Frequently Asked Questions

Siteimp and Siteimp Watch share a monitoring foundation, but they are built for different jobs.

Siteimp is the full local-first Windows website integrity application. It scans websites, collects page evidence, runs Lighthouse, checks accessibility, reviews links and images, inspects headings, stores scan results, and includes local monitoring as one part of a much larger workflow.

Siteimp Watch is the focused local monitoring application. It is built from the same monitoring idea, but it does not carry the rest of Siteimp's scanning toolbox. That makes Watch better suited to frequent local checks, short monitoring intervals, internal tools, home lab services, staging environments, and endpoints your own computer can reach.

This FAQ explains the practical differences between the products and answers common questions about monitoring, scan behavior, and first-run startup time.

What this FAQ is for

The Siteimp FAQ is for questions that sit between product documentation, technical support, and product design.

Some questions are not about how to click a button. They are about why Siteimp behaves the way it does.

This section explains questions such as:

• Should I use Siteimp or Siteimp Watch?
• Why does Siteimp pause monitoring during scans?
• Why does Siteimp use a one-minute minimum monitoring interval?
• Why can the first scan take longer to start?
• When is Siteimp Watch the better tool?
• When should I use cloud-based monitoring instead?

The goal is to make Siteimp's design choices understandable before they become confusing.

Siteimp and Siteimp Watch

The most important product distinction is simple.

Use Siteimp when you want to inspect and understand a website as a system.

Use Siteimp Watch when you mostly want to monitor whether something your computer can reach is responding.

Siteimp is larger because it does more. It is designed for website integrity work: scans, page evidence, Lighthouse results, accessibility findings, broken links, images, headings, sitemap and crawl differences, support context, and monitoring as part of that broader picture.

Siteimp Watch is narrower because monitoring is the job. It is designed for local visibility, faster checks, and monitoring targets from the machine running Watch.

For the full comparison, read Siteimp or Siteimp Watch.

Monitoring during scans

Siteimp pauses monitoring while a scan is running.

That behavior is intentional. Siteimp scans can do heavy work: crawling pages, opening pages in a browser, running Lighthouse, checking accessibility, checking links and images, writing scan evidence, saving artifacts, and updating the app as results arrive.

During that work, Siteimp gives the scan priority.

Pausing monitoring protects scan quality, avoids unnecessary resource competition, and helps prevent monitoring results from being distorted by local app load during a heavy scan.

For the full explanation, read Why does Siteimp stop monitoring when a scan is running?.

Monitoring intervals

Siteimp allows monitoring intervals down to one minute.

That limit is part of the product design. Siteimp includes monitoring, but it is not only a monitoring app. Its monitoring scheduler runs inside the full website integrity application, beside scanning, Lighthouse, accessibility checks, image and link processing, local databases, and scan artifacts.

A one-minute interval keeps monitoring predictable inside the larger scanner.

Siteimp Watch exists for cases where monitoring is the primary job and shorter intervals are needed.

For the full explanation, read Why does Siteimp only allow down to a 1 minute monitoring interval?.

First scan startup time

The first Siteimp scan can take longer to start.

That does not usually mean the scan is broken. It usually means Siteimp is preparing the local environment and scanning tools it needs before collecting website evidence.

A full scan is not a simple availability check. Siteimp may need to prepare browser-based tooling, Lighthouse-related checks, scan status tracking, artifact folders, page queues, local database writes, and app interface updates before visible results start appearing.

The first scan has to wake up the machinery. Later scans may feel faster because parts of the app and scan environment are already warmed up.

For the full explanation, read Why do Siteimp scans take so long to start the first time?.

Why these questions matter

These questions matter because Siteimp and Siteimp Watch are local-first desktop applications.

Local-first software has different tradeoffs than hosted software. It gives you local control, local visibility, and local data ownership, but it also depends on the machine running the app.

That matters for monitoring especially.

A local monitoring app can only monitor while the computer, network, power, and operating system cooperate. If the computer sleeps, shuts down, restarts, loses network access, or is interrupted by operating system behavior, local monitoring can be interrupted too.

Siteimp Watch can be very useful for local visibility and fast checks. It can augment cloud monitoring. But it is not a full replacement for a dedicated infrastructure monitoring service when service-grade uptime guarantees are required.

When to use Siteimp

Use Siteimp when you need broad website evidence.

Siteimp is useful when you care about:

• full-site scans
• page discovery
• scan history
• Lighthouse scores
• accessibility findings
• broken links
• broken images
• image evidence
• heading structure
• page titles and descriptions
• sitemap and crawl differences
• monitoring as part of a broader website workflow

Siteimp is the right tool when your main question is:

What is happening across this website, and what evidence can help me improve it?

When to use Siteimp Watch

Use Siteimp Watch when monitoring is the main thing you need.

Siteimp Watch is useful when you care about:

• fast local checks
• short monitoring intervals
• local-network visibility
• internal tools
• home lab services
• staging environments
• local applications
• private endpoints your computer can reach
• public websites checked from your own machine
• ping checks, fetch checks, or both

Siteimp Watch is the right tool when your main question is:

Is this target responding from my computer or local network right now?

Can I use both products?

Yes.

Some users may use both products.

For example, you might use Siteimp to scan a website before launch, review accessibility, find broken links, inspect headings, check images, and collect scan evidence.

Then you might use Siteimp Watch to monitor important endpoints, internal tools, local services, staging targets, or public URLs at shorter intervals.

That combination makes sense when you need both deep website inspection and focused local monitoring.

Related FAQ articles

• Siteimp or Siteimp Watch
• Why does Siteimp stop monitoring when a scan is running?
• Why does Siteimp only allow down to a 1 minute monitoring interval?
• Why do Siteimp scans take so long to start the first time?

Where to go next

To learn more, read:

• Siteimp features for the full website integrity application
• Siteimp Watch for the focused local monitoring app
• The joys of local uptime monitoring for the strengths and limits of local monitoring
• Siteimp support for the main support library
• Using In-App Support for help inside the Siteimp application

Siteimp is built for broad website evidence. Siteimp Watch is built for focused local monitoring. This FAQ exists to make that split clear before the scheduler gremlins start whispering from the walls.