A content check can detect a website that returns a successful HTTP response while showing the wrong page. Choose a stable marker that appears in the actual response body, then configure whether its presence or absence should trigger an alert.
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01 Configure the expected content
- Select a harmless public page that represents the function you want to monitor. Decide what a successful response should contain.
- Open the monitor's settings and choose an HTTP method that retrieves the body, normally GET. A HEAD response does not supply ordinary page content.
- Under the advanced options, set Alert on keyword. For a required success marker, alert when it is missing. For a known error message, alert when it is present.
- Use text that is stable across language, consent and login states. Avoid personal data, timestamps or changing promotional text.
- Save and verify a normal result. Use a test page or controlled staging change to confirm that the chosen condition triggers as intended.
- Record the marker in the site's release checklist so designers do not remove it unknowingly.
02 Example: require a stable marker in the returned page
Ask the developer to place a stable marker only in the successful response for the page being checked. Do not add it to a shared error or maintenance template. For a fictional portal landing page, a small HTML comment can provide a marker without displaying extra text to customers.
<!-- monitor:portal-home-ready -->Set the monitor to GET, use monitor:portal-home-ready as the keyword and choose the condition that alerts when it is missing. Confirm that the marker exists in the fetched HTML, then use an isolated test page to check the missing-marker condition.
Expected result: a maintenance page or wrong-site response without the marker triggers the content check even if it returns HTTP 200. This verifies that selected response; it does not establish that a payment gateway, background worker or database write is healthy. Review CDN caching when the check must reach current application state.
Common questions
Why does the text appear in my browser but not satisfy the check?
The monitor examines the fetched response rather than necessarily running your application like an interactive browser. JavaScript-generated text, a login requirement or a security challenge can produce different content.
Is a company name a good marker?
It can also appear on a maintenance or error page. Prefer a marker associated with the intended successful response, while keeping the check independent of volatile content.
Can I monitor checkout by repeatedly submitting orders?
Use an explicitly designed test path or suitable synthetic testing arrangement. Ordinary monitoring should not create live orders, charge cards or send customer notifications.