A page can load while the useful part is broken
Your homepage returns successfully, but a customer cannot sign in or find a product. A simple uptime check will not necessarily see that failure. Browser journeys let you verify a sequence of actions and the result a customer expects to see.
PageLantern’s journey builder gives that sequence a visible structure. Add steps manually or import a recording, then review what each step does before saving. Existing handwritten Playwright checks remain available for teams that prefer to maintain a script.
Turn a short customer task into a check
Start with a narrow task: open the site, enter a search term, submit it and assert that the expected result is visible. For a sign-in check, use a dedicated test account and verify that its dashboard appears. Choose actions that are appropriate to repeat on a schedule.
The builder supports navigation, clicks, input references, selections, checkbox changes, Enter and visibility assertions. An assertion matters: reaching the end of a series of clicks is weaker evidence than confirming the result your customer needs.
Record a starting point, then review it
Open a browser monitor’s journey builder and download the recorder. The initial recorder is an unpacked Chrome or Edge extension installed through the browser’s extension settings. Grant access to the website, record the task, stop, export the JSON and import it into the builder.
The recorder works with one tab’s top-level page. It pauses when a new origin needs approval and does not capture iframe or new-tab flows. Some custom components need manual selectors. Keep the journey focused: recording files are capped at 64 KB and journeys at 40 steps. Large step contents may need splitting into smaller journeys.
Supply private inputs after recording
The recorder does not read typed input values. It records references that you fill using the monitor’s encrypted environment variables after import. Select-option values, selectors and URL paths are recorded, so inspect the exported journey before sharing it.
Journeys with private inputs disable screenshots, video, traces, page snapshots, page-authored console output and document titles. You still get runner-authored step status, timing and sanitized errors. This changes the evidence available for diagnosis: visual captures are available only for journeys without private-input references.
Save, run and check the result
Save an edited monitor before choosing Run, then inspect which step passed or failed. If you change the journey, evidence from its previous definition is marked stale. Scheduling, available locations and browser quotas continue to apply, so begin with one important journey and expand after its results are useful.