Framer custom domains break SSL.
Your client finds out first.
When a Framer client connects a custom domain through external DNS, Framer's SSL provisioning can stall silently. The domain resolves, the site loads, and a certificate warning appears in browsers — while your uptime monitor reports green. Merlonix monitors the infrastructure layer your uptime tool skips.
No credit card either way — start free, or trial the full workspace.
- Check cadence (Agency)
- 1 min
- SSL pre-expiry alert
- 30 days
- Vendors watched
- 11
- Encrypted DNS lookups
- DoH
Where Framer agencies get caught out
Three failure modes specific to Framer client portfolios.
Uptime monitors check HTTP response codes. The Framer-specific failures — SSL during custom domain connection, domain expiry after client handoffs, and upstream CDN incidents — all fail at a layer below HTTP. They generate the client calls that damage agency relationships.
Custom domain connection
Framer SSL stalls when clients use external DNS
When a Framer client points their custom domain using external nameservers instead of Framer's recommended DNS configuration, Framer's automatic SSL provisioning can stall. The domain resolves to the Framer site while browsers show a certificate warning — and your uptime monitor reports a clean 200 OK.
Domain handoff gaps
Domains expire after client handoffs
Design agencies frequently build Framer sites and hand off domain management to clients informally. When the agency's contact is still listed as the registrar account owner, domain renewals fall through the gap. An expired domain takes the Framer site — and any active SSL — completely offline.
Platform dependency
Framer CDN incidents affect all your client sites
A Framer infrastructure incident — CDN degradation, media serving issues, or deployment pipeline problems — can affect dozens of client sites simultaneously. Without vendor status monitoring, you diagnose each client site independently before realizing the problem is upstream of everything you manage.
How it works
Set up once per client. Watch every domain from there.
Merlonix is designed for Framer agencies managing client rosters across multiple domain configurations — one account, every domain, one alert flow that only fires when something actually needs attention.
01
Add your Framer client domains
Verify ownership with a DNS TXT record — Merlonix supports both Framer-nameserver domains and externally pointed domains. One verification per domain establishes the monitoring baseline. Takes under two minutes per client.
02
SSL and DNS checked every 5 minutes
A DNS-over-HTTPS resolver verifies your expected records on every check interval. SSL chains are validated end-to-end: expiry date, issuer, chain completeness, and domain match. Framer custom domain SSL provisioning failures are caught within minutes — before browsers surface them to visitors.
03
Domain expiry tracked across your entire roster
Merlonix watches registration expiry dates for every client domain and alerts 30 days before expiry. For domains handed off to clients informally, you get the warning with enough time to contact the client and resolve ownership before anything goes down.
04
Alert goes to Slack or email, not a dashboard
Alerts include domain, check type, the specific record or certificate field that failed, and recommended action. No login required to triage. Framer platform incidents appear in a separate vendor status feed — so you instantly know whether one client is affected or your entire roster.
What the numbers mean for Framer agencies
Monitoring that covers the Framer-specific failure surface.
Framer agencies don't have a dedicated infrastructure team. You have designers and developers who also handle domain connections and client handoffs. Merlonix is built around that constraint — minimal setup, maximum signal, zero dashboards to babysit between client calls.
30 days
SSL expiry warning lead time — enough runway to fix before the client site shows a browser warning
< 10 min
Time from DNS change to alert — covers the full Framer DNS propagation window without false positives
11 vendors
Upstream services monitored — including Framer platform status and payment processors common in Framer ecommerce stacks
250 assets
Maximum monitored domains on the Agency plan — enough for a full Framer client roster
Pricing
Flat monthly fee. Every client domain included.
No per-domain charges. No per-alert fees. Pick the tier that fits your client count and grow without billing surprises.
Starter
For solo Framer designers watching a handful of client sites.
$19/ month
- 15 monitored assets
- 3 seats
- 5 min check cadence
- SSL + DNS + vendor monitoring
- Email + Slack alerts
Team
For growing Framer agencies with multiple team members.
$79/ month
- 60 monitored assets
- 10 seats
- 1 min check cadence
- SSL + DNS + vendor monitoring
- Email + Slack alerts
Agency
For agencies with a full Framer client roster.
$199/ month
- 250 monitored assets
- Unlimited seats
- 1 min check cadence
- SSL + DNS + vendor monitoring
- Email + Slack alerts
Compliance
For regulated-vertical teams that need continuous, audit-ready evidence.
$699/ month
- 500 monitored assets
- Unlimited seats
- 1 min check cadence
- SSL + DNS + vendor monitoring
- Email + Slack alerts
Beyond uptime
More than a 200 OK on every client site
The same account also watches the infrastructure and reputation layers a standard uptime check never reaches — each a live check you can turn on.
Turn monitoring into revenue
Resell client-ready reports as your own
Monitoring doesn’t have to be a cost line. Package the branded report and white-label status page as a deliverable in your retainer — the tooling underneath stays invisible, so to the client the work is yours.
Reports under your brand
Hand each client a polished SSL, DNS, and security report carrying your agency’s name and logo — not ours.
Status pages on their domain
Publish a live status page at status.theirbrand.com with automatic TLS and no “Powered by Merlonix” badge.
Your margin to keep
You pay one add-on cost and package it into the retainer you already bill. The markup — and the margin — are yours.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Do I need DNS or registrar access to my clients’ domains to monitor them?
No. Merlonix monitors from the outside in — it probes each domain’s public SSL certificate, DNS records, WHOIS/registration data, and HTTP responses the same way a browser or DNS resolver would. You add an asset by its hostname; no access to the client’s registrar, DNS provider, or servers is required.
What does Merlonix actually check on each site?
Every monitored asset gets continuous SSL-certificate (expiry, issuer, and chain changes), DNS-record, domain-registration/expiry, and uptime monitoring by default. You can also enable infrastructure and reputation checks a standard uptime monitor never reaches — security headers, DNSSEC/DANE, domain-hijack/registrar-lock, blocklist, and cron/heartbeat monitoring — each a live check you turn on per asset.
How often does it check, and how do alerts reach me?
Checks run on your plan’s cadence — as often as every 1 min on Team and above, and every 5 min on Starter. When a certificate, DNS record, registration, or response changes, you get an alert by email and Slack. Alerts fire on real state changes between definitive checks, not on a transient blip.
How much does it cost, and is there a free option?
Yes — there is a free $0 plan (no credit card) to watch a small number of assets, and paid plans start at $19/mo (Starter). You can also start a 14-day full-workspace trial with no card. See the pricing grid above for the assets, seats, and check cadence on each tier.
Stop finding out from clients.
Add your first Framer client domain in under two minutes. The first SSL or DNS alert tells you whether monitoring was worth it — usually within the first week. 14-day trial, no card required.