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Overview

Maintenance updates allow you to communicate progress during planned downtime, letting users know how the maintenance is proceeding.

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Adding a Maintenance Update

To update an ongoing maintenance window:
  1. Navigate to your Status Page
  2. Click Maintenance
  3. Select the active maintenance event
  4. Click Add Update or similar button

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Update Fields

Status:
  • Scheduled - Not yet started
  • In Progress - Currently underway
  • Completed - Finished successfully
Message:
  • Current progress
  • Any delays or issues
  • Updated completion estimate
  • What you’re working on now

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Update Timeline

Provide updates at key milestones:

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Before Maintenance Starts

24 Hours Before: 
Reminder: Scheduled maintenance begins tomorrow at 2:00 AM UTC.
Website and API will be unavailable for approximately 2 hours.
1 Hour Before: 
Maintenance begins in 1 hour (2:00 AM UTC). All services will be
temporarily unavailable while we upgrade our database servers.

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During Maintenance

When Starting: 
Status: In Progress
Maintenance has begun. Database servers are being upgraded.
Expected completion: 4:00 AM UTC.
Mid-Maintenance: 
Status: In Progress
Upgrade is 50% complete. Proceeding as planned. Still expecting
completion by 4:00 AM UTC.
If Delayed: 
Status: In Progress
We're experiencing a minor delay. New estimated completion: 4:30 AM UTC.
We'll provide another update in 30 minutes.

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After Completion

Successful Completion: 
Status: Completed
Maintenance completed successfully at 3:45 AM UTC (15 minutes ahead
of schedule). All services are now fully operational. Thank you for
your patience.
Early Completion: 
Status: Completed
Great news! Maintenance completed ahead of schedule at 3:30 AM UTC.
All systems are operational and performing well.

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Update Frequency

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Normal Maintenance (< 2 hours)

  • Before start: 24 hours and 1 hour reminders
  • At start: Immediate update
  • During: Update if longer than 1 hour
  • At completion: Final confirmation

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Extended Maintenance (> 2 hours)

  • Before start: 1 week, 24 hours, and 1 hour reminders
  • At start: Immediate update
  • During: Every 60-90 minutes
  • At completion: Final confirmation with summary
For maintenance longer than 1 hour, provide progress updates every hour so users know things are proceeding as planned.

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Best Practices

Begin exactly when scheduled. If you finish early, that’s a bonus. Running late frustrates users.
If maintenance will take longer than expected, tell users right away and provide a new estimate.
“50% complete” or “2 of 4 servers migrated” helps users understand how much longer to wait.
Don’t assume users will check. Explicitly state “All services are now operational.”
Acknowledge the inconvenience and thank users for their patience.
After completing, verify all services are working before posting final update.

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Handling Complications

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Unexpected Issues During Maintenance

Status: In Progress
We've encountered an unexpected issue during the database migration.
Our team is working to resolve it. We'll provide an update within
30 minutes with a revised completion time.

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Rolling Back

Status: In Progress
Due to compatibility issues discovered during testing, we're rolling
back the changes. Services will be restored to their previous state.
Expected completion: 3:30 AM UTC.

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Converting to Incident

If maintenance uncovers critical issues: 
Update: During maintenance, we discovered a critical issue that requires
immediate attention. We're converting this to an incident and will
provide updates as we work toward resolution.
Then create an incident to continue communication.

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Communication Templates

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Infrastructure Upgrade

Pre-Start (24h): Reminder - Server upgrade tomorrow at 2 AM UTC
Start: Server upgrade in progress. Services temporarily unavailable.
Progress: Upgrade 75% complete. On schedule for 4 AM completion.
Complete: Servers upgraded successfully. All services operational.

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Database Maintenance

Pre-Start (1h): Database optimization begins in 1 hour
Start: Database optimization in progress. Read-only mode enabled.
Progress: Index rebuild complete. Running optimization checks.
Complete: Database optimization complete. Full service restored.

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Security Updates

Pre-Start (24h): Critical security updates scheduled for tomorrow
Start: Applying security patches. Brief service interruption expected.
Complete: Security updates applied successfully. Services fully operational.

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What to Include in Updates

Do Include:
  • Current status and progress
  • What you’re doing right now
  • Estimated completion time
  • Any changes to the plan
  • Impact on services
Don’t Include:
  • Internal team discussions
  • Technical implementation details
  • Internal tool names or ticket IDs
  • Blame or excuses
  • Unconfirmed information

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Notification Behavior

When you add a maintenance update:
  • Status page is updated immediately
  • Subscribers receive notifications for status changes
  • Timeline is updated publicly
  • Status badge may update
  • Calendar feeds are updated
Not all updates trigger notifications. Typically only status changes (Scheduled → In Progress → Completed) generate notifications to avoid alert fatigue.

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Completing Maintenance

Final update should include:
  1. Confirmation of completion
  2. Actual vs estimated duration
  3. Service status verification
  4. Benefits delivered
  5. Thank you message
Example: 
Status: Completed

Maintenance completed at 3:50 AM UTC. All database servers have been
successfully upgraded and are performing excellently. Initial tests
show a 40% improvement in query performance.

Thank you for your patience during this maintenance window.

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Next Steps

Schedule Maintenance

Back to maintenance scheduling

Manage Incidents

Handle unplanned outages

Incident Updates

Communicate during incidents

Notifications

Configure update notifications