Review: Find more information about websites

Hi everyone. CheckW.com has just been publicly released.

It is a service to Instantly check the status of websites. You can find out if any URL is online (working/up), offline (not working/down), how long it is taking to load, and if it redirects anywhere.

CheckW.com was created with the intention of allowing people to find out vital information about websites on the internet, to make their experience safer, and more efficient.

You can find it at: http://checkw.com/

To briefly explain:

Safer:

Most of us probably know Twitter. If we do any kind of regular surfing on Twitter, we know people often use link shortening services. Unfortunately, most times you never know for sure what's on the other side of those links. Wonderfully, you can simply put any shortened URL after the trailing slash of CheckW.com/ and you will instantly know where the link you want is going - you don't even have to cut the http:// away.

For example: http://checkw.com/http://tinyurl.com/yjd8u2d

More Efficient:

When a website you want to visit that should be loading properly, is not, you can use CheckW.com to find out if there is a problem with the server (so the website is truly down), if it is slow to load, or if it is only you who is having problems connecting to it.

You can use CheckW.com anywhere by typing it into your browser, followed by the URL (with or without http:// or www.) to find out the information about that website. It even works with files or directories. You can also share links the same way with others, on forums, IRCs, Messengers or wherever, so they can see for themselves.

More Information:

You can check out this link for more information: http://checkw.com/info/

I look forward to hearing your reviews, comments and suggestions, so CheckW.com can grow to suit the needs of its users.

Thank you very much.

 

Wow, really unique website. I do like it and it loads really fast for whatever URL I type in. It's accurate, but would be nice if you made a widget for this.

 

Thank you for the compliment.

That is a very good suggestion, thank you!

If anything, that feature would be implemented when it is cost-feasible (when traffic to the website increases)

Enjoy the website, and I look forward to hearing any more suggestions and feedback, whether they be criticisms or otherwise.

 

I like the website. I would market to webmasters and show them how to fix slow loading sites with some affilaite of your own.

Thanks

http://pcblogger.net

 

I'm liking this feedback a lot, it's genuine and very useful for expanding.

+rep to both of you.

I don't know that its a good idea to be cluttering the page with affiliate links - the idea is to be as streamlined as possible - possibly ultimately sponsorship in the form of a link or tiny graphic.

If anything I will be expanding the range of ways people can access the service.

I am definitely not trying to limit the feedback I receive: I like it all, good and bad, and I am ALWAYS looking for and willing to make tweaks on any project.

Thank you again for the reviews, and here's to all that may come =]

 

Love the website, under the "Why is it taking so long to load my results?" section I'd add a few links to articles on how to increase performance (YSlow comes to mind) or perhaps just post some quick tips on how to decrease loading time (gzip output, deflate output, static content, etc).

Definitely should look into making one of those image banner things where it says, "My website http://website.com is currently: ONLINE! Powered by CheckW.com".

 

I like your website and it was very fast in functionality and it loads the results accurately..

 

I like it . There appears to be a problem with it though. If a website removes www automatically, your website will say it's down if you add the www when checking it. For example: http://checkw.com/www.peerfly.com.

 

Loads much faster and a fine site for daily needs. I shall be able to search anything on here. Thanks.

 

Very well done !!! liked it

 

The site is really useful!

A suggestion i think you may want to add is to add a line of text which shows when there is no re-direction setup for the site in question.

I would also ensure that if a wrongly spelt site or a blank url is typed in, it does not display the following:
"The status of is:" or "This site has just been checked".

A few things to think about:
1) How can a site have a load time if it is offline ? Should the number of seconds/milliseconds only be displayed if the site is online ?
2) The contact email you have displayed on the site on the bottom of the page :http://checkw.com/info/
maybe it would be better to create a contact page, and have a form where users can contact you via the form, possibly reducing spam emails to your inbox ?

Kind Regards,
mrhrk01

 

Thank you all for your helpful reviews! You've all had reputation added.

@draginx: Good ideas for expanding the functionality and scope of the site, thank you!

@netdriver788: Thanks for trying it and giving it your feedback, I hope it'll help you

@CoreyPeerFly: Thanks for the bug catch! As we found out, it's not an error with redirects, CheckW catches and reports those with no problem. The issue is currently with the https:// protocol, and it will hopefully be fixed soon!

@IT-EXPERT: Thank you for your review, I'm glad CheckW is useful for you!

@rapa: Thank you for your complement!

@mrhrk01: Thank you, those points are definitely something that will be looked into when the site is polished off. The loading time currently indicates the length of time it took CheckW to receive 100% accurate results. This is affected by a variety of factors, and in some cases (more information is available on the More Info page you linked to) it takes a long time to find the results due to errors in the configuration of various elements of the website which you are checking. The time is displayed when the page is offline, so that people who use the script will know why the site is offline.

I think the fact that the contact email is displayed using an image is the best solution for email spam control.

Glad you all liked it! Looking forward to more reviews!

 

Nicce..., site looks good.
unique website

 

What an amazing website!

I definitely appreciate how it lets me preview those shortened URLs that people are posting all over Twitter, like bit.ly. It makes me feel safe knowing that no one will be redirecting me to child porn or viruses, when I can use your site to just quickly check what's behind that link.

You've helped make the internet more secure and future-friendly!

I love how the design is not top-heavy, which makes it quick to load and easy on the eyes!

I really must say, thank you for telling me about CheckW! It's gonna be something I use very often.

I wonder what other information you could give us about the links we put in...

 

I love it! What a great tool to offer!

 

well done nice and cool

 

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to write a review.

@nesebar, thank you, I hope it can help you and people you tell about it.

@WWSD, thank you for the review and your kind, appreciative words. I'll definitely look into the suggestion of what other sorts of useful information can be generated to help users out. A large part of the intention of this website was to help people understand where shortened links are taking them. This helps prevent them from clicking on spam links, and worse, sites with viruses on them.

@neverfaithless, thank you, my purpose in all of my projects, is meaningful development and creating a positive impact worldwide.

@lejumeau, thank you, I am glad you liked it.

Any more reviews are welcomed!

 

I have two words for your site 1. unique 2. Superb.. great work

 

One thing that I'd like to see, is some sort of notification system where if my website is down it'll notify me (through various means, such as txt messaging, aim/msn, or plain email).

 

@jucabala: Glad you like it!

@draginx: Thank you for the suggestion, wish I could rep you again That is definitely a good idea, and something which will be looked into once the site has more traffic.

Tell your friends about the usefulness of CheckW.com and come give more reviews!