The average website experiences on average 3 hours of host downtime monthly. That is 3 hours where users cannot access your website to do anything. Sometimes this downtime is for only a minute or two, but in this industry, it certainly adds up.
Website users expect 100% of your website to be available 100% of the time. When users see that your website is down, your bounce rate rises, negatively affecting your ranking on search engines.
This blog post dives deeper into how downtime and uptime influence websites. Because of the crucial role that uptime plays in a site’s functionality, it’s important to understand the negative impact its absence can have.
Definition of Website Downtime
Website downtime can be defined as the period during which a website isn’t accessible to users or is not functioning properly. It’s the opposite of website uptime and happens when a website experiences any technical issues. These issues can be anything from server problems, maintenance, or other disruptions that usually stop users from getting access to the site.
Definition of Website Uptime
Website uptime is the amount of time that a website is working and that others can access it without any interruptions. This means that the host server and everything that needs to be working is functioning the way it should..
How is Website Downtime Measured?
Downtime is normally measured in a percentage over a specific time, such as a month or year. During this time the website is online and working properly. Having a high uptime percentage shows that a website is reliable and constantly available for visitors.
On the other hand, a high percentage of website downtime can frustrate users. For this very reason, website uptime is essential for every website owner.
What Causes Downtime?
Because experiencing website downtime (that’s not scheduled) can ruin a website’s reputation, it’s important to know what causes it. Here are a few issues that can contribute to website downtime:
Server Issues:
The most common reason for downtime is the server that’s hosting a website. Servers can have hardware failures, software glitches, or overload, resulting in downtime. Normally when the server is the issue, it will show a server error code between 500 – 599. Because of this, it’s key to have a reliable server hosting your website, even if it will cost a large sum.
Network Outages:
We have all experienced this problem when visiting a website at one point or another. Issues with the network connection can include disruptions in internet service or problems with the data center’s network infrastructure. These can cause a website to experience website downtime.
Maintenance and Updates:
One good reason (if not, the only good reason) to have website downtime is for scheduled maintenance. This is temporary downtime to update and upgrade the website or even the server.
Cyber attacks:
Cyber attacks affect around 94 people a day. This is when cyber criminals breach the security of a website. They also attack using a DDoS attack, which causes downtime that’s specifically aimed to disrupt traffic or the website server.
Another common cyber attack is hacking. While we’ve only listed a few examples of cyber attacks, there are many other types that can threaten a website.
Domain Name System (DNS) Issues:
Problems with the DNS, such as incorrect configurations, DNS propagation delays, or DNS server failures, can also prevent users from accessing the website.
Traffic Spikes:
Sometimes a website can have a sudden increase in website traffic. This can be the result of a viral campaign or promotional event. As great as more website traffic may sound, it can overload the server and lead to downtime if developers haven’t prepared for it.
Human Error:
Human error is a challenge that every website and business owner has from time to time. Bugs, coding errors, or software conflicts inside the website’s code can cause crashes and downtime. That’s why developers must test the code before the website is live. Website admin mistakes can be anything from misconfigurations, accidental deletions, or errors in updates, that can cause downtime.
The Impact of Downtime on Websites
Loss of Revenue:
If you have ever had a question and needed an answer, Google is often the first place that you look to. However, maybe this time you can’t find what you’re looking for. You click on a promising website only to find you can’t gain access or view any images.
This is how website downtime can result in a direct loss of revenue. This can be really concerning for e-commerce websites, online businesses, and other platforms that rely on website traffic for sales. During downtime, customers can’t make purchases and this leads to missed opportunities for income.
Decreased User Experience:
We all know that as a visitor of a website, downtime decreases the positive feeling we get when we visit a website. When we see error messages, slow loading times, or complete unavailability of the website, we are less likely to return and try again later. This is because when we’re frustrated and unsatisfied, we start to see a brand negatively. So, we end up looking for services or products anywhere else.
Damage to Brand Reputation:
Long periods of downtime can damage a company’s reputation and credibility. Customers will see the business as unreliable or unprofessional. This is very common, especially if they come back and find consistent issues accessing the website. This negative perception can impact the trust and loyalty that customers have in the long term.
SEO Impact:
Website downtime can also impact search engine rankings. If search engine crawlers repeatedly find that your website is down when trying to index your site, it can affect the website’s visibility. Downtime errors such as the 500 error can cause tracked keywords to drop in rank.
Customer Trust and Loyalty:
Downtime can break customer trust and loyalty. Customers expect websites to be available and accessible whenever they try to click on them. If they aren’t and experience this problem more than once, they lose trust in the brand and choose the brand’s competitors instead.
The Impact of Uptime on Websites:
Reliability
It comes as no surprise that a website that is available all the time is more reliable. Although 100% uptime is rare, the higher the percentage of uptime a website has, the more reliable it is to users. Every user wants to know that they can go to your website and be able to get answers all the time.
SEO Rankings:
While downtime can have a negative effect on your website rank on Google, uptime is the opposite. When Google crawls a site and it is up, it also crawls new information and SEO efforts allowing you to rank higher on search engines.
Maximized revenue potential
Simply put, more uptime equals more income. Uptime allows visitors to access your site and(hopefully) perform the desired action. It also allows them to make purchases and buy from your website. This means more income in your pocket.
Security
According to terranovasecurity, the average downtime of a website after a malware attack is 21 days. That’s why when a website is closely monitored, threats are more easily detectable. Better uptime means better security for your website.
Why should you monitor your website uptime?
There’s undeniable value in website monitoring. We have explained that (and how) website downtime can affect your business in many more ways than one. With website downtime causing a loss of not only your revenue but also your reputation, it’s safe to say that investing in a good uptime monitoring tool like Tethered is key to your website’s success.
You should be the first one to know if your website goes down, not your customers! So, take control of your business’s future by continuously monitoring its performance indicators.