aremysitesup.com is free for five sites, not one, so they are offering me a better solution for my particular problem. The next step up, $35/year, is also low enough to not drive me away. I also see that nimbu.net says, "At the moment nimbu is free to use with a limit of 3 websites." and I have more than 3 I want to monitor right now.
As you can see, you have a lot of sites competing with you (which means you have a market!). Now you need to distinguish yourself.
I'm having trouble finding a service that does the following:
* Offers me a free service that's suitable for sites that aren't that critical.
* Once I need a higher level of service, offers me a way to gradually turn up the service and payment.
Maybe I'm expecting too much out of a free service.
EDIT: I realize what my expectations are now. I think Google has spoiled me. Here's what I expect (and I think the web monitoring service that can offer this solution will likely win):
* Monitor an unlimited number of websites at a frequency of not more than 60 minutes. Will send an SMS and an email if the site is unavailable or too slow. (Maybe there is a cap on the number of SMS messages per month.)
Thanks for the detailed response. It is useful to hear real-life requirements and I'll bear this in mind when thinking about pricing options. I must admit though the number of options on site24x7 is a bit off-putting to me, I was thinking about much easier 'packages'
As you can see, you have a lot of sites competing with you (which means you have a market!). Now you need to distinguish yourself.
I'm having trouble finding a service that does the following:
* Offers me a free service that's suitable for sites that aren't that critical.
* Once I need a higher level of service, offers me a way to gradually turn up the service and payment.
Maybe I'm expecting too much out of a free service.
EDIT: I realize what my expectations are now. I think Google has spoiled me. Here's what I expect (and I think the web monitoring service that can offer this solution will likely win):
* Monitor an unlimited number of websites at a frequency of not more than 60 minutes. Will send an SMS and an email if the site is unavailable or too slow. (Maybe there is a cap on the number of SMS messages per month.)
* Offer very gradual price increases for increased service (gradual like this: http://site24x7.com/site24x7-pricing.html)