When things go wrong

We don’t want things to go wrong on your site, but it does happen occasionally due to browser updates, plug-ins not being maintained adequately by their developer, and updates to WordPress which create conflicts with functionality we have built.

Before you contact us

First, please work through our ‘Troubleshooting checklist’ on our Support page – you may be able to fix the problem yourself.

If you’ve already done this and the problem is still persisting, then email us. (You can also phone 0114 282 3413 to explain the problem, but we’ll ask you to follow it up with an email for us to refer to)

Using the checklist below, work out which level your request is at and give your email this subject: [CRISIS LEVEL]: + what your issue is, e.g. “URGENT: link has stopped working”, or “CRITICAL: Payment gateway not working”.

Critical

Your website is down
There is a security issue on your site
A crucial plug-in or payment gateway is not working at all
There is a critical error which means the principal purpose of the site cannot be fulfilled

NOT Critical

Anything on the Urgent and Important lists (below).

Anything which is only happening on one device/machine and/or browser. If this is the case, it is more likely to be a browser issue or caused by the settings on your device/machine. We will look into it, but we may not be able to fix it easily.

How quickly will you fix this? We will usually start investigating immediately, but this depends on our availability, and the nature of the issue.

Urgent

Something is not working the way it should be, but it’s NOT impacting the core function of the site, the security of the site or your users’ data.
An issue which will stop you from meeting a critical deadline IF:
– with new functionality: you tested it with plenty of time to spare (>4 weeks) before the deadline and it was working fine when you did.
– With tried and tested functionality: something you’ve successfully done in the past is no longer working in the same way
Styling issues which prevent the user from carrying out a task

NOT Urgent

Please remember: Urgent for you does not automatically mean urgent for us. We will help you in any way we can, but we cannot guarantee we will be able to, even if we have done so quickly in the past, or you think your issue is easy to fix.
Any problems arising from issues which you didn’t tell us about when you discovered them
Problems arising from last minute testing.
Styling issues which don’t affect the functionality of the site
Any issue where we were not previously made aware of an imminent deadline

How quickly will you fix this? Usually within 2 weeks but may be up to 4 depending on the complexity.

We usually get to things in the order they came in, but sometimes a more complex request will be delayed or prioritised depending on their urgency relative to other things.

Important

Styling issues which do not affect functionality
Small design or functionality changes: anything which changes the way the website works or looks (outside the two month snagging phase after training).

Everything else

Anything that’s going to take longer than a couple of hours becomes a medium or large request and will need scoping, pricing and scheduling.

How quickly will you fix this? At the moment, because we are experiencing a high volume of client requests and projects, small important changes can take up to 6 weeks to complete. Whether a request or project is large or small is up to us to decide.

How to plan for things going wrong

Test! Test! Test!: Make sure you test all the functionality you will need for time-sensitive content well in advance of the deadline.
Keep us in the loop: Let us know as far in advance as possible if you have something important coming up. We will be much better placed to help you if we’re aware of this.
Don’t assume we will be able to fix things quickly Even if we have fixed urgent or important things quickly in the past, this will not always be the case. We have our own important deadlines, and members of the team may be on Annual Leave or off sick.
Please be kind. We’re really good at diagnostics but we’re not automatons: sometimes fixing a problem requires creativity and space to consider what’s happened.
When we say “If we can’t replicate it, we can’t fix it” – we do understand that it’s happening to you! It’s just not something we can see ourselves., and this makes things tricky because to fix a problem we have to be able to see where it’s coming from, and be able to test whether we’ve fixed it. If we can’t find a source of the problem, then it may be your browser or device settings that’s causing it.

tl;dr Test everything in plenty of time, keep us in the loop, don’t expect miracles, and together we can keep your site in good health!

How to write a good support request

A fountain pen and writing paper surrounded by roses and ink. The pen is writing "Dearest Creative Stream,"

If you are not using an email address with your company/organisation name, please let us know which website you are referring to.
Screenshots are useful, and it’s also useful to know what device and browser you, or the person who has encountered the problem, is using. Please refer to points 8 & 9 in the “Troubleshooting checlist?” accordion on our support page.
Please give us bulleted or numbered points explaining:
– What you were trying to do when the error occurred
– What should have happened
– What actually happened
We may write back with further questions, so please respond quickly as it means we will have more idea of what’s going on.
We may also reply with an automated email – this means we will read your request as soon as we can, so please be patient. If the request is a critical one, we won’t ignore it.

Creative Stream Support Page