# Status Page

A Status Page provides visibility into the current health of your system. It’s a single page where anyone can view the latest status messages for ongoing or past incidents.

Incidents happen. What matters the most is how you handle them. Status pages help you turn every outage into an opportunity to build trust in your service.

Your users can subscribe to status page updates via email or webhooks when you have an incident, and you can customize your URLs to embed your system status directly into other interfaces. Hence, ensuring your customers are consistently in the know.

<figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-635044f0827021359d1534684a1386027dc45ae0%2FScreenshot%202023-06-20%20at%201.07.38%20PM.png?alt=media" alt="Status Page created in Squadcast"><figcaption><p>Image. Status Page</p></figcaption></figure>

## Benefits of having a status page

A status page is of great help before and during downtime. Being transparent about how your team has handled incidents in the past is a great way to build trust.

When your service is up, they help you showcase historical reliability. During downtime, they help your team communicate status updates with all stakeholders.

Status pages enable your team to

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Showcase your reliability</strong></mark></summary>

Help your users see how reliable and performant your services are. This builds trust and sets the right expectations on what your SLAs are.

</details>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Reduce support tickets</strong></mark></summary>

Be transparent about past and ongoing outages. Your customers can answer their questions without going through support first.

</details>

<details>

<summary><mark style="color:blue;"><strong>Build and scale your incident communication process</strong></mark></summary>

Your team doesn’t have to use different platforms to communicate incidents.

</details>

## Prerequisites

* To effectively create and manage Status Pages, the user assigned to the Team must possess the appropriate permissions corresponding to their User Role.

## Helpful Terms

1. <mark style="color:blue;">**Public page**</mark>. This page is accessible to anyone who has the URL. It can be viewed by anyone, and individuals have the option to subscribe to receive updates from this page.
2. <mark style="color:blue;">**Private page**</mark>. This page is restricted to authenticated users of Squadcast. Only users who have been added to Squadcast with the necessary permissions can view and subscribe to this page.

## Create a Status Page

To create a Status Page,

Navigate to **Status Page** -> **Add Status Page**. On the next screen, you will be guided through four creation steps. Navigate between these steps by clicking on any of the steps on the top bar.

### 1. Add Status Page Details

1. Enter the **Name**, **Timezone**, **Owner**, and an *optional* **Description** for the Status Page.

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Note**</mark>: The status page and messages will be displayed at this timezone.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="success" %}
🔹 **Best Practice Tip** 🔹 For optimal consistency, we recommend selecting UTC as the standard practice or choosing a timezone that aligns with the majority of your users.

🔹 **Best Practice Tip** 🔹 We recommend utilizing the description field to inform your users about the best way to reach out to you in case of any issues. You can include links to your support email, website, or provide a brief guide on the preferred method of communication.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-834c0738c795672bdd6b15f5ffa413d5cfedda17%2FStatusPage_1.png?alt=media" alt="Add Status Page Details" width="563"><figcaption><p>Image. Add Status Page Details</p></figcaption></figure>

2. **Send Only Email**. This is the email address from which notification emails will be sent to subscribers of the status page.

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Note**</mark>: Email notifications for Status Page updates will be sent exclusively from <updates@status.squadcast.com>.\
\
Kindly note that the Send Only Email is non-editable.
{% endhint %}

3. **Fallback Support Email**. This email will appear in the notification updates, enabling end users to easily reach out to you for assistance whenever needed.
4. **Domain Settings**. Please enter a domain name to utilize Squadcast's public URL feature. The public URL will be hosted by Squadcast under the specified domain.

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Note**</mark>: After creating a page, you have the option to configure a custom domain within the **Page Configuration** settings. This allows you to map your own domain to the page you have created.

For detailed instructions on how to accomplish this, please refer to the following steps given [<mark style="color:blue;">here</mark>](#edit-page-configuration-or-configure-custom-domain).
{% endhint %}

5. **Choose the visibility of your status page**. You have the option to leave it unchecked, which would keep it publicly accessible. Alternatively, you can check the box to make it private, restricting access to only Squadcast users on the platform.

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Note**</mark>: Kindly note that once this setting is configured, it cannot be changed in the future. It's important to keep in mind that ***only Squadcast authenticated*** users have access to view private pages.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-f84c850a25802a0a95855e87f8fd8f84455de5f9%2FStatusPage_2.png?alt=media" alt="Configure Status Page" width="563"><figcaption><p>Image. Configure Status Page</p></figcaption></figure>

6. Click **Next: Add Component**, and navigate to the next step.

### 2. Add Component

Components serve as fundamental elements that represent specific functional parts of your service. They are essentially the building blocks that make up your overall service structure. These can include your website, mobile app, API, and other vital elements of your service.

{% hint style="success" %}
🔹 **Best Practice Tip** 🔹 It is recommended to create a separate component for each functional or architectural division within your infrastructure. Components are typically used to represent resources or services that are utilized by your customers.
{% endhint %}

Create and group various aspects of your systems into components.

To create a component,

1. Enter the **Component Name** and *an optional* **Descriptio**n. You can choose to add a Component to a Group as well.

<figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-1feeb36ff3deafbb0ac501580ee2a3fd3d22f2c1%2FStatusPage_4.png?alt=media" alt="Add Components to Status Page" width="563"><figcaption><p>Image. Add Components</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**What is a Group?**</mark>

Grouping similar functional services or resources can form a component group. Creating a component group can help declutter the status page to give it a more organized and comprehensible look.

Component status is organized based on severity, following this hierarchy:

* <mark style="color:green;">**Operational**</mark>. This status indicates that the component is functioning as expected and in a timely manner. It is the default state.
* <mark style="color:red;">**Degraded**</mark>. When a component's performance is impacted in a minor way, such as being slower than usual due to high traffic, it is considered as degraded. In this case, all or most components may be affected, leading to a severe impact on the overall experience.
* <mark style="color:orange;">**Major Outage**</mark>. A component is marked as a major outage when it becomes completely unavailable. If many components are down, it can significantly impact the overall experience.
* <mark style="color:yellow;">**Partial Outage**</mark>. If only some components are down, resulting in an impact on a subset of customers, it is considered a minor or partial outage. For example, if a specific data center is down and only affects a subset of customers, while the rest are unaffected, it would be categorized as a partial outage.
* <mark style="color:blue;">**Under Maintenance**</mark>. This status indicates that the component is currently undergoing maintenance or work.\
  \
  By using these statuses, the status page provides valuable information about the operational state of different components, helping users understand the overall health of the service.
  {% endhint %}

2. Click **Next: Customize your page**, and navigate to the next step.

### 3. Customize Your Page

Add your company logo and choose a color theme for your status page. You can customize your status pages to suit your convenience.

<div><figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-fa6e81d14bb7c7e7b6569ce872816be2b59fe70a%2FStatusPage_5.png?alt=media" alt="Customize your Status Page Theme" width="563"><figcaption><p>Image. Customize Page Theme</p></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-a3dc418940e35ee9cbf071f185c156b9eb5eae18%2FStatus_Page_1.png?alt=media" alt="Status Page Theme" width="563"><figcaption><p>Image. Status Page Theme</p></figcaption></figure></div>

This creates your Status Page! Now, if you want, you can add your first Issue here.\
\
To do that, click **Next: Add Your First Issue** and navigate to the next step.

### 4. Add Your First Issue

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**What is an Issue?**</mark>

An Issue is created to communicate a change in functionality or availability of your services. An Issue has the following fields: \\

1. Affected Component
2. Affected Component Impact
3. Status Message
4. Issue Message(s)
   {% endhint %}

Enter the **Issue Title** and select the **Component** that this issue is impacting along with the **status of that component**.

However, it is also possible to skip this step for now and create it at a later time if needed. The choice is yours.

<div><figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-fb0e6815b5a08443bff809f5d595cdbbe2fa1a55%2FStatusPage_6.png?alt=media" alt="Add Issue in Status Page"><figcaption><p>Image. Add First Issue</p></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-66aaf626a92f076aa1729ae89392697c5939f62e%2FStatusPage_7.png?alt=media" alt="Add Status Message"><figcaption><p>Image. Add Status Update</p></figcaption></figure></div>

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**What is an Issue Status?**</mark>

Issue Status refers to the current stage of resolution for an issue. It is accompanied by an Update, which provides a concise description of the issue, including the cause and, if known, the planned resolution.

Each Update is associated with one of the following four Issue States:

1. **Investigating.** This status is assigned when efforts are underway to determine the root cause of the incident. It signifies active investigation to identify the reasons behind the issue.
2. **Identified.** The cause of the issue has been successfully determined and recognized. This status indicates that the underlying reason behind the problem has been identified.
3. **Monitoring.** After identifying the cause and implementing a resolution, the issue is in the monitoring phase. During this stage, the service is being observed to ensure it returns to its normal functioning and operates smoothly.
4. **Resolved.** This status is assigned when the incident has been fully resolved, and the service is once again available for use.\
   \
   By tracking the Issue Status and corresponding Updates, you can effectively monitor and communicate the progress of issue resolution.
   {% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**What is a Status Update?**</mark>\
\
A Status Update allows you to provide additional information regarding the current status of an incident. This field enables you to communicate specific details about the stage of your investigation or outline your planned actions when the incident status is set as "Acknowledged." It serves as a means to share relevant updates and progress related to the incident.
{% endhint %}

Click **Save** to complete creating the Status Page.

That completes it! You have finally created your Status Page.

## Edit Page Configuration or Configure Custom Domain

Now that you have created a status page, you can map a custom domain in the page configuration settings.

To edit page configurations,

1. Navigate to **Status Page** -> select or search for your desired status page.
2. Click on the status page to navigate to the **Status Page Details page**.
3. In the top right, click **More** -> **Page Configuration**.
4. You can modify the **Name**, **Timezone**, **Owner**, **Description**, **Domain,** and **Search Engine Settings**.

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Note:**</mark> Please note that the created status page is set to be accessible to search engines for crawling and indexing by default. However, you have the option to conceal the status page from search engines by selecting the provided checkmark.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %} <mark style="color:orange;">**How to map your custom domain?**</mark>\\

1. Navigate to **Domain Settings** -> check **Map a custom domain name**.
2. Enter the **Hostname**. To verify ownership of the domain, complete the DNS settings on your service provider's end using the provided information.
3. Create a new **A record** and **TXT Record** in your DNS, as instructed, to activate the custom URL and verify ownership of the domain.\\

By following these steps, you will be able to successfully map your custom domain in Squadcast.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Note**</mark>:\
If you have already verified your CNAME mapping, your status page will continue to function normally without any changes. Your existing CNAME setup will remain intact and won't require any modifications.

However, we strongly encourage you to complete the verification process by adding and verifying the A and TXT Records to ensure a comprehensive verification.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Why did we add an A and TXT Record verification layer?**</mark>

* We have implemented this additional level to enhance the security of your Status.
* By utilizing A and TXT records, we can validate the ownership of the domain. If your domain is a subdomain, the record can be placed either on the subdomain itself or the apex domain. Both will undergo verification to confirm domain ownership.
* This addition was crucial to prevent the inappropriate use or abuse of valid domains, as we have a system in place to ensure uniqueness of the status page URLs.
* We kindly request your cooperation in completing the status page verification process.

\ <mark style="color:blue;">**Note**</mark>: Please complete this step for all the Status Page(s) in your account within 30 days of receiving this email.

Rest assured, your subscribers will continue receiving notifications without any interruptions for these 30 days.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %} <mark style="color:orange;">**What happens if I don't complete the verification within the 30-day timeframe?**</mark>

Please note that if you fail to complete the two-step verification within the 30-day period, your Status Page(s) will become inactive and inaccessible to your customers. However, your data will remain secure and unaffected. Once the verification process is completed, all services will return to normal.
{% endhint %}

5. Click **Save.**

## Edit Page Theme

You can modify the logo and the color theme of the status page post-creation of your status page.

To edit the page theme,

1. Navigate to **Status Page** -> select or search for your desired status page.
2. Click on the status page to navigate to the **Status Page Details** **page**.
3. In the top right, click **More** -> **Edit Page Theme**.
4. Once you have edited your preferred page themes, click **Save**.

## Create Default Message Update Templates

You can modify the issue states along with the message templates used for them.

To edit message templates,

1. Navigate to **Status Page** -> select or search for your desired status page.
2. Click on the status page to navigate to the **Status Page Details page**.
3. In the top right, click **More** -> **Message Template**.
4. Once you have edited your preferred templates, click **Save**.

<div><figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-b913b1497168479baa7e3b227bc68d5cacd8450b%2FStatusPage_8.png?alt=media" alt="Edit Status Message Template" width="563"><figcaption><p>Image. Edit Message Template</p></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://1574591692-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F8TaWz01jmUJl58p4ZVel%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-635044f0827021359d1534684a1386027dc45ae0%2FScreenshot%202023-06-20%20at%201.07.38%20PM.png?alt=media" alt="Status Message as shown in Status Page" width="563"><figcaption><p>Image. Status Message as shown in Status Page</p></figcaption></figure></div>

## Edit Status Messages

You can modify the status messages.

To edit status messages,

1. Navigate to **Status Page** -> select or search for your desired status page.
2. Click on the status page to navigate to the **Status Page Details page**.
3. In the top right, click **More** -> **Status Message**.
4. Once you have edited your preferred messages, click **Save**.

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Note**</mark>: Kindly note that the following messages will appear in both the status page header and the components section.
{% endhint %}

## Guide to setup DMARC for status pages

Customers can set the following <mark style="color:orange;">`spf`</mark> records on their status page subdomain so that we can send the emails from your domain without any issues:

\# for EU customers

<mark style="color:orange;">`v=spf1 include:incidents.eu.squadcast.com ~all`</mark>

\# for US customers

<mark style="color:orange;">`v=spf1 include:incidents.squadcast.com ~all`</mark>

For example:

If you are a customer who signed up in our US Data center with a Statuspage subdomain, let's say <mark style="color:orange;">`status.example.com`</mark>, you should set up a <mark style="color:orange;">`TXT`</mark> record in your DNS provider for the <mark style="color:orange;">`status.example.com`</mark> subdomain with value <mark style="color:orange;">`v=spf1 include:incidents.squadcast.com ~all`</mark> as shown below.

<figure><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/nquoRkmAkKZj2JB7hO_TSC_1xjWwMpGJXqmRm-vh4JVA1WtNdvGzLpvLSkWwl6wqf1NUd97zfmZzVlFaYpoCr-CR3bfKPyIHpbreHdFHdoIlAE3TY1IMkY-KXOFMTXQ5sHC5iMdAcUnT1wwnEnCx6UQ" alt="Setting up a TXT record in your DNS provider" width="563"><figcaption><p>Image. Setting up a TXT record in your DNS provider</p></figcaption></figure>

*Have any questions?* [*Ask the community*](https://community.squadcast.com/view/home)*.*


---

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