without sharing a public status URL on StillOnline?
Yes. Owner alerts fire on DOWN regardless of whether you paste /s/... anywhere. The page exists on Free; you control who gets the link. For hidden-from-anonymous visibility, upgrade to Pro private pages — public vs private.
How do I wire Telegram owner alerts on StillOnline before launch?
Open app settings → Connect Telegram → follow the official StillOnline bot flow. Full steps: Telegram uptime alerts. Free includes Telegram or email or Slack — pick one channel.