The second option is a script to automatically reload a website periodically. And one of these scripts is the Greasemonkey script Auto F5 which can automatically reload websites.

Auto Reload can be activated with the keyboard shortcut [Shift t]. This will bring up the configuration menu where the web user can configure the automatic reload on the active website. Configurable settings include the reload interval with the default being 5 minutes, a random value that is added to the timeout and the following options that require more explanation:

• The option “Ignore everything after these symbols in URL” is a little bit difficult to explain: if there are session id´s in the URL the timeout would only work for this session, but if one wants this page to be refreshed in every session one can enter separators that determine sessions and other things. Another example would be that one wants to store a refresh value for a whole site with its subfolders etc.. Therefor one could enter the “/” as a separator.
• “Include the separators in the URL saved” as an additional option for the separators: imagine one wants to have a timeout for all subfolders of /topics/21456/ (discussion of this script) and puts it in the list of separators. Then the URL saved by this script would be http://userscripts.org/ which may not be what one wants, because the main page is to have its own timeout value. Then this option should be activated so the URL is http://userscripts.org/topics/21456/ which is different to http://userscripts.org/, so it can be refreshed independently.
• The “Hide menu”-option is to hide the menu when one clicks somewhere that is not the menu.
• The “Prolong timeouts”-option is to prevent an unintentional page reload, while working on that page.
• Option to relaod all pages with standard timeout when no timeout is set for that page. What else to say? Ok this option is like a wildcard. If checked it reloads every single page (!) with default timeout, unless an individual timeout is setup for that page.

Most users can keep the default settings except for the page reload timeout which might be to high in certain situations. The script will automatically deactivate the hotkey in web forms. Users who want to use the automatic refresh on pages with web forms need to click outside of the web form before the keyboard shortcut becomes active.

Auto F5 Reload is available at the script’s Userscript page. The web browser needs to be restarted after downloading and installing the script.

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The following list contains five tools for monitoring websites. Three of the tools are Firefox add-ons, one is a online service and the last a software program for the Windows operating system. We encourage readers to add additional tools (should be a free website monitor software, service or add-on) in the comments.

Check 4 Change

Check 4 Change is a Firefox add-on. It is probably the most basic tools to monitor websites that are reviewed in this article. The user can select text on websites and open the Check 4 Change context menu after right-clicking. It is there possible to define the interval for monitoring the website changes. Website Updates are then displayed in the tab of the website that is being monitored. This outlines one of the biggest weaknesses of this add-on. The website has to be open to be monitored by the Firefox add-on.

A few options are provided by the add-on. It is possible to change the intervals and configure several notification options that include playing sounds, popups or bringing the window to the front. The add-on is best used for monitoring websites that require authentication. It could for example be interesting for monitoring web email accounts.

Update Scanner

Update Scanner uses a different approach than Check 4 Change. The program will automatically monitor the complete website for changes with the option to ignore numbers and minor changes. Another benefit of using this website monitor is that the websites that are monitored do not have to be open for it to perform the update checks.

The interval of the checks for website changes is set to once a day by default. This value can be changed to a minimum of every 5 minutes or set to manual scan on the other end of the scale. The add-on will place an icon in the Firefox status bar. A left-click on that icon will open a sidebar that is displaying all websites that are monitored by the add-on. This sidebar contains buttons to perform a manual scan, open one of the monitored websites and to access the preferences of the add-on that allow the user to configure notifications.

Available are sound and popup notifications.

Site Delta

Site Delta is the third (and last) Firefox add-on for monitoring websites. The add-on is a little bit confusing at the beginning as there is no apparent way to add websites that should be monitored to it. The add-on begins to monitor websites for changes if the user presses its icon in the Firefox status bar. The active url will then be added to the list of pages that are monitored by the add-on. The icon will glow green if the active website is monitored by it. A right-click opens a context menu that can be used to configure the monitoring in detail.

Users can configure the scan options in two tabs. The add-on will by default check for text and image changes. It is furthermore possible to ignore case or numbers and to create a backup copy of the page whenever changes are recognized.

The when to scan tab can be used to configure the intervals of the scans. It is possible to set a specific frequency or let the add-on handle it. It seems to use an algorithm that reduces the checks if the website that is monitored is not updated frequently.

Change Detection

Change Detection is a free online service that can monitor websites for changes. An account is required before websites can be monitored by the service. The website url and an email address are provided in the first step of the process. The service will then try to scan the website. If the scan is successful step 2 is displayed.

The notifications and type of changes to trigger notifications can be configured in the second step. Notifications can either be provided by sending emails to an email account or by offering an RSS feed that is being updated with website changes.

It is possible to configure the online monitoring service to only send out notifications if sizable changes have happened on the monitored websites. It is furthermore possible to define text that should trigger notifications (either if it is added or removed from the page which could be interesting for link building purposes).

WebMon

WebMon is the only software program in this review that can be used to monitor websites. The website monitoring software has a few advantages over the Firefox add-ons. It can be run in the background even if all web browser windows are closed. The Firefox add-ons can only perform checks for updated websites if the web browser is running.

The program comes with an easy to use interface. It begins by adding an url to the program. Any url that is currently in the Windows clipboard will automatically be pasted into the form right away. It is then possible to configure the intervals of the checks using the minutes, hours and days slider in the interface. The process is complete if everything on the page should be monitored. Users who want to specify certain text or elements on a website can do so by clicking on the “specify content for check” button in the configuration window.

It basically allows the user to specify the range of content on a website that should be included in the checks. The website monitoring software notifies the user with popup alerts or sounds. It can furthermore run a command if an update is found.

Many additional options are provided that include proxy server support, logging or to import and export the list of monitored websites.

Verdict

The right website monitoring software, add-on or service depends highly on the usage scenario. Users who work with their web browser all the time might prefer the add-on solution to monitor website changes. The online service on the other hand will monitor websites remotely so that the computer system of the user does not need to be turned on at all to monitor changes (could be send to a smartphone per example).

The website monitoring software on the other hand is the most flexible tool that provides options to execute commands if changes have been detected.

Which do you prefer?

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After installing the Update Checker extension you will see a new icon in your status bar. This icon will be gray if there are no updates and change its color if there are updates. A small balloon text will also be displayed right above the arrow.

There are two ways to add new sites that should be constantly monitored for changes. Right-click a website and select Scan Page for Update to add it to the list of monitored sites.

The second option would be to click on the icon in the status bar which opens a sidebar with all the sites that are currently monitored. If you click on New Entry in that menu you have come to the same menu.

The url and the title of the web page are filled out automatically and you only need to decide about the Change Threshold and the time between Autoscans.

The Change Threshold can be set to recognize any changes on the website as an update or only recognize them if a certain character limit has been reached. (10,50,100,500 and 1000)

The Autoscan option defines the interval in which each website is checked for updates. The lowest value is 15 minutes while the highest is once per day / manual scan.

I personally like this extension. I use it to monitor websites that I visit often to see if they updated their pages. Especially great for blogs and sites like digg or delicious.

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