Okay, We are undergoing a major change soon with a new website design. Support forum integration etc.

I just wanted to know what other webhosts have installed as a place for clients to receive/obtain support. No need for anyone to mention a helpdesk because that's standard.

We currently have:

Support Forum - Not used much at all by other clients. I have no idea on how to get this active. With more of a community feel.

Community wiki - Once again nobody adds articles to this so it's lifeless. I am hoping that when the site is revived things will change.

Blog - Soon to be removed

Is it worth having a wiki if you don't have clients adding articles to it? We already have a knowledgebase :confused:

Would like to find out what works and what's used at other hosts. I would like to know those hosts that run a wiki and whether it works well for them.

Cheers,
Matt

We've had great success with Live Chat support.

For what I know , a live chat is the best way because its fast, efficient and live. But if you are going to offer 24x7 support, it decreases the credibility when someone enter your home page and see a: "Chat offline" button.

I think that live chat is only good for sales. Support issues generally require some time and should be documented either way.

We have live chat but have had occasions where this his been abused by clients (even by other webhosts).

Our site is going to be completely redone over the next few weeks and it's looking great so far. I can't wait to release it.

Do any of you have experience with wiki's and forums? I would like to know your opinion on these. Lack of participation is a major factor with our forums.

I've dealt with forums for quite some time, as well as being one of 3 main admin on a medium sized forum with 70K members, I also ran a couple (don't have time for those one's now) of my own.

One key thing to get participation started is for the staff to start it. Post news, start polls, interesting threads, things like that.

People usually won't just start posting for no reason...if you want a community feel...you've got to help get the ball rolling.

Tell all your customers about it...but a link in your emails that tells them to come join the community...

One thing that may work well (saw it at another host, and we plan to implement it at our site when it's finished) is offering some sort of prize for posting...we are going to give free hosting or cash out monthly to a random member that posts in that month, and maybe some other sorts of contests...nothing gets a community going better than a contest...it gives them something to talk about...

that is the key...give them something to talk about, and once they get the ball going with that...it should just get bigger and bigger...but you still have to keep up with it...make sure the staff stay involved in the forum as much as the members do.

Gimme a PM if you have any specific questions about forums...i'd be glad to help in any way I can.

I have run forums and still do run some. However these type of forums are much different. I suppose it depends on the aim of the forum you have in mind.

Gimme a PM if you have any specific questions about forums...i'd be glad to help in any way I can.

Thanks for the help ;)

We seem to have the sign-up pay every month and hide behind cPanel type of clients :)

We will be removing our blog for certain soon as this serves no purpose. I am trying to find ways to get people to participate/add stuff to the forum and the wiki.

Thanks for the help. I will try running some contests etc in the future. Maybe with some free disk space/bandwidth thrown into the mix.

Thank you

Community wiki - Once again nobody adds articles to this so it's lifeless. I am hoping that when the site is revived things will change.


Matt, what's meant by community wiki? Is this sort of FAQ?

Sort of. Registered users can add/modify articles.Mediawiki (http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki) is the most popular wiki software. It was originally written for wikipedia.

I will try running some contests etc in the future. Maybe with some free disk space/bandwidth thrown into the mix.

Those things can work well to increase activity, but not create it from nothing. Like others said, you need to get the ball rolling by posting content for them to discuss, otherwise they have no reason for posting in a forum.

The problem with forums or a community driven wiki is that the only time it'll be posted to is when someone has problems. Heck, that's the only 90% of your customer base will visit that or even your site.

I'd say, have forums for those that want that channel, but go with a wiki for documentation and forget the knowledgebase or go with a knowledgebase and not a wiki. Having multiple documentation areas will just confuse and be harder to maintain in the long run. However, in any case, you should have documentation as some customers like to do things on their own without having to run to support each time.

We've had great success with Live Chat support.
I agree, lots of customer prefer to use live chat then have to write out an email explaining the problem and then having to wait for a response.

We use Bold Chat, its free, has multiple operators, and its easy to integrate into the site.

Yes, live support makes the difference. There some paid and free solutions. You can use Interaction (www.interactionchat.com), it's free, and your customers will be happy :)

Support Forum - Not used much at all by other clients. I have no idea on how to get this active. With more of a community feel.


Make sure that you link to your forum from the home page of your website and include a link to it in the account access information e-mails you send your new clients. You could also offer incentives for posting to get activity jump started.