@KHMET wrote:
Today, I stayed on hold for 27 minutes before I was told I couldn't be help. Is this the type of service I am paying for? Is it time to switch over to another web host? It may be so. I need a web host whose services include helping with coding at times. Fact is, some of us are running businesses where we don't have the time to write code practically all day to build or update our websites. Those of us who are paying for customer service should be able to call and speak with someone who is highly qualified to help in the many areas of website building. Otherwise, what is the use of having a customer service.
I hear your frustration but the question is, "is it well founded?".
Are you getting your money's worth knowing that Weebly is a low cost web-based CMS that has certain limitations. It is inexpensive compared to say, Squarespace, so we end up with less specialized help.
I know for a fact that Weebly has a stock answer to this question:
"I have a custom theme, can you help me troubleshoot X?"
Answer always is "no" even if the problem is a Weebly issue and nothing to do with the custom theme. If you customize AT ALL, even with a Weebly theme in place, then they will not assist. I gather that this is a policy.
So here is the problem with Weebly in this respect. It's a self-contained web CMS that is fairly versitile and if you don't customize anything then you don't really need any specialized customer service. It is what it is - take it or leave it.
But because Weebly has the ability to add custom headers, CSS, jquery, and 3rd party themes, one might expect that Weebly would have people on staff to help troubleshoot problems that arise from the Weebly platform itself rather than simply saying "sorry, you added a line of CSS so we no help you".
Weebly is in a gray area between locked down CMSs like LightCMS and a more customizable CMS like Wordpress. You can customize but then you are really on your own. If you can't accept this reality then another solution is in your future. What many companies do that need to customize their web environment is to hire a company that does Wordpress.
The challenge here is that although WP is largely free, quality WP devs charge around $100-$150/hr. Building a 70 page site will cost you around $25K and then you pay hourly for constant updates (platform and design). It's still less expensive than say, Sitecore or Sharepoint which will set you back 6 figures a year to maintain but it's still money.
For my part, Weebly is a nice alternative to Wordpress since you can add customization. But you need to either have skills yourself to handle such coding or find a 3rd party dev like the guys at Waddons or Widgetic to help with speciality elements. Weebly does need to add an enterprise solution (that is not Weebly Cloud®) that offers more than the business plan for those of us who have more money than time. But that is not yet on the horizon.
Not dismissing your frustrations @KHMET, just that for the money paid for the service, it's cost effective.
