A status page earns trust in the first ten minutes of an incident, long before the root cause is known. The goal is not to explain everything; it is to stop customers wondering whether anyone is looking.
The first update
Post early, even if you know very little. A good first update says:
- What customers might notice, in their words, not yours.
- Which parts of the product are affected and which are fine.
- When the next update will be posted.
Keep the cadence you promised
If you said thirty minutes, post in thirty minutes, even when the update is “still investigating.” Silence reads as chaos. When the incident is resolved, say so plainly and link to a short write-up once it is ready.