> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.loadforge.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Host Overview

> About Hosts on LoadForge

A **Host** on LoadForge is essentially a **website or API**—a domain name that we monitor for health and performance and use for running load tests.

Verifying a Host enables **advanced monitoring**, including:

* **Health checks** to ensure uptime and availability.
* **Performance tracking** to measure response times and bottlenecks.
* **User experience analysis** to assess real-world usage.

Once you add a host, our systems **automatically scan** it to detect what technologies are running, as shown in the image below:

<Frame caption="Host Overview - Technology Detection">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/loadforge/-JPjrj7GdlQs4xIV/images/host-overview.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=-JPjrj7GdlQs4xIV&q=85&s=80e9d41abf972738c596fd37b7161d83" alt="Host Overview" width="2307" height="1204" data-path="images/host-overview.png" />
</Frame>

This scanning process allows our **AI-driven test wizard** and other features to better understand your site, enabling smarter recommendations and test configurations tailored to your technology stack.

## Benefits of Verifying a Host

<Tip>Verify multiple hosts to compare performance across different environments (staging vs. production) to catch performance issues before they affect your users.</Tip>

When you verify a host, you unlock powerful monitoring and insights, including:

* **Automated performance tracking**: Continuous health checks every 5 minutes.
* **Real-time alerts**: Notifications via email, Slack, or Zapier for downtime or performance issues.
* **CrUX (Chrome User Experience) Data**: Real-world user experience metrics from Chrome browsers.
* **Historical analysis**: Track trends over time and compare performance before and after optimizations.

## Next Steps

To get started, add your host in LoadForge and complete the **verification process** using one of the available methods:

* **Meta Tag**: Insert a verification tag in your website's HTML.
* **File Upload**: Place a verification file in your web directory.
* **DNS TXT Record**: Add a DNS entry for domain-level validation.

Once verified, LoadForge will begin monitoring and analyzing your host automatically.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Verifying a Host" icon="shield-check" href="verification">
    Learn how to verify your host quickly and easily.
  </Card>

  <Card title="User Experience" icon="gauge-high" href="user-experience">
    Learn how to track real user experience with Hosts.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>