Uptime monitoring with a public status page URL you can share with clients

Your client pings you on Saturday: "Is the site down?" — while you are already fixing DNS. A public status page is one bookmarkable URL with green/red history so the PM checks uptime without your dashboard login. This guide compares Better Stack, UptimeRobot, Instatus, and StillOnline on shareable URLs per client, shows where to place the link, and states white-label limits honestly.

Quick answer

Freelancers need one public status URL per client without sharing your account login. StillOnline creates stillonline.tech/{locale}/s/{slug} automatically with each project — Ultimate ($29/mo) covers up to 100 client pages flat. Better Stack often charges about $12/mo per extra status page beyond the first; fifteen clients can exceed $150/mo. UptimeRobot Team ($33/mo) bundles monitors but status pages are tiered, and Free bans commercial client work. StillOnline does not offer a custom domain on the status page in v1 — say that before the contract is signed.

Uptime monitoring pings your client's prod URL on a schedule. A status page is the public read-only view of those probes. A shareable URL means the PM bookmarks one link instead of asking you in Telegram.

Hub guides: public status page for SaaS · freelancer monitoring for 10–20 sites · agency multiple status pages.

Explain why the client needs a separate public URL

PMs and marketing should not see your alerts, other clients, or Telegram settings. They need read-only: operational / degraded / down plus when the last external probe ran.

Do: send the link in the onboarding pack on launch day. Do not: send dashboard screenshots — they expire in five minutes and do not prove transparency.

Compare Better Stack, UptimeRobot, Instatus, StillOnline

All four ship a public page. The bill differs on 10–15 client pages, bundled monitoring, and custom-domain honesty.

Do: calculate all-in at 10, 15, and 20 clients before annual billing. Do not: promise status.client.com on StillOnline — it is not offered; for strict domains compare Instatus or Better Stack.

Verdict: StillOnline Ultimate ($29) fits solo freelancers who want flat billing and one auto page per client. Instatus when the client pays for brand and password gates. UptimeRobot Team when monitor volume matters more than one project per client. Better Stack when you already live in their incident Slack flow. Portfolio math: freelancer 10–20 sites guide.

Set up auto status page per project in StillOnline

In StillOnline one project equals one client product. When you create a project and the first HTTP check, the public page appears at stillonline.tech/en/your-slug (or /ru/). Probes run every 5 minutes on Free; faster on Pro.

Share URL workflow: new project → paste health HTTPS URL → wait 2–3 probe cycles → copy /s/slug → paste in welcome email → optional private visibility on Pro for NDA clients.

1. Sign in at stillonline.tech/app.
2. New project — client-recognizable name (Acme Shop, not internal-codename).
3. Add GET check on prod URL; expect 200.
4. Confirm visibility = public (or private on Pro for stakeholders under contract).
5. Copy human URL and machine JSON api.stillonline.tech/v1/public/status/{slug} for widgets.
6. Route owner alerts to Telegram or Slack so you hear first.

Clients see overall status, check rows, 24h uptime strip on Free, and an open incident banner. Findability tips: status page in support docs. Multiple clients: agency multiple status pages.

Do: name the slug after the client brand (acme-corp), not client-7. Do not: share the link before health URL is stable — first impression will be red.

Place the URL in support macros, onboarding, and contracts

The client site footer is not the only channel. People often check ops docs when something breaks.

• Welcome email on support kickoff.
• Notion / Confluence "Operations" at the client.
• Zendesk / Intercom macro: "Check status: [URL]."
• SLA contract appendix as the official transparency channel.
• Repo README for technical clients.

Use the footer carefully: a link to stillonline.tech can confuse buyers who expected status.client.com. Prefer copy like "Availability monitoring (contractor)" with a one-line explanation. For B2B SaaS clients, add the link to internal wiki "System status" — CS and sales check there before escalating to you.

Support macro template (adapt the name): "Before opening a chat ticket, open the status page: [URL]. Green means our external probe sees the site up. Red means we already got an alert and are working; a duplicate ticket will not speed the fix."

Do: add one paragraph in the macro in English and the client's language; repeat the URL in the monthly retainer report. Do not: hide the URL only in your notes — the client will DM you again and miss last week's uptime history.

Check white-label expectations: domain and branding

White-label here means "the page looks like the client's site." StillOnline v1 serves a hosted URL on stillonline.tech with StillOnline branding in the header — no custom domain. That fits indie retainers at $9–29/mo, not enterprise procurement that demands CNAME on the client domain and SSO.

On the sales call ask three questions: own subdomain needed? password on the page? email subscriber list? If yes to all three — shortlist Instatus or Better Stack. If a transparent contractor link without DevOps is enough — StillOnline covers most freelance cases in one evening.

If the contract requires status.client.com — Instatus Pro (~$20/mo) or Better Stack with paid domain. Keep StillOnline for your monitoring and internal alerts. Compare visibility: public vs private status page. Tell the client honestly: "page runs on the contractor's monitoring host; data comes from real probes, not a manual social post."

Do: state the domain limitation on the first call. Do not: promise "custom domain soon" — it is not in the product.

What to do next

Create a StillOnline project, copy /s/slug, paste it into the current client's onboarding pack, and update the retainer line item. One honest URL cuts Saturday calls more than another monitor without a page.

1. Pick the vendor row that matches your client count (10 / 15 / 20).
2. Launch one client this week with the URL in welcome email + support macro.
3. Document white-label limits in your SOP before the next procurement call.

Pricing and limits: stillonline.tech/#pricing. Owner alerts: Telegram uptime alerts.

Related guides

• Public status page for SaaS and API — what visitors see and five launch steps.
• Freelancer uptime monitoring for 10–20 client sites — portfolio all-in cost at 10, 15, 20 clients.
• Multiple status pages for agencies — one project per client and offboarding handoff.
• Where to link the status page — docs, macros, not the marketing footer.
• Public vs private status page — NDA stakeholders and Pro visibility.
• Which StillOnline plan fits — Pro vs Ultimate when client eleven arrives.

FAQ

Can I give a client a link without dashboard access?

Yes. The public status page is read-only. They do not see other projects, API keys, or your Telegram alerts. You remain the account owner. Setup: public status page guide.

How much do 15 status pages cost on Better Stack vs StillOnline?

Better Stack often includes one free page; each extra is about $12/mo plus monitors — fifteen clients can exceed $150/mo per Better Stack pricing. StillOnline Ultimate $29/mo covers up to 100 projects with a page each. Recalculate at purchase time.

Does StillOnline offer a white-label custom domain on the status page?

No. StillOnline hosts the URL on stillonline.tech/{locale}/s/{id}. If the domain is critical, compare Instatus or Better Stack; StillOnline fits a fast transparent contractor link without DevOps.

Where should I put the URL besides the client site footer?

Onboarding email, Notion ops, support macro, SLA appendix, README. Footer is optional with a "contractor monitoring" label — see findability guide.

Does the StillOnline status page update automatically?

Yes. Workers probe the health URL on schedule. The page reflects the latest checks and open incidents without a manual "we are working" post. Probe interval is 5 minutes on Free.

What exactly does the client see on a StillOnline status page?

Overall status (operational / degraded / down), check list, 24h uptime on Free, and an active incident if one is open. No internal notes or other clients' data. Live example: demo status page.