(Newswire.net — March 10, 2021) — With website content management systems fueling millions of online domains, it’s no wonder why more people than ever are finding themselves interested in Sitecore.
Sitecore, for the uninitiated, is an up-and-coming content management system that enables marketers and admins to do simple and effective website work, manage media, and more. Despite Sitecore’s relative simplicity, there may be the occasional snag you’ll find while using the software.
When this happens, you’ll be forced to log a Sitecore support ticket to get the assistance you need. Do you feel confident about how to go about that process? If you don’t, our team has you covered!
Keep reading to take in the simple and effective steps you can embark on now to get product support for your Sitecore instance.
Ensure You Qualify for Support
Sitecore doesn’t offer product support to everyone. It focuses its services on developer accounts and paid licenses to ensure that those that are supporting the product technicality and financially can do their best work.
For that reason, if you’re looking for support to attain information on Sitecore before becoming a customer/user, do not look for information via the workflow we’re going to lay out below. You’ll want to contact a sales representative. Sitecore support regarding design assistance is also not best sourced through the technical ticket workflow we’ll be describing.
If you are a licensed user and/or have a developer account, and have technical questions, proceed.
Head to the Support Site
There is a dedicated support site Sitecore manages where users can log support tickets. As of writing, that site is support.sitecore.net.
The screen you’ll see when you head to that link is less than helpful but you can find additional information on how to attain more options via this guide. After working your way through logging in and finding the “support cases” option, you can proceed to the next step.
You may want to review Sitecore’s FAQ prior to logging a support ticket. There may be self-help resources there that can help you arrive at your solution faster.
Fill Out the Prompts
The Sitecore support ticket looks like most support tickets. It asks for basic information about your account, Sitecore build, and so forth. It then prompts you for a description of the issues you’re working through.
Two fields you’ll be asked to fill out that may confuse you are the areas where you’re asked for your license ID and information on your Sitecore config.
When looking for your license ID, head over the license.xml file you have in your local Sitecore build’s directory. There, you should be able to find a line that says “signedlicense” followed by an ID number. Copy that over to your ticket.
To get your Sitecore config information, use the tool that Sitecore offers at this link.
Remember, if you don’t fill out your Sitecore license or config information correctly, you may lose days back and forth while Sitecore associates prod you for what they need to get started on your case.
Overcommunicate Your Problem
When you’re running into a technical issue with your CMS, there could be any one of millions of issues affecting your instance. This makes it very hard for Sitecore support to quickly diagnose and fix your issues.
The best way to support them in their quest to get you on your way is to be as clear and detailed as possible when describing your case to them. In pursuit of that, first, start by writing a detailed issue description.
Sitecore’s support ticket function has a liberal character limit when it comes to describing your issues. Use that real estate to paint a clear picture for the person that’s going to be managing your case.
In addition to being descriptive, share files. Sitecore’s support ticket window allows you to share images and other elements in support of describing your issue to agents. Any ancillary materials you think may help move your case along is worth including.
Yes, it takes time to be descriptive when filing support tickets. Believe us when we say though that the time you’ll save by doing so is a worthy investment.
Sitecore Has Office Hours
While not particularly descriptive in what support hours are, users definitely see slow-downs on the weekends when getting Sitecore help. This is particularly true for “standard” users.
Premium Sitecore users are promised 24×7 support. Granted, response times due to weekend staffing are still liable to drop on Saturdays and Sundays.
If you’re using Sitecore’s standard support product, expect a response in 1 to 3 business days. Sitecore premium might take a day to get a response on a weekend and a couple of hours during the week.
Keep an Eye on Your Ticket or It May Close
As you work through your Sitecore support ticket, be prompt in responding to your agent’s responses. Not only will that lead you to resolution faster but it’ll also help you prevent falling victim to preemptive ticket closures.
A closed ticket means needing to start over from scratch with a new agent.
The Sitecore Support Ticket Process Works Well
There are very few perfect support workflows out there. As far as baseline standards are concerned, we’re overall impressed by Sitecore and its ability to quickly help customers through their issues.
Granted, your Sitecore support ticket experience will vary based on how well you describe your problems and when during the week you’re looking for solutions. On the whole, we’re confident you’ll be able to arrive at a resolution in a reasonable time-frame.
Curious to learn more about Sitecore support and other tech topics? If so, dive into more of the newest content available on our blog.