Notification Channels
Configure how you receive alert notifications via email and in-app.
VitalSentinel notifies you through multiple channels when alerts trigger.
In-App Notifications
All alerts automatically generate in-app notifications. These are always enabled for every alert rule.
To access notifications:
- Click the bell icon in the top navigation
- View recent alerts and their status
- Click any notification to jump to the affected domain
Email Notifications
Email notifications are configured per-alert. When creating or editing an alert rule, toggle Email notification to receive emails when that specific alert triggers.
How It Works
When an alert triggers:
- VitalSentinel detects the condition is met
- An in-app notification is always created
- If email is enabled for that alert, an email is sent
Email Contents
Alert emails include:
- Alert name and severity
- Domain affected
- Metric and current value
- Threshold that was crossed
- Time the alert triggered
- Link to the dashboard
Default Email Settings
When using Create essential alerts with one click, alerts are pre-configured with sensible email defaults:
| Alert Type | |
|---|---|
| Site down/up | Enabled |
| SSL/Domain expiry | Enabled |
| Robots.txt errors | Enabled |
| Performance alerts (RUM, CrUX, Synthetic) | Disabled (in-app only) |
You can modify email settings for any alert by editing the rule.
Email Preferences
Configure other email notifications at Settings → Email Preferences:
Weekly Domain Reports
Receive weekly summary emails for each domain (sent every Monday):
- Toggle on/off per domain
- Includes performance and SEO data combined
Other Email Categories
- Usage & Limits - Warnings when approaching plan limits
- Monitoring Status - Domain added confirmations
- Team & Workspace - Member joined/removed, role changes
- Support Tickets - Ticket updates and responses
- Engagement - Onboarding tips and reminders
Notification Best Practices
Route by Importance
- Critical issues (downtime, SSL) → Enable email
- Performance warnings → In-app only to avoid fatigue
- Informational → In-app only
Avoid Alert Fatigue
Too many email notifications lead to ignoring them:
- Only enable email for actionable alerts
- Use the quick setup defaults as a starting point
- Review and adjust based on your needs
Test Your Notifications
Verify your setup works:
- Create a test alert with a low threshold
- Enable email notification
- Confirm notification is received
- Delete the test alert
Troubleshooting
Not Receiving Emails
- Check spam/junk folder
- Verify email is enabled for the specific alert
- Confirm your account email is verified
- Check if alerts are triggering (view in dashboard)
Not Receiving In-App Notifications
- Verify the alert is enabled (toggle is on)
- Check if the condition is being met
- Refresh the page to load latest notifications