What to include when you contact support
Before you open a ticket
- Check status.webway.host. If your server has an incident listed, we know and are working on it.
- Search this help centre for your error message. Many problems have a fix you can apply in minutes.
How to open a ticket
- Log in to the client area at portal.webway.host.
- Go to Support → Open Ticket.
- Pick the related service or domain if asked.
- Write the ticket using the checklist below.
Open the ticket from the client area rather than emailing, where possible. It ties the ticket to your account and we can see your services straight away.
One problem per ticket. Two problems in one ticket get half an answer each.
Every ticket needs
| Include | Why |
|---|---|
| The domain name | We have many accounts. This finds yours instantly |
| Which control panel: cPanel or DirectAdmin | Steps differ. See Which control panel do I have: cPanel or DirectAdmin? |
| The exact error message, copied as text or a screenshot | "It doesn't work" can mean twenty things. The exact text usually means one |
| When it started, and when it last worked | Lets us check logs for the right time |
| What changed just before | Updates, uploads, a new password, DNS changes, a new device |
| Steps to make it happen again | Which page, which button, which email address |
| Whether it works from another connection, such as mobile data | Separates "the site is down" from "my connection is blocked" |
| Your public IP address, if anything won't load for you | Search "what is my IP" from the affected connection. Needed to check for a block |
Extra details by problem
Website down or showing an error
- The address you visited and the error code.
- The last 20 lines of the error log (cPanel: Metrics → Errors; DirectAdmin: your domain's error log).
- See My website is down: is it the server, DNS or my site? and What do 500, 403, 404 and 508 errors mean on my website? first.
- The email address affected.
- Whether webmail (
https://yourdomain/webmail) works. - Sending, receiving, or both. One device or all.
- The device and program: Outlook on Windows, iPhone Mail, Gmail app.
- The full bounce message, forwarded as an attachment, with one example: sender, recipient, date and time.
- See I can't send or receive email: what to check, step by step first.
Can't log in
- Which login: client area, control panel, webmail or FTP.
- The username you are using (not the password).
- Whether the login page loads at all, and whether it loads from mobile data.
- Your public IP address.
Domain or DNS
- The domain and where it's registered.
- What you changed, and when.
- What you expect to see and what you see instead.
Billing
- The invoice number.
- The payment method (card or PayFast), date and amount.
Requests for us to do something (restore, move, change)
- Exactly what to change, from what to what.
- Confirmation from the account holder if the request is destructive.
What never to send
- Passwords. We never need your client area or email password. If we ask you to change a password, do it in the control panel; don't put the new one in the ticket.
- Card numbers or banking details. Payments go through the client area.
If you have already sent a password in a ticket, change it now.
While the ticket is open
- Reply in the same ticket. A new ticket for the same problem goes to the back of the queue and splits the history.
- Add new information as you find it, even "it started working again at 14:00".
- If it's fixed, tell us. We can close it and move on to the next person.
Response times
You'll receive a response within 30 minutes. You can also email support@webway.host, which opens a ticket, but the client area is better because it links the ticket to your account.
Reporting abuse, phishing or spam
Forward phishing emails pretending to be from Webway, or spam from a Webway-hosted domain, to support@webway.host with the full headers.
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