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UptimeRobot API Key

UptimeRobot monitors your website 24/7 and alerts you if it goes down. SpeedTest Pro connects to UptimeRobot so you can see your uptime data right in WordPress.

The best part? It’s free for up to 50 monitors.

Why Uptime Monitoring Matters

Picture this: your website goes down at 3 AM. Without monitoring, you won’t know until customers start complaining. By then, you’ve lost sales, frustrated visitors, and maybe even hurt your search rankings.

Uptime monitoring catches problems immediately. You’ll know within 5 minutes if something breaks.

What You’ll Get

Once set up, SpeedTest Pro monitors:

  • Your main website – Is it responding to visitors?
  • Your WordPress cron – Are scheduled tasks running?

Both monitors run every 5 minutes and you’ll get alerts via email, SMS, or push notifications if anything fails.

Setting Up UptimeRobot

Step 1: Create an Account

  1. Go to UptimeRobot. Open uptimerobot.com.
  2. Click Register for FREE. Big green button on the homepage.
  3. Fill in your details. Email, password, the usual stuff.
  4. Verify your email. Check your inbox for the confirmation link.
  5. Log into your new account.

Already have an account? Just log in and skip to Step 2.

Step 2: Get Your API Key

This is where most people get confused. UptimeRobot has two types of API keys. You need the Main API Key, not monitor-specific keys.

  1. Click My Settings. It’s in the top right corner of the dashboard.
  2. Scroll down to API Settings.
  3. Look for Main API Key.
  4. Click Show/Copy. If the key is hidden, you’ll need to click to reveal it.
  5. Copy the API key. It’s a long string of letters and numbers.

Heads up: The Main API Key gives full access to your account. Keep it private.

Step 3: Add the Key to SpeedTest Pro

  1. Open your WordPress admin panel.
  2. Go to Speedtest Pro > Settings.
  3. Find the UptimeRobot API Key field.
  4. Paste your API key.
  5. Click Save Changes.

SpeedTest Pro now has permission to create monitors in your UptimeRobot account.

Step 4: Set Up Monitors

After adding your API key, you need to create the actual monitors.

  1. Go to Speedtest Pro > Uptime Monitoring.
  2. Click Set Up Monitors. SpeedTest Pro will create two monitors automatically:
    • A ping monitor for your website
    • A cron monitor for WordPress scheduled tasks
  3. Wait for confirmation. You’ll see a success message when both monitors are created.

That’s it. Your uptime monitoring is now active.

Understanding the Dashboard

Once monitors are running, you’ll see:

Uptime Percentage

This shows how often your site was online over a period of time.

  • 99.9%+ – Excellent. Your hosting is solid.
  • 99.5%-99.9% – Good. Minor hiccups but nothing major.
  • 99%-99.5% – Okay. You’re having some downtime issues.
  • Below 99% – Concerning. Time to talk to your host.

For context: 99% uptime means your site was down for about 7 hours per month. That adds up.

Response Time

How fast your server responds to basic requests.

  • Under 200ms – Fast
  • 200-500ms – Normal
  • 500ms-1s – Slow
  • Over 1s – Problem

If response times are consistently high, your server might be overloaded or there’s a network issue.

Recent Events

Shows when your site went down and came back up. Each event includes:

  • Timestamp
  • Duration
  • Type (down, up, started monitoring)

Configuring Alerts

UptimeRobot sends alerts through multiple channels. Here’s how to set them up:

Email Alerts (Default)

These are on by default using your registration email. To add more:

  1. Log into UptimeRobot
  2. Go to My Settings > Alert Contacts
  3. Click Add Alert Contact
  4. Select E-mail and enter the address

SMS Alerts

  1. Same steps as above, but select SMS
  2. Enter your phone number with country code
  3. Verify with the code they send

Note: SMS alerts require a paid UptimeRobot plan.

Push Notifications

  1. Download the UptimeRobot mobile app
  2. Log in with your account
  3. Enable push notifications in the app
  4. Add Push Notification as an alert contact in the web dashboard

Troubleshooting

“Monitor Already Exists” Error

This happens if SpeedTest Pro tried to create monitors before. Fix it:

  1. Log into UptimeRobot directly
  2. Find any monitors named “WPSpeedTestPro…”
  3. Delete them
  4. Go back to SpeedTest Pro and try setup again

Monitors Not Showing Data

New monitors need a few minutes to start collecting data. Wait at least 10 minutes before worrying.

If data still doesn’t appear:

  1. Check that your API key is correct
  2. Verify the monitors exist in your UptimeRobot dashboard
  3. Try refreshing the SpeedTest Pro page

“Failed to Create Monitor” Error

Usually means:

  • API key is wrong or expired
  • You’ve hit UptimeRobot’s free tier limit (50 monitors)
  • Network issue connecting to UptimeRobot

Double-check your API key and try again.

Free vs Paid UptimeRobot

The free tier includes:

  • 50 monitors
  • 5-minute check intervals
  • Email alerts
  • 2 months of logs

Paid plans add:

  • 1-minute check intervals
  • SMS and voice alerts
  • Longer log retention
  • More monitors

For most WordPress sites, the free tier is plenty.

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