You're a freelancer managing 5 client websites. One of them goes down on a Saturday afternoon. The client emails you in a panic. Then texts. Then calls.
By the time you see the messages, they've already assumed the worst: the site is hacked, their data is lost, and you're unreachable.
Now imagine the same scenario, but you have a status page. The client checks it, sees "Issue detected — investigating," and goes back to their weekend. You fix the issue, update the status page, and the client sees "Resolved" without ever needing to contact you.
That's the difference a status page makes for freelancers. Not a nice-to-have — a professional tool that saves you time, reduces client anxiety, and makes you look like you have your act together.
Why Freelancers Need Status Pages
It's Not Just for Big Companies
Status pages sound like an enterprise thing. GitHub has one. Stripe has one. But why would a freelancer need one?
Three reasons:
1. Client communication is your biggest time sink
Think about how much time you spend answering "is the site up?" or "why is it slow?" or "did something break?" emails. A status page answers these questions automatically, 24/7, without you lifting a finger.
2. Perception is everything
When a client's site goes down and they can't reach you, they panic. When they can check a status page and see you're already aware and working on it, they relax. Same situation, completely different experience. The freelancer with a status page looks professional and proactive. The one without looks absent.
3. You can't be available 24/7
You're one person. You sleep, you take vacations, you work on other projects. A status page works when you don't. If a monitoring alert triggers at 3 AM, the status page can automatically reflect the issue before you even wake up.
What Clients Actually Want to Know
Clients don't care about server response times or SSL certificate chains. They care about three things:
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1
Is my site working right now? A green "Operational" badge answers this instantly. No email needed.
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2
If something is wrong, do you know about it? An "Investigating" status tells the client you're on it — even before they reach out.
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3
When will it be fixed? Updates with ETAs or "next update in 30 minutes" give clients a sense of control.
That's it. Your status page doesn't need to be technical. It needs to answer these three questions clearly.
Setting Up Your Freelancer Status Page
15 Minutes, Not a Weekend Project
Choose your monitoring tool
You need a tool that monitors your clients' sites AND provides a status page. Two birds, one tool. PerkyDash does this starting at €9.99/mo — monitoring + status pages included.
Add your client sites
Add HTTP checks for each client site. Check every 60 seconds. Add SSL monitoring so certificates don't expire on your watch.
Create a status page
Create a status page with components for each client site. You have two options:
Option A: One status page per client (recommended for agencies). Each client gets their own URL. They only see their own site's status.
Option B: One internal status page for all clients (simpler). You have a single dashboard showing all client sites. You share individual client views as needed.
Share with clients
Send them the URL. Add it to your client onboarding docs. Include it in your service agreement. "You can check the status of your site anytime at [URL]."
That's it. 15 minutes of setup. Months of saved communication time.
What to Include
Keep It Simple
For each client site, your status page should show:
Components (keep it to 2-4 per client)
- Website — main site uptime
- SSL Certificate — valid / expiring soon
- Domain — active / expiring
- Email / Contact Forms — if you manage them
That's enough. Don't add internal infrastructure components — clients don't need to know about your staging server or database.
Incident communication
When something breaks, update the status page with:
- What's affected ("Your website is currently unavailable")
- What you're doing ("I've identified the issue and am working on a fix")
- When you'll update next ("Next update in 30 minutes")
Use first person ("I'm working on this") or your business name ("Our team is investigating"). Match whatever tone you use with your clients.
Need templates? See our guide to writing status page updates.
Managing Multiple Clients
As a freelancer, you probably manage 3-15 client sites. Here's how to scale:
Organize by client, not by service
Don't create one giant status page with 50 components. Group by client so each client sees only their own services.
Use consistent naming
"ClientName — Website," "ClientName — SSL," "ClientName — Email." This keeps your dashboard scannable when you have 10+ clients.
Prioritize monitoring by client value
Your $5,000/month retainer client gets 60-second monitoring. Your $200 one-time build gets 5-minute checks. Allocate monitoring resources proportionally.
White-label for agencies
If you run an agency or position yourself as one, use a white-label status page. Instead of "Powered by PerkyDash," clients see your brand. This reinforces your professional image.
Batch incident communication
If your hosting provider has an issue affecting multiple client sites, you need to update multiple status pages. A good tool lets you manage this from a single dashboard instead of updating each individually.
PerkyDash includes client views and status pages for all your clients. One dashboard, multiple client-facing status pages.
Start free trialUsing Status Pages to Win New Clients
A Competitive Advantage Most Freelancers Don't Use
In your next proposal or discovery call, say this:
Most freelancers don't offer this. By including it, you:
- Differentiate yourself from competitors who just build and walk away
- Justify higher rates because you're offering ongoing reliability, not just a one-time build
- Reduce scope creep conversations because monitoring data proves when issues are hosting-related vs code-related
- Build long-term retainer relationships because clients feel monitored and cared for
Some freelancers include monitoring and a status page as part of their maintenance retainer. Others include it in project pricing. Either way, it's a selling point that costs you $10-40/month and increases your perceived value significantly.
Emergency Situations: When a Client Site Goes Down
It's 10 PM. Your monitoring alerts you that a client's site is down.
Without a status page:
You email the client. They're asleep. They wake up to a "your site was down" email and panic, not knowing if it's still down. They call you. You explain it's already fixed. They're relieved but annoyed.
With a status page:
- Monitoring detects the issue (automatic)
- Status page updates to "Issue detected" (automatic or manual)
- You fix the issue
- Status page updates to "Resolved"
- Client checks the status page the next morning, sees the incident history, and sees it was handled. No panic. No phone call.
For true emergencies where you need a status page right now: use the free emergency status page tool. 60 seconds, no signup. Share the link with the client immediately.
Conclusion
A status page is the most underused tool in a freelancer's toolkit.
It takes 15 minutes to set up. It saves hours of client communication every month. It makes you look professional and proactive. It differentiates you from every other freelancer who builds a site and disappears.
Start with your highest-value client. Add monitoring and a status page for their site. Share the URL. Watch how their perception of you changes.
Then add the rest.
Related reading: Status Page Examples • Public vs Private Status Pages • Monitoring Without DevOps
Start Monitoring Your Client Sites Today
Monitoring + status pages for your clients. One dashboard, multiple client-facing views.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do freelancers need a status page?
Yes. A status page reduces client communication overhead, builds trust, and makes you look professional. Clients can check their site's status anytime without contacting you, which saves time for both parties.
How much does a status page cost for freelancers?
Monitoring tools with built-in status pages start around 10 dollars per month. This typically includes uptime monitoring, SSL monitoring, and status pages for multiple sites. White-label options for agencies cost around 40 dollars per month.
Should I create one status page per client or one for all clients?
One per client is recommended if clients will access the pages directly, as each client should only see their own site's status. If the status page is for your internal use only, a single page showing all clients works fine.
How do I include a status page in my freelance pricing?
Include it as part of a monthly maintenance retainer, or bundle it into project pricing as ongoing monitoring. Position it as a value-add that provides 24/7 visibility into site health. Most clients see it as a sign of professionalism.
Related Guides
Status Page Best Practices
How to create and maintain effective status pages.
SetupMonitoring Without DevOps
Set up monitoring without a dedicated DevOps team.
EmergencyEmergency Status Page Guide
Create a status page in 60 seconds during a crisis.
StartupsWebsite Monitoring for Startups
What you actually need as a small team.