VitalSentinel Documentation

Find answers to common questions about VitalSentinel.

VitalSentinel is a technical SEO & web performance monitoring platform. Our motto is Monitoring Made Simple - helping you stay ahead of severe problems with intelligent monitoring, real-time alerts, and comprehensive analytics.

Our monitoring modules:

RUM Monitoring - Core Web Vitals, user engagement, and JavaScript errors from your visitors' browsers
CrUX Monitoring - Chrome User Experience Report data Google uses for ranking
Synthetic Monitoring - On-demand Lighthouse tests from a controlled environment
Uptime Monitoring - Availability checks, SSL and domain expiration tracking
Robots.txt Monitoring - Crawl directive validation and change detection
Indexing Monitoring - URL inspection status via Google Search Console API
Web Analytics - Privacy-focused, cookie-free analytics with automatic e-commerce tracking
Google Search Console - Keyword rankings, search performance, and indexing insights
Google Analytics - GA4 traffic and audience data in a unified dashboard

Who is VitalSentinel for?

Website Owners - Get a clear picture of your website's health without needing deep technical expertise
Web Developers - Access real user performance data and run on-demand Lighthouse tests to debug issues faster
SEO Professionals - Track technical SEO health and web performance in one dashboard
Agencies - Manage all your client websites from a single account with team collaboration and role-based access

Is there a free plan?

Yes! The free plan includes:

1 domain
50,000 RUM page views/month
1,000,000 analytics events/month
10 CrUX URLs, 5 Synthetic URLs
5-minute uptime checks
Daily synthetic tests
12-month data retention

Scripts & Installation

Do I need to install scripts?

Many monitoring features work immediately without any scripts:

CrUX Monitoring - Chrome User Experience Report data
Synthetic Monitoring - Lighthouse performance tests
Uptime Monitoring - Availability checks
SSL Monitoring - Certificate status and expiration
Domain Expiration Monitoring - Registration expiry tracking
Robots.txt Monitoring - Crawl directive validation
Indexing Monitoring - URL inspection via Google Search Console API
Google Search Console - Search performance data (requires GSC connection)
Google Analytics - GA4 data import (requires GA4 connection)

Scripts are only needed for:

RUM Monitoring - Real user performance data from visitors' browsers (installation guide)
Web Analytics - Privacy-focused traffic analytics (installation guide)

Will the scripts slow down my website?

No. Both scripts are:

Lightweight (~11KB gzipped each)
Loaded asynchronously
Non-blocking
Optimized for performance

Do the scripts use cookies?

By default, no cookies are used. The Web Analytics script can use cookies for returning visitor tracking if you grant consent (for GDPR compliance).

Yes. By default:

No cookies
No persistent identifiers
No cross-site tracking
IP addresses are not stored

You can use VitalSentinel without a cookie consent banner.

Data & Privacy

What data do you collect?

RUM Script (Real User Monitoring):

Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP, TTFB, FCP)
Navigation timing and resource loading times
JavaScript errors
Session data (anonymous ID, page URLs, timestamps)
Device data (browser, OS, screen size, device type, connection type)
Engagement metrics (scroll depth, time on page, click patterns)

Web Analytics Script:

Page views, referrer URL, UTM parameters
Traffic source classification
Session data (anonymous ID, pages per session, duration)
Device data (same as RUM)
E-commerce events (product views, cart actions, purchases - no payment details)

What data do you NOT collect?

Names, emails, or personal identifiers
IP addresses (hashed and discarded)
Passwords or sensitive form data
Payment card information
Health or financial data
Precise location (city-level only)

Where is data stored?

Data is stored securely in cloud infrastructure with:

Encryption at rest and in transit
Access controls and audit logging
Regular security assessments

For detailed privacy information, see Data & Privacy.

How long is data retained?

Depends on your plan:

Free: 12 months
Starter/Freelancer: 16 months
Agency: 24 months
Enterprise: Custom

Can I delete my data?

Yes. You can:

Delete individual domains (removes all associated data)
Cancel your workspace subscription (data deleted after grace period)
Request full account deletion via support

Monitoring

How often do uptime checks run?

Minimum interval depends on your plan:

Free/Starter/Freelancer: Every 5 minutes
Agency: Every 1 minute
Enterprise: Custom

What is the difference between RUM and CrUX?

RUM (Real User Monitoring):

Your tracking script
All browsers
Real-time data
100% of your visitors (adjustable)

CrUX (Chrome User Experience Report):

Google's data from Chrome users
28-day aggregates
Updated monthly
Used for search ranking

What is Synthetic Monitoring?

Synthetic Monitoring runs Lighthouse tests from a controlled environment. Unlike RUM which measures real users, synthetic tests are consistent and reproducible.