Free help and paid help both exist. This page shows the order that gets most people to an answer fastest.
Contents
The ladder
| Step | Where | Gives you | Does not give you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The help in your administration (the "?"), with search | Pages written for your role, in your installation's version | Answers about your own custom code |
| 2 | The documentation and eZpedia | Reference, tutorials, community tricks | A conversation |
| 3 | The forums | Answers from people who had the same problem; a record others can find | A guaranteed answer or answer time |
| 4 | Telegram, Discord or Slack (Where people meet) | Quick back-and-forth | A record that stays findable |
| 5 | An issue on the right tracker (Filing a bug) | A fix for everyone, when it is a bug | Help with how to use a feature; a quick change to deliberate behavior other sites depend on (Negative features), which needs a clear justification and several rounds of review |
| 6 | Paid support from 7x or a partner | Someone who is responsible for an answer | Free work |
Free and paid support
"Free help depends on the time people give, so nobody promises an answer time. When you cannot wait, the project's support page recommends paid support from 7x, the company that maintains Exponential" (When something goes wrong). Both kinds are explained on Getting support.
Partners of the Exponential Partner Program also offer support; what they offer at each level is described on Support levels and response times. Customers who choose a provider can use Choosing a partner.
When it is urgent
| Situation | Do |
|---|---|
| The site is down | Follow When the site is down; call your host or partner |
| An error page shows a reference | Pass on the reference, time and address (When something goes wrong) |
| You suspect a security problem | [email protected], privately (SECURITY.md); "You can expect a first answer within one business day" |
| A person is being harassed in a community space | [email protected] (CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) |
Related pages
- Joining the community
- Asking a good question
- Getting support
- Customers: start here
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
Become an Exponential Partner. Partners share their information, provide funding, contribute back and develop the products with us, and that is how Exponential grows. A partner website and dashboard are planned for mid-2027: please become a partner today to speed up our growth rate and land new features faster. Start with Partners: start here and How to apply.