Intends

Technically our KoalaPing integration is not really a ping tool. It is much more! We create real HTTP requests and interpret the results. This way we are not only able to check if your service is responding but we can even validate if the answer matches the current context. The first thing that comes to mind is to check if a special URL -like the homepage- responds with status code 200 (ok). That is how you should start. But after adding all the “good” components to LeanKoala you should also consider the components:

• 301 Moved Permanently – Search Engines love redirects. If the URL of content changes there should be a 301. Missing or broken redirects can influence your search engine visibility.
• 403 Forbidden – there often is a user space that can only be reached when logged in. Checking for the 403 status code you are able to verify if the given URL is forbidden for an anonymous user.
• 404 Not Found – If a URL does not exist the user receives a 404 page. In those cases, you can add a link to the hottest content or a call to action.
• 500 Internal Server Error – These errors should not occur within your application. However, no application is perfect. It can be useful to create a URL with a build-in syntax error. This way you can check if the web server reacts the way you want if a real error occurs.