Sales or Technical Support: (503) 468-4890 or
help@buildableworks.com
Sales or Technical Support: (503) 468-4890 or
help@buildableworks.com
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
The Basics
What is a CMS?
CMS is short for Content Management System. It’s a website tool that provides both a website template engine to display your website and an administrative area (often referred to as the Admin Panel) from which you make changes to your content.
What is the Admin Panel?
The LVSYS Admin Panel, or LVSYS backend, refers to the administrative area of your website from where you can access your content and run various reports.
Who owns the content and who owns the software?
You own your content. We own the software.
What should I do if I believe that a customer of Buildable is hosting infringement copyright content on Buildable servers?
Follow the requirements of the Buildable DMCA policy, which is located here
What should I do if I believe that a customer of Buildable is hosting some defamatory information on Buildable servers?
Contact the person or company that is hosting the defamatory content, as Buildable is generally not responsible for this. See the Communication Decency Act. https://www.eff.org/issues/cda230
What is content?
Content are photos, articles, text, CSS, bits of HTML and all documents that you upload to the website. Everything else that was there before and what we modify and create is ours. Of course the Software we keep upgrading is also ours.
Do I need special skills to post content to my website?
No, all content is updated through our intuitive interface using common word processing tools. Photos and other rich content are uploaded through easy drag and drop functions.
Can I edit everything, including the templates?
Yes. You can edit all text, photos, videos and website content that you upload, and all templates, style sheets and javascript files. In rare instances, certain things (for example, error messages and very custom layouts) are not easy to edit.
Do you offer website hosting?
Yes, all our websites are hosted on our platform which is optimized for our CMS software, or for WordPress hosting depending on the product plan purchased.
Do you provide email hosting?
Not at this time.
Will my website send emails?
Yes, all customer inquiries, orders and website notifications will be sent to email addresses that you can change at any time. It is your responsibility to use the correct email addresses and to test them.
Remember: Our system requires a valid “sender” email address so that all email generated by the system comes from a valid email address and does not bounce. The “sender” email address is validated when the website is deployed. You can change it at any time, but note that your website will not deliver email if you supply a non valid “sender” email address.
Can I use your service and host my website elsewhere?
No. Our software is designed to work solely on our platform.
FYI: In some special instances, we may allow resellers to run our software within their data center under special agreements. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in becoming a reseller.
Can I suggest system improvements or new features?
Yes. We want your feedback!
We integrate feedback in new releases. As a matter of fact, some of our important improvements have come from our customers.
Do you offer custom programming?
Yes. Custom Javascript and PHP programming is available for functions that are outside the scope of the CMS. Standard programming rates apply.
Is this LVSYS CMS using Joomla, Wordpress, Drupal, Magento or another Open Source product?
No. We built our CMS from scratch and while it offers many functions found in Open Source products, it is a different platform.
The goal of our CMS is to simplify website management by bringing blogging, article management, ecommerce, event calendar and template management (to name a few) under one centralized user interface; along with analysis and search optimization tools. We found that websites are more efficiently managed from a centralized user interface, as opposed to using multiple open source products side-by-side with their own databases and compatibility issues.
What is this CMS called?
This CMS is called the LVSYS Platform, or LVSYS CMS.
How often is my website CMS software improved or upgraded?
We upgrade the CMS about every week, delivering new features, enhancement and security fixes when they are available. This is what makes our platform a great choice. All of our websites run the same version of the CMS.
Can I export my data to another system?
Yes. You can export your data section by section, or you can ask support (see "How do I get help?") for a full data backup. Full data backups contain your database files and your content, but do not include the software so you will need to import this data into the system you are migrating to.
Wordpress users whose websites is hosted on the Buildable WordPress data center can export their data by installing WordPress export plugins.
Is there downtime during upgrades?
We try not to. It’s very important to us that your website is always up and running. Lots of upgrades happen in the background when the server is idle. Occasionally, there are large upgrades that require downtime and we try to make sure these are scheduled during off peak hours and non-business hours (they usually last less than 5 minutes).
Is my data backed up?
Yes. Ours backup systems are scheduled to run daily data backups and store them for 30 days.
How do I download a backup?
You can download a backup of specific sections by using the export functions built into the system, or you can request a full backup by submitting a ticket to the support team.
Why is my project suspended?
Your project is suspended when you don't respond to us with required approvals, feedback, or content for any 30 day period after we sent you an email request. Please see our terms of service for more details.
Is there a cost to restart a suspended project?
Yes, please check our terms of services. Reinstatement is subject to a small fee which represents a reasonable estimate of the additional work caused by delays.
What is an abandoned project and what happens to my project?
A project is considered abandoned when it has not been reinstated during the 30-day suspension period. Paid deposit and fees will be non-refundable, any website in staging will be taken off line and archived for 6 months, after 6 months we may delete the archive. Please see our terms of service for more details.
Can I restart an abandoned project?
Yes, if we still have a copy of your archive , in which case there will be a 25% reinstatement fee. Please see our terms of service for more details.
Getting Help
How do I get help?
Search our online help center at help.lvsys.com. It provides a complete manual, reference guides, videos, FAQs, downloads, and a search function.
If you get stuck, you can ask a question at www.buildableweb.com/support Our team will respond to inquiries in the order in which they are received and will generally respond in less than 24 hours.
You can also call 503/468-4890 if your package comes with access to our live phone support. Our support team is available M-F 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM PST. Please refer to your support plan for details.
Do you offer email support?
Yes, our support team is available M-F 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM PST. Please refer to your support plan for details.
Do you offer phone support?
Yes, if your package comes with access to our live phone support. Our support team is available M-F 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM PST. Please refer to your support plan for details.
Do you offer walk-in support?
No. We do not offer walk-in support. Walk-ins are treated as personalized trainings and are subject to meeting fees. Please consult our pricing page for details.
What is considered technical support?
Broadly speaking, technical support relates to getting help accomplishing a task or getting a system error fixed that isn't "user generated". Not all support plans come with the option of getting help accomplishing a task, such as our WordPress plans for example or users who decided to opt out of technical support altogether.
Depending on your support plan, calling for help may trigger charges if you are asking the technical staff to fix a problem, or get guidance on how to fix a problem, that you have created on your own, such as content you deleted, edited, or a system setting you changed that is causing your website to misbehave. In these cases, depending on your support plan and the extent of the problem our support staff will decide whether to trigger charges - as listed in our pricing.
Most often times, our staff operates on good faith and may fix small issues without charging. Typically charges are triggered when a problem requires a significant amount of time getting it fixed or if there are repeated occurrences or if you are asking us to modify content on your behalf. Please contact us if you believe you have been charged incorrectly and our staff will review your request.
What are examples of technical support questions that are or are not covered?
Here is a sample of technical support requests that are included in all support plans for the LVSYS CMS:
- I am trying to edit an article and I can't seem to find where it is?
- I uploaded a new image to the website, where did it go?
- We posted a youtube video and we are not sure what is the best way to include it within an article, could you please help?
- My website seems to not be responding today, could you please investigate?
- We have a new promo code to install on our ecommerce, can you help me locate where this should be put?
- I would like to add a new google analytics account on my website where does it go?
- We would like to modify several meta tags, where can I do this quickly?
Here are examples of questions that are not covered by default for the LVSYS CMS and may trigger content charges:
- Can you post this newsletter to our website?
- Can you hide this person's biography from my website?
- I can't figure how to upload this video to the website, can you please post it for me?
- We don't like the color of the buttons, can you please change the button from a green to a blue?
- Our logo has changed, here's the new one, thank you for uploading.
Here are examples of technical support requests that are covered for WordPress packages:
- My website is not responding today and we haven't touched the website in weeks.
- We purchased a new domain and would like to link it to the website
- Can I get a copy of a recent backup?
- I am getting a disk full error when uploading a large file to WordPress, can you please help?
- We upgraded a module and our website is no longer responding, where should we look for problems?
Here are examples of technical support requests that are not covered for WordPress packages:
- We installed a new module on our website and it's no longer responding, can you please fix it?
- We deleted several pages and cannot figure out how to restore them can you fix this for me please?
- We would like to add google analytics to our website, where do we do this?
- I want to add a new item to the website navigation, where does it go?
- Can you help me install a new theme?
All the above are examples and should not be treated as an exhaustive list of what is or what isn't covered in support.
Can I ask support staff to make changes to my site?
Yes, our support staff can make changes to your site, however, making content updates or programming modifications to your site will trigger content editing or programming charges, please consult our pricing page for details.
If you have regular changes you wish our team to make to your website, please consider signing up for a retainer plan. Retainer plans are a convenient way to have our staff modify your website quickly and regularly on your behalf and is usually carried out via email. Most retainers guarantee a minimum number of hours per month spent editing your website. Please contact us to setup a retainer or inquire about pricing.
Do you offer personalized training?
Yes. Personalized trainings are a great way to get caught up with new features or to freshen up on the CMS. Personalized trainings are subject to meeting charges, please consult our pricing page for details.
Can I schedule a support phone call?
Unfortunately not. Support is provided on as an-needed basis to answer technical questions or provide troubleshooting help. Scheduling a support phone call is treated as a meeting or a personalized training which are both subject to meeting charges, please consult our pricing page for details.
Capacity and Overage Charges
What are the resources consumed by a website?
A website consumes three types of resources:
- Processing (CPU) – by responding to incoming requests, known as incoming traffic.
- Disk Space – for storing and accessing your content
- Network – by receiving and sending data to your visitors’ computers.
Incoming Traffic Capacity and Overage Charges
How much incoming traffic can my site accept?
All websites are allocated a minimum of 2,000 daily page views – which is plenty for most websites. You can always upgrade your plan and purchase increased capacity.
Can I increase my incoming traffic limit?
Yes. Incoming Traffic can be increased in chunks of 1,000 daily page views for as little as $10 / month. Please see our pricing pages for current rates by visiting www.buildableweb.com/pricing.
Where can I monitor my traffic usage?
Traffic reports are available on your admin panel. Please refer to www.help.lvsys.com for details.
Will the system tell me if I get close to my traffic limit?
Not currently, but we’re working on it. For now, you do need to monitor your traffic. Most website owners keep a very close eye on traffic.
What happens if my website runs goes over the limit?
It depends on the situation. While we allow spikes to occur, sustained increased in traffic will lead to overage charges in increments of 1,000 daily page views until your traffic is contained within the new limits.
What is counted towards incoming traffic?
Everything: robots, mobile devices and desktop devices. There are no exceptions.
Why do you include robots?
While robots consume little network bandwidth (they do not usually pull photos and javascript), robots do consume processing resources.
Can you prevent robots from accessing my website?
No. That’s how your website is found and featured in various search engines, web directories, and many other services. However, we take steps to keep a detailed blacklist, prevent harmful robots and offensive computers from accessing your website.
Will I be charged for occasional traffic spikes over my limit?
Yes, if your traffic spikes over 200% capacity for several days in a row.
What is the difference between a ‘Page View’ and a ‘Visit?’
A page view occurs when someone or something visits a page of your website.
A visit is the set of all pages viewed by a unique visitor, which defines a session.
Disk Space Capacity and Overage Charges
How much disk space do I have?
All websites are provisioned with a minimum of 1 GB of disk space. Some sites may be provisioned with more disk space according to the data plan purchased.
Can I increase my disk space?
Yes. Disk space can be increased in chunks of 500 MB for as little as $5 / month. Please see our pricing pages for current rates by visiting www.buildableweb.com/pricing.
Where can I monitor my disk usage?
Disk usage reporting is available on your Admin Panel. Please refer to www.help.lvsys.com for details.
Will the system tell me if I get close to my disk space limit?
Yes. First, you should see warnings on your Admin Panel. Second, you should receive an email alert each day that your website is exceeding the 95% capacity mark. You can then either delete photos or content to make space, or purchases a higher capacity package.
What happens if my website runs out of disk space?
The system should send you an alert, then automatically increase your data plan by 500 MB and your account will reflect these charges.
Data Transfer Capacity and Overage Charges
What is data transfer?
Data transfer represents data sent or received over the network.
There are two types of data transfer:
- Incoming Data Transfer, as when you upload a photo to the CMS.
- Outgoing Data Transfer, as when visitors request a page and download all elements that make up the webpage: photos, html, javascript, css, flash, etc. The outgoing data transfer is often called your website’s “bandwidth.”
Do you charge for incoming data transfer?
No. But all data stored increases your disk usage, which may trigger overage disk usage fees.
Do you charge for outgoing data transfer?
Yes. All data sent to your visitors’ computers will be charged at the current rate.
How much outgoing data transfer does my website have?
All websites are provisioned with a minimum of 1 GB / day of outgoing traffic which is plenty for most websites. Websites with very high traffic and/or websites with heavy content (large photos and large documents) consume high amount of bandwidth.
Some sites may be provisioned with more data bandwidth according to the data plan purchased.
Can I increase my outgoing data transfer?
Yes. Data transfer capacity can be increased in chunks of 1 GB / day for as little as $6 / month. Please see our pricing pages for current rates by visiting www.buildableweb.com/pricing
Where can I monitor my data transfer?
Data transfer is consolidated at the end of each month.
Will the system tell me if I get close to my data transfer limit?
Not currently, but we’re working on it. Soon, you will be getting alerts and you will be able to monitor your data transfer usage daily.
What happens if my website consumes more network bandwidth?
We will be contacting you with your options: you will be able to either increase your data transfer plan, or opt for limiting access to your site so it’s operating within its limits. Your choice.
Can I use this website for hosting a streaming service or a file transfer service?
No. Our platform is not meant to host streaming services or file transfer services. Please use service providers who specialize in these fields. Streaming services consume large amount of outgoing bandwidth that disrupts normal website hosting and violators will be subject to service termination.
Can I use the cloud drive for hosting a streaming or file transfer service?
Yes if the cloud drive points to an AWS account you own, please contact support for help getting this set up. Otherwise, as mentioned before, we do not currently allow streaming or file transfer services to operate on our platform.
Billing FAQ
When is my statement closed and when is the bill due?
All statements are closed on the 20th of each month and are automatically emailed to you.
All bills are due on the 1st of the month. You can pay by check or credit cards, and see the other answers below.
What type of charges will be on my bill?
Your bill will contain 3 types of charges: the monthly plan for the upcoming month, charges incurred during the prior statement, and fees:
- Monthly plan
- Charges incurred during the prior statement:
- Transaction Charges (for example: eCommerce transaction fees)
- Domain purchase and renewals
- SSL purchase and renewals
- Consulting charges: marketing, travel, trainings, SEO and custom work in general.
- Other services or products that you purchased from us.
- Other fees
- Missed payments. See below.
- Late payments. See below.
- Account reactivation. See below.
Help me understand my bill
Do you send paper invoices?
No. You are responsible for providing us with at least one valid email address for receiving your electronic invoices. Repeated missed payments will trigger late fees. Sorry.
Can I provide multiple email addresses?
Yes. Please submit a ticket to the support team for this.
Can I pay with a check?
Yes. Please follow instructions displayed on your invoice and make sure we receive your check by the 10th of the month in which it is due.
Example. If we send an invoice on February 20th payment is due on March 1st. We must receive your payment by March 10th to avoid charging late fees.
Do you charge late fees?
Yes. If we receive your payment after the past due date (example: after the 10th of the month), we charge a late fee of $35 or 5% of the amount due (whichever is greater), unless prohibited by applicable law. Late fees will compound each month that your bill is not paid in full (unless prohibited by applicable law). If you are worried about late fees, you can pay with a credit card.
What is an account reactivation fee?
It's a one time $200 reactivation fee we charge to restore an account that been temporarily deactivated. Reactivating an account involves restoring data from long term backup storage. It's a manual process that takes time.
Why did my account get deactivated/suspended?
An account gets deactivated when it has carried an overdue balance for 60 days or more, and repeated contact (invoices, emails and calls) to collect by Buildable staff are unsuccessful. In these cases, account deactivation results in a website being removed from live production servers and put in a long term backup storage for a non specified duration (usually a minimum of 3 months). Reactivating an account involves restoring data from long term backup storage. It's a manual process that takes time. In this case, we temporarily disable the service until the balance is paid off or a resolution is agreed upon. If you are worried about missing payments and late fees, you can pay with a credit card or via ACH.
Can I pay with a credit card?
Yes. We accept credit cards. You can enroll at any time by filling in your information at www.buildableweb.com/automatic-bill-pay . We add a 3% fee to cover credit card fees. You can avoid this fee by paying with a check or via ACH.
Can I pay automatically from my bank account (ACH)?
Yes. We accept ACH payments. You can enroll at any time by contacting Buildable at buildableweb.com/contact . ACH payments are free of charge and debited on or shortly after the 1st of the month. To enroll for ACH debits please contact Buildable with your bank information, routing number and bank account number.
Do you offer volume discounts if I host multiple websites with Buildable?
Yes, but special conditions apply. Volume discounts, also called group discounts, usually apply if you host more than 4 websites with Buildable within your billing account. Please contact us for all volume discount inquiries.
Volume discounts only apply to websites hosted by the same billing account. In some rare instances, we may allow a group of biilling accounts to benefit from a volume discount, please contact us to see if you qualify.
When is a volume discount triggered?
A volume discount is applied only when all websites included in the same volume discount group are hosted on the LVSYS platform at the same time.
This means that if you plan on hosting multiple websites on the LVSYS platform, you will only get the discount once all sites are live. Likewise, volume discounts are voided when websites included in the volume discount group are no longer hosted on the LVSYS platform.
