Why an HTTP 200 Store Can Still Be Broken
This is the single most important thing to understand about monitoring an online store: "the site responded" and "customers can buy" are completely different claims.
What HTTP 200 actually means
HTTP 200 is the server saying "here is the page you asked for." It says nothing about whether the JavaScript ran, whether the button works, whether an app errored, or whether the customer can complete their goal. The page can be fully returned — status 200 — and completely non-functional.
How a 200 store becomes unbuyable
- A script error swallows the Add to Cart click — button looks normal, does nothing. Status: 200.
- An app update duplicates a snippet — a redeclaration error halts the code that should run next. Status: 200.
- A discount app errors at the cart — the customer can't advance to checkout. Status: 200.
- A mobile theme block covers the checkout button — untappable on phones. Status: 200.
In every case an uptime monitor reads "200 OK" and reports all-clear while orders quietly stop.
What to monitor instead
To know customers can buy, you have to attempt the purchase — run the real journey in a real browser and assert each step. That's synthetic monitoring, and pointed at the buying flow it becomes checkout monitoring. It's the only approach that catches the "200 but broken" failure, because it checks function, not status.
Frequently asked questions
Can a website return HTTP 200 and still be broken?
Why does my uptime monitor say everything is fine when checkout is broken?
How do I detect "200 but broken" failures?
See it on your own store — free
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