Stuff will go wrong on your website. You will be confused. You will be frustrated. You will not know where to turn.
Here are some things to try before pulling out your hair.
1. If here is an error message copy it down.
Screen shot it if necessary. Use Google to look up what it says. Often Google will explain the error and help you be able to fix it. Today, even AI options on your browser will explain the answer even more clearly!
2. If you have to ask for support:
- Write down the URL of the page you were on (not “the page with the dog” but the actual URL — in the red circle is the URL of this page). It Is possible that how you got to that page might also be helpful.
- What were you doing?
- What happened?
- What did you expect to happen?
Test that by following all those steps again — in case maybe you only THOUGHT you clicked the right button. (Include that information in your support request)
- Where else did you look for help? If you asked Google, what did you learn? If you asked a different support system, what did you learn there?
Each thing you try and document in your report will help the support tech to get closer to the answer to your question.
3. Most important
If support asks you for specific information about your site, PROVIDE IT! Generally if they want something, they will tell you how to find what they want. Do not figure they don’t really need to know all that. Yes, they do.
Then be patient.
Many places do not work on the weekends or in the hours you thing they should. It is reasonable to expect a reply with in two or three DAYS. Many places do that a lot quicker.
This is why a good relationship with your web developer is important. If you have an individual to contact. YIPPEE!
And if that person asks you to fill out a form, do that. Often without the form, you’ll forget something important that your person wants to know. That means back and forths before they can even consider your problem.
Be polite!
We know you’re frustrated. But as my mother said to me, “If your furnace isn’t working in the winter, do not yell at the guy there to fix it!”
