How to create a status page for your website

What a status page does

A status page is a public URL — usually status.yourcompany.com — that shows the current state of your services. When everything works, it says "All Systems Operational." When something breaks, it shows which component is affected and what you're doing about it.

The best status pages also show uptime history (usually 90 days) and incident timelines. This builds trust — users can see your reliability track record at a glance.

Do you need one?

If you run any service that other people depend on — a SaaS, an API, an e-commerce site, a web app — yes. A status page:

• Reduces support tickets during outages (users check the page instead of emailing you)
• Builds trust with transparency
• Keeps your team honest about uptime
• Gives you a place to communicate during incidents

Option 1: Use a hosted service (recommended)

The fastest way. You sign up, add your services, and get a public URL. The service handles hosting, SSL, and design.

Atlassian Statuspage is the most well-known ($29/mo+). Instatus ($20/mo) and Pulsetic ($9/mo) are popular mid-range options.

OpenPingincludes a status page free with every account — and it's connected to actual uptime monitoring, so incidents are created and resolved automatically. No manual updates needed.

Option 2: Self-host with open source

Uptime Kuma and Cachetare popular open-source options. Free, but you need a server and you're responsible for keeping it running. The irony of your status page going down during an outage is real.

How to set one up with OpenPing (5 minutes)

1. Sign up at openping.io/register. No credit card.
2. Add your monitors. Each URL you want on the status page needs a monitor. Add them one by one or bulk import.
3. Create a status page. Go to Dashboard → Status Pages → New. Give it a name, a slug (this becomes your URL), and select which monitors to show.
4. Share the URL. Your status page lives at openping.io/status/your-slug. Link to it from your footer, docs, or support page.
5. Done. Incidents are created automatically when a monitor goes down and resolved when it recovers. Subscribers get notified by email.

What makes a good status page

• Components, not just one status. Break your service into components (API, Web App, Database, CDN). Users care about which part is affected.
• Uptime history. A 90-day bar chart shows reliability at a glance. All green = trustworthy.
• Incident timeline.When something breaks, show what happened and when. "Investigating" → "Identified" → "Monitoring" → "Resolved."
• Subscriber notifications. Let users subscribe to get emailed about incidents. Saves them from refreshing the page.
• Clean design. No clutter. Status information should be scannable in 2 seconds.

Cost comparison