HOSTING CUSTOMER HELP
Web Hosting Support Links and Help Topics
Control panel, webmail, billing and support in one place for Vertical Web hosting customers. Need a person? Call our in-house US support team at 713-703-3030.
Galleria 713-703-3030 | Kingwood 281-852-8253
ACCESS LINKS
Log in to your hosting account
These links take you straight to the right login for your service. If you are not sure which server your account is on, enter your domain on the login screen and it will route you. For anything else, open a support ticket and our team will take it from there.
Billing questions, invoices and payment plans are handled by our billing department, and domain logins live on the domain management page.
SELF HELP
Where can I find answers to common hosting questions?
Our web hosting knowledge base covers the questions we answer most: setting up email on a phone or Outlook, DNS and name server changes, control panel tasks, MySQL databases, browser problems, ecommerce settings, billing and domain topics.
For domain problems specifically, start with our guide on how to update domain contact info, get an EPP code and unlock a domain. If a domain has expired, read the domain redemption process right away, because the cost rises after day 40.
New to hosting terms? Our web hosting definitions page explains DNS, caching, bandwidth and the rest in plain English.
FASTER FIXES
What should you include in a support ticket?
The fastest tickets are the ones we can act on without a second email. Before you send yours, gather these details.
The domain and the service. Tell us which domain, and whether the problem is the website, email, DNS or billing.
What you were doing. The page you were on, the app you were using or the change you just made. Problems that start right after an update or a new plugin are common, and knowing that saves time.
What you expected and what happened. Copy any error message word for word, or send a screenshot.
Who is affected. One person, the whole office or every visitor. One person usually means a device setting. Everyone usually means the server or DNS.
How urgent it is. A typo can wait a day. A checkout that will not take orders cannot. If your site or email is down, open the ticket and call us too.
THE CASE FOR VERTICAL WEB ON HOSTING SUPPORT
Support from the people who built the servers
QUICK CHECKS
Is your website or email down? Try this first
Check from another device. Load the site on your phone with Wi-Fi turned off. If it works there, the problem is your office network or browser, not the server.
Clear the cache. Browsers hold on to old copies of pages. A private browsing window shows the current version.
Think about recent changes. A new plugin, a theme update, a DNS change or a domain renewal in the last 48 hours is the usual suspect. DNS changes can take up to a day to spread.
Check the password. Email that suddenly asks for a password often means the password was changed on one device but not the others.
Check the renewal. An expired card on file can suspend a hosting plan or let a domain lapse. If you see a parked page where your site should be, the domain may have expired.
If none of that helps, open a ticket or call. We would rather hear from you early than find out after a day of lost email.
POLICIES
Hosting terms and account policies
Our terms of service cover payment, acceptable use and account suspension. If you are thinking about a plan change, compare options on our web hosting plans page, or see every service on web hosting and domains.
What we help with
What does web hosting technical support cover?
Web hosting technical support covers the service that keeps your website and email running: the server, the control panel, DNS, email accounts, databases, file access and billing. When something on that list breaks, our support team fixes it or tells you exactly what to change.
Because our support staff sit with the same in-house team that builds and manages websites, we can help with more than most hosting providers. If a WordPress plugin update breaks a page, a theme stops loading or a form stops sending email, we can look at the site itself, not just the server. Customers who also use our web design or SEO services get help from people who already know their site.
Some things sit outside hosting support, such as building new pages or redesigning a site. When that happens, we tell you up front and point you to the right person. Your plan details are on our web hosting page, and WordPress customers can see what is included with WordPress hosting.
Common fixes
WordPress, SSL and FTP: the technical support questions we answer most
WordPress problems. Most WordPress issues start right after an update. If your site shows an error or a blank page after updating a plugin or theme, tell us which one and when. We can roll it back, find the conflict and get the site working again. Keep your plugins few and current, and delete the ones you do not use, because inactive plugins are a common security risk.
SSL certificate warnings. If visitors see a “not secure” warning, the SSL certificate may have expired, may not cover the version of the domain they typed, or a page may be loading an image or script over plain http. Send us the exact address that shows the warning, and we can check the certificate and the page.
FTP and file access. If you or your developer need to upload files, we can confirm your FTP or SFTP login details and the right folder. Use the secure option when you can, and never share your main account password with a contractor. Ask us to set up a separate login instead.
Speed and performance. If your site has slowed down, tell us when it started and which pages are slow. We can check server resources, caching and large files, and tell you whether the fix is on the server or in the site.
Moving to us
Website transfer and migration help for new hosting customers
Moving a website from another hosting provider can feel risky. It does not have to be. With our hosting plans, domain transfers are free, and we help move your files and migrate your databases at no extra charge.
A clean migration follows a few steps. We copy your files and database to the new server and test the site there before anything changes. Then we update DNS so visitors and email start arriving at the new server. We keep an eye on the switch while DNS spreads, which can take up to a day. Your email accounts are set up before the move so no messages get lost.
Before you start, gather your current hosting login, your domain registrar login and a list of your email accounts. If you are not sure where your domain is registered, our domain management page explains how to find out. Then open a support ticket or call 713-703-3030, and our team will plan the move with you.
QUESTIONS
Hosting support questions we hear
Use the Get My Control Panel link on this page. Enter your domain to reach the right server, then sign in with the control panel username and password from your welcome email. If you lost them, open a support ticket and we will verify your account and reset access.
Use the Get My WebMail link on this page, enter your domain and sign in with your full email address and password. You can also set up the account on your phone with IMAP so mail stays in sync everywhere.
Use the tech support request form. Include the domain, what you were doing, what you expected and what happened instead, plus any error message. A screenshot helps. For a site or email outage, call us as well.
Our domain department is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central. Servers are monitored around the clock. For an outage, call 713-703-3030 or 281-852-8253.
Use the Billing Updates link on this page, or contact our billing department. Keeping a current card on file is the easiest way to prevent a hosting or domain lapse.
Usually it is caching, either in your browser or on the server. Try a private browsing window or a different device first. If a DNS change was made in the last day, it may still be spreading across the internet. If the old version persists, open a ticket.
Open a support ticket with your domain, what happened and any error message, or call 713-703-3030. If your site or email is down, do both.
It is help with the service that runs your website and email: the server, control panel, DNS, email accounts, databases and billing. Our in-house team can also help with WordPress problems on the sites we host.
Yes. Domain transfers are free with our hosting plans, and we help move your files and databases and test the site before DNS changes.
Need a person, not a page?
Call 713-703-3030 or 281-852-8253, or open a support ticket. Our in-house team will help you get your website, email or domain working again.
Galleria 713-703-3030 | Kingwood 281-852-8253 | info@verticalweb.com