Operate

Meet the Support Specialists: they are always here to answer your website questions.

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Zeald's Support Specialists are customer service stars. They are passionate about helping Zeald clients increase their business through improving their website and online presence.

They are here to help you with the day-to-day running of your website. If you want to know how to do something different, add something to your website, or just have a question; our friendly team are there to help 9-5 weekdays by phone, email and online chat.

Zeald also have an extensive online help website, full of how-to guides for those who like figuring things out for themselves. Visit help.zeald.com 24/7 for answers.

Once your website content has been loaded onto your new website then it is time to launch the new website live on the internet. Before we do this however, we need you to complete some final checks on your new website to double check that nothing is being overlooked.  We need you to go through the 'Launch Checklist' displayed in the administration area of your website and double check that you have completed everything outlined on the list.  The checklist contains a list of important tasks that need to be completed prior to the launch of a new website.  If anything is missed it can cause significant problems once the website is launched.

The 'Launch Checklist' is displayed when you first log into the administration area of your website.  Alternatively you can access it by going here.  If you have any trouble finding or accessing the checklist or if anything is a bit confusing on the checklist please contact support@zeald.com or phone 0508 932 748 for assistance.

Once you have completed these final checks, if you could please email us at support@zeald.com to confirm that you are ready for launch.  Your website will then be ‘launched’ live on the internet. It is important to understand that once the ‘switch is flicked’ there is usually a 48 hour transfer turnaround time where some of your customers may see your old website (if one exists) and other customers will see your new website. This transfer turnaround time is unavoidable. It occurs due to the inherent nature of how the internet works.

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Wordpress / Woocommerce Maintenance, Upgrades Support & Security

Zeald apply core Wordpress updates automatically for all our clients
Wordpress release updates and fixes on a regular basis. Our internal IT team apply core Wordpress updates on your behalf to keep your website secure and up to date. 

Third party plugins are important for Wordpress
The power of Wordpress is in the open source community of third party developers who contribute new function to the core Wordpress website in the form of plugins. Wordpress websites rely on third party plugins to achieve a bespoke look and function.

Out of date Plugins can cause adverse effects to your website when Wordpress updates are applied
It is important to understand that Wordpress updates can have an adverse effect to key elements of the website such as navigation, design layout etc, because third party plugins are not up to date and not fully compatible with the new Wordpress version.
Because the plugins are maintained by third party developers, it takes some time to test and apply updates to the plugin after a new Wordpress release.

Zeald applies Wordpress updates after third party plugins have been updated
After a Wordpress update becomes available, we wait a period before applying the update (roughly one week).
This provides third party plugin developers time to make changes to amend any compatibility issues. This approach drastically reduces update complications and helps to limit the negative impact that out of date plugins can cause your website.

We initially roll out Wordpress updates to development sites as part of a best practice testing phase. If issues are found, we liaise with third party developers to arrange appropriate fixes. Once we are satisfied that an appropriate level of testing has been achieved, we roll the update out across non-custom client websites. This process takes roughly 2 weeks.

This process can be fast tracked with a custom maintenance, monitoring and recommendation service. Call our support team to learn more.

This process helps to mitigate the majority of potential issues updates can cause. 
We test to a level. We cannot fully test every website, plugin and theme, we ask that clients notify our support team should they notice any website irregularities.

Plugin updates
Non-secure out of date plugins can contain security holes which are often the key source of websites being hacked. It is important that plugins are maintained and kept up to date. We recommend that clients ensure that any third party plugins are up to date and secure.
When Zeald carries out an update, we will also update the core (non-customised) base plugins such as Divi and Yoast SEO. This is carried out as part of our standard hosting service. 

For especially urgent Wordpress and or plugin updates for important security fixes we might prioritise the update over the testing to get the fix in place sooner.

Safe logins with safe permissions
Zeald’s best practice policy is to provide clients with admin access to their website and limit the ability to install and upgrade plugins and themes. This is done to mitigate website problems on the back of user error. 
Should a client want permission to install and update plugins and themes, this will be happily provided following communication to ensure that the client is aware of the risks and potential costs to fix potential issues that arise on the back of these actions.

Custom plugins will not be automatically updated
A standard Zeald Wordpress website comes with a core set of supported plugins to achieve important function for your website. These are plugins that Zeald has invested significant time researching, and developing a relationship with the supplier to try and ensure the feature is stable, secure, easy to use and performs well. 
Some clients require unique function for their online business which requires the installation of a third party plugin. 
If you have a custom plugin installed on your website, whether it was installed by you, a third party developer or by Zeald, the plugin will be separated from the automatic updates system. 

When new versions and updates are released by Wordpress and third party developers, you will receive a notification in the backend of your website. 
If you have an active project with Zeald, contact your Relationship manager or TPS to obtain an estimate for custom plugin updates and testing.

You are welcome to upgrade the plugin yourself 
When new versions and updates are released by Wordpress and third party developers, you will receive a notification in the backend of your website. 

It is important that you thoroughly test the website post-update to ensure elements such as navigation and conversion pathways are working. Should you experience issues that you cannot undo, feel free to contact Zeald support to restore your website from the previous day (database content preserved), and provide you an estimate for a backup and update fix. 

Update notifications
Based on the frequency of updates and the length of time they can take to deploy, Zeald does not notify clients when updates are taking place. Should you require this level of communication however, this can be costed for at your request. 

High End Custom update and monitoring service
For clients who require a higher level of service regarding core updates, Zeald offers a custom monitoring, update and recommendation service at an additional monthly cost. This is a proactive monitoring service carried out daily by a Zeald specialist with the use of specialist tools. This is a custom service tailored to your business requirements. Please enquire with your DBS or RM for an estimate

Learn more about working with the Magento platform
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