VitalSentinel
Alerts & Notifications

Setting Up Alerts

Learn how to create alert rules to get notified when metrics cross your thresholds.

Alerts notify you when something needs attention. Set up rules for any metric and receive notifications through email and in-app alerts.

Creating an Alert

Step 1: Navigate to Alerts

  1. Go to your domain's dashboard
  2. Click Alerts in the sidebar
  3. Click Create Alert

Step 2: Configure the Rule

FieldDescription
NameDescriptive name for the alert
ModuleWhich monitoring type (RUM, Uptime, etc.)
MetricSpecific metric to monitor
ConditionComparison operator
ThresholdValue that triggers the alert
WindowTime period to evaluate
SeverityInfo, Warning, or Critical

Step 3: Set Notification Channel

Choose how to receive alerts:

  • In-app notifications (always enabled)
  • Email notifications (optional, toggle per alert)

Step 4: Save and Activate

Click Create Alert to activate your rule.

Alert Configuration

Modules

Choose which monitoring type to create alerts for:

ModuleConfiguration
RUMCustom metrics: LCP, CLS, INP, TTFB, FCP (p75 values)
CrUXCustom metrics: LCP, CLS, INP with URL/Origin and device filter
SyntheticCustom metrics: LCP, CLS, TBT, TTI, FCP, SI, TTFB with URL and evaluation window
UptimePredefined alerts: Site down/up, SSL expiry, domain expiry
Robots.txtPredefined alerts: Syntax errors, sitemap blocking, file changes

Predefined Alerts (Uptime & Robots.txt)

For Uptime and Robots.txt modules, select from predefined alert types:

Uptime Alerts:

  • Site is down
  • Site is up (after was down)
  • SSL will expire in 30/14/7 days
  • Domain will expire in 30/14/7 days

Robots.txt Alerts:

  • Robots.txt file changed
  • Robots.txt has syntax errors
  • Robots.txt blocks sitemap URLs

Device Filter (CrUX & Synthetic)

For CrUX and Synthetic alerts, you can filter by device type:

DeviceDescription
AnyCombined data from all devices
PhoneMobile devices only
DesktopDesktop computers only

Evaluation Window (Synthetic Only)

For Synthetic alerts, choose how many recent tests to evaluate:

WindowDescription
Last test onlyAlert on single test result
Average of last 3Smoother, reduces noise
Average of last 5More stable baseline
Average of last 10Most stable, slower to react

Conditions (Custom Alerts)

For RUM, CrUX, and Synthetic modules, configure custom conditions:

OperatorDescription
>Greater than
<Less than
>=Greater than or equal
<=Less than or equal
=Equals
!=Not equals
changedValue changed

Severity Levels

LevelWhen to Use
InfoNon-urgent, good to know
WarningNeeds attention soon
CriticalImmediate action required

Example Alerts

Site Down Alert (Predefined)

Select from Uptime module:

  • Alert Type: Site is down
  • Severity: Critical (preset)
  • Email: Enabled

Poor LCP Alert (Custom)

SettingValue
ModuleRUM
MetricLCP p75
Condition>
Threshold2500 (ms)
SeverityWarning

SSL Expiring Soon (Predefined)

Select from Uptime module:

  • Alert Type: SSL will expire in 14 days
  • Severity: Warning (preset)
  • Email: Enabled

CrUX Performance Alert (Custom)

SettingValue
ModuleCrUX
MetricLCP p75
URL/OriginOrigin (all URLs)
DeviceAny
Condition>
Threshold2500 (ms)
SeverityWarning

Synthetic Monitoring Alert (Custom)

SettingValue
ModuleSynthetic
MetricLCP
URLHomepage
DeviceAny
Evaluation WindowAverage of last 5
Condition>
Threshold2500 (ms)
SeverityWarning

Managing Alerts

View All Alerts

See all configured alerts at DomainAlerts:

  • Alert name
  • Module badge
  • Enabled/disabled toggle

Edit an Alert

  1. Click the alert row
  2. Modify settings in the modal
  3. Click Update Rule

Disable an Alert

Toggle the switch next to any alert to enable or disable it without deleting.

Delete an Alert

  1. Click the trash icon next to the alert
  2. Confirm deletion

Quick Setup

For new domains, use Create essential alerts with one click to set up recommended alerts based on official Web Vitals thresholds. This creates alerts for:

  • RUM: LCP, CLS, INP (p75 thresholds)
  • CrUX: LCP, CLS, INP (Origin, any device)
  • Synthetic: LCP, CLS (Home URL, average of last 5)
  • Uptime: Site down/up, SSL/Domain expiry
  • Robots.txt: Syntax errors, sitemap blocking

Best Practices

Start with Critical Alerts

Begin with the most important alerts:

  • Site down
  • SSL expiring
  • Critical performance thresholds

Avoid Alert Fatigue

Too many alerts leads to ignoring them:

  • Use appropriate thresholds
  • Set reasonable evaluation windows
  • Group related alerts

Test Your Alerts

Verify alerts work:

  1. Create a test alert with a low threshold
  2. Confirm notification is received
  3. Delete the test alert

Use Severity Appropriately

Reserve Critical for truly urgent issues:

  • Site completely down
  • Security issues
  • Revenue-impacting problems

Review and Refine

Periodically review your alerts:

  • Are you getting too many?
  • Did you miss important issues?
  • Are thresholds still appropriate?

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