Status Page User Guide
Overview
The Status Page is a dedicated feature within the ellocharlie documentation portal that gives your end users visibility into your service health. It sits alongside your Home page, Articles, and Changelog, and automatically inherits your portal's branding (logo, company name, brand color) so it feels like a native part of your product experience.
The Status Page displays three primary elements:
Top-level system status indicator — Shows whether your overall system is up, degraded, or down at a glance
Service grid — Lists individual services with their current status and uptime percentage
Incident timeline — A reverse-chronological log of past incidents with timestamps, severity, and resolution details
The layout is fully responsive and works seamlessly across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. Your customers can access it anytime without logging in.
Setting Up the Status Page
Prerequisites
You have an ellocharlie account with portal access
You have configured your portal branding (logo, company name, brand color)
You have a monitoring system or data source for status and uptime information
Step 1: Access the Status Page Configuration
The Status Page is part of your ellocharlie documentation portal. Navigate to your portal settings and locate the Status Page section. The feature is rendered as a full-page view alongside your other portal pages.
Step 2: Connect Your Monitoring Data
The Status Page displays data about your services and incidents. You need to connect it to a real data source. This can be:
Your internal monitoring infrastructure
A third-party SaaS monitoring provider (e.g., Datadog, StatusPage.io, PagerDuty)
A custom API endpoint you maintain
Work with your ellocharlie administrator or support team to configure the API connection that will feed status and uptime data to your Status Page.
Step 3: Define Your Services
Configure which services appear on your Status Page. For each service, specify:
Service name — A clear, customer-facing name (e.g., "API", "Web Dashboard", "Mobile App")
Current status — Up, degraded, or down
Uptime percentage — Historical uptime metric (e.g., 99.9%)
Services are stored in your customer configuration and will be filtered and rendered automatically on the Status Page.
Step 4: Configure Incident History
Set up how past incidents are displayed. Incidents should include:
Start and end timestamps — When the incident began and was resolved
Affected services — Which services were impacted
Severity level — Critical, major, minor, etc.
Description — A brief, customer-friendly explanation of what happened
Incidents are displayed in reverse-chronological order (newest first) and grouped by date for easy scanning.
Step 5: Publish and Monitor
Once configured, your Status Page is live and publicly accessible. Your customers can visit it anytime to check your system health without needing to log in.
Using the Status Page
For Your Customers
Your end users can access the Status Page by navigating to your portal's Status Page URL. They will see:
Current system status — A prominent indicator at the top showing overall health
Service list — A grid or list of services with their current status and uptime
Incident history — A timeline of recent incidents and resolutions
No login is required. The page is fully public.
For Your Team
As an ellocharlie administrator, you can:
Monitor data freshness — Ensure your monitoring API is feeding current data to the Status Page
Update incident records — Add new incidents as they occur and mark them resolved when fixed
Review customer feedback — Track whether customers are finding the Status Page helpful
Adjust service definitions — Add, remove, or rename services as your product evolves
FAQ and Best Practices
Q: Where does the status and uptime data come from?
A: The Status Page pulls data from your configured monitoring system. This can be your internal infrastructure monitoring, a third-party SaaS provider, or a custom API endpoint. Real data should be fetched from your monitoring system and wired into the Status Page via API calls. Work with your ellocharlie support team to set up the integration.
Q: Can customers customize which services appear on the Status Page?
A: The Status Page displays services based on your configuration. If you want to offer per-customer customization, follow ellocharlie's broader multi-tenant patterns—store service lists in each customer's configuration and filter accordingly. Contact ellocharlie support to discuss custom configuration options.
Q: Should the Status Page auto-refresh?
A: Yes. Best practice is to poll your monitoring API every 30–60 seconds to keep the page current without overwhelming your backend. This ensures customers always see near-real-time status information. Your ellocharlie administrator can configure the polling interval.
Q: How should incidents be presented?
A: Incidents should be displayed as a reverse-chronological timeline (newest first) with:
Clear start and end times
List of affected services
Severity badge (critical, major, minor, etc.)
Brief, customer-friendly description of the issue and resolution
Group incidents by date if your history grows long, and keep descriptions clear and non-technical.
Q: What about mobile responsiveness?
A: The Status Page is fully responsive. On mobile devices:
The service grid stacks into a single column for easy scrolling
Incident details remain readable without horizontal scrolling
The top-level status indicator and navigation remain accessible
Test the Status Page on mobile devices to ensure your customers have a good experience.
Q: Does the Status Page need authentication?
A: No. The Status Page is a public-facing portal. Your customers do not need to log in to view it. This makes it easy for anyone to check your system health, even if they don't have an ellocharlie account.
Q: How do I update the Status Page when an incident occurs?
A: When an incident happens, add it to your incident history with:
The incident start time
A description of what's affected and what you're doing about it
The affected services
As you work on the fix, update the incident record with progress notes. When resolved, mark the incident as resolved and record the end time. Your customers will see the update in real time (or within your polling interval).
Q: Can I customize the look and feel of the Status Page?
A: Yes. The Status Page automatically inherits your portal's branding:
Your company logo
Your company name
Your brand color
Your portal's header, footer, and theming
The Status Page maintains consistent styling with the rest of your ellocharlie portal, so it feels like a native part of your product experience.
Q: What if I don't have a monitoring system yet?
A: You'll need to set up a way to track and report your system status. Options include:
Internal monitoring — Build or configure monitoring for your infrastructure
Third-party SaaS — Use a service like Datadog, StatusPage.io, or PagerDuty
Custom solution — Create a simple API endpoint that reports your service status
Contact ellocharlie support for guidance on integrating your chosen monitoring solution with the Status Page.
Best Practices
Keep It Simple
Use clear, customer-friendly language. Avoid technical jargon. For example, say "Database unavailable" instead of "PostgreSQL replication lag exceeded threshold."
Update Frequently During Incidents
When an incident is ongoing, update the incident record regularly so customers know you're aware and working on it. This reduces support inquiries and builds trust.
Be Transparent
Include enough detail for customers to understand what's happening, but don't overwhelm them with technical minutiae. A good incident description explains what's affected, what you're doing, and when you expect resolution.
Monitor Data Freshness
Ensure your monitoring data is being updated regularly. If your Status Page shows stale data, customers will lose trust in it. Set up alerts to notify you if data updates stop.
Test on All Devices
Verify that the Status Page looks good and functions correctly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. Your customers may check status from anywhere.
Use Consistent Terminology
Keep service names, status labels, and severity levels consistent across all your communications. If you call something "API" on the Status Page, use the same name in incident descriptions and customer communications.
Archive Old Incidents
Over time, your incident history will grow. Consider archiving or removing very old incidents to keep the timeline focused on recent events. A good rule of thumb is to keep the last 90 days of incidents visible.