Blog Posts with embed code issue and no response from Customer Support

[rje]

I've written Customer Support four times with these questions over the past couple months or so, and have yet to get even a reply.  I suspect that this lack of response actually does answer at least one question – that Weebly is indeed "depreciating” the blog function, (as I was told by Customer Support in an earlier exchange).  But I’d still like to get a response to all my inquiries after four attempts.  Here's the initial note from early December.  Thanks -- 

For the past several months, I’ve been exchanging emails with Tech Support about an estimated date for fixing a known bug whereby a scheduled-blog post (that has Embed Code in it) does not post properly.

At first I was told that the issue was known and being worked on.  Then I was told it was no longer a priority.  After that, I was told it was fixed (though it wasn’t).  And now – I’m told that they acknowledge the problem still exists, but there are no plans to *ever* resolve it.   But worse, the person said that “the blog function is being depreciated” – which sounds ominous.  While I have no idea what that precisely mean, it sounds like they have plans to get rid of the blog feature, which is weird since the blog would seem to be a major part of Weebly. (Hopefully she only meant that this specific blog feature is being depreciated – though I have no confidence in that.)

Further, when I asked for some sort of compensation for the website not working as it should, I was told that Weebly offers “no compensation for bugs” – which is bizarre, since “bugs” are pretty much the only reason a company would ever offer compensation for a problem.  Most companies tend not to give compensation when everything is going well.  Also, I’ve received compensation for bugs in the past.

Can you please clarify 1) that this HTML embedding issue is, in fact, not ever being fixed, 2) what “the blog function is being depreciated” actually means, and c) why it’s not possible to get any kind of compensation for there being this very many-months long problem.

Thank you.

RJE

[Bernadette3]

Thanks for reaching out, @rje

As far as I know, this bug is still active. Unfortunately, it is most likely not going to be fixed since the blog post can still be manually posted. Bugs are prioritized based on the number of affected users, which is probably why the rep suggested it would not be fixed any time soon. 

The blog option should still be available in your account, however, support for blog related pages will most likely end within a few years from now. 

I was taking a look at your account, and I noticed the SSL is not active for your website. I can't guarantee this will resolve the issue, but it's worth a shot considering your embedded content is most likely secure. Can you log into your domain manager, and update the A-records to your site assigned IP address: 199.34.228.75

Please let me know once you have done this, and I'll confirm the SSL is enabled on the backend. 

[rje]

Bernadette,

Thanks very much for getting back to me.  I have a few comments, but I'll hold off for the moment because I'm unable to figure out what you mean about updating the A-records.  I see the "Option-A" and "Option-B," but don't know what you're asking me to do to make a change.  And I don't want to screw anything up.

I'm also wondering how this could potentially fix the bug, since I clearly haven't ever had SSL enabled for nine years, and this issue only occurred about eight months ago?

Thank you.

Robert

[Bernadette3]

Hey Robert. It's honestly just a shot in the dark at this point, but I have noticed that people have reported that embedded code is not showing up on the website (not blog) and the issue is resolved once the SSL is enabled. This seems to only happen if the embedded code itself is using a secure url in the code. Again, not positive it will help, but I think it's worth trying. 🤞

Where is your domain name registered? 

[rje]

Berenadette,

Again, thanks for your note.  And explanation why maybe, possibly it's worth a try.

My domain is registered with GoDaddy.com.  Hopefully that helps in you knowing how to explain what I should do to update my settings.  Thanks.

Robert

[Bernadette3]

Perfect. Log into your Go Daddy account, then open the domain DNS manager. You should already see an A-record in place for 199.34.228.100. 

At the end of that line, you will see a little pencil icon to edit the record. Delete "100" and put "75" in its place. The new (full) records should be: 199.34.228.75

[rje]

Bernadette,

Thanks much.  I just did that.  

Should I also change the SSL setting to "Enabled" on my Weebly editor page under General / Settings / SSL?  Or leave that alone?

Robert

[Bernadette3]

Hey Robert. Yes, definitely enable to SSL if it turned off. 😊

[rje]

Bernadette,

Thanks very much.  I just did that -- and unfortunately, it didn't work.  I also shut down and reloaded my browser, and no change.  So, I'm out of luck.  The feature's broken, and it won't be fixed.  But I appreciate your help.  I'm just gallingly annoyed at Weebly that they've given up on supporting the blogs.  (I'll go into this more now in a following note.)  And I'll start looking at seeing if I can transfer my site elsewhere.  But thanks you for your time trying.

Robert

[Bernadette3]

You're welcome, Robert. Sorry to hear it didn't work out for you. 

[rje]

Bernadette,

Again, thanks for getting back to me.  And yes, I’m sorry too that this didn’t work out.  As I said in my previous note, I do have some comments about your initial reply last week.  Please know they are NOT directed at you.  I know you were very polite and just passing along the status of things as you understood them.  And did your best to be helpful here, which was much appreciated.  I will be just as polite, but pointed.

While it’s true as you noted that blog posts with embed code can still be posted – that’s really no reason for Weebly not to fix them.  That’s like having one’s car unable to go more than five miles an hour and say it’s working because you can still drive and get to your destination.  The blog feature is not working properly, period. 

Further, since embedding code in a blog post is – I am certain – a standard procedure on pretty much all websites these days, I am equally certain that bug doesn’t only affect me.  Or even just a few people.  Just because as many people may not be asking about it on the Weebly Community page doesn’t mean they aren’t affected by it.  Being unable to schedule a blog post with embed code in it means Weebly is not working properly for what is a basic feature.

What I think is far-more likely the reason this bug hasn’t been fixed by Weebly is what you noted later in your reply – that Weebly will be discontinuing support for blog pages.  In fact, it appears that they have already begun just that…considering that after eight months, they have no plans to fix this known bug and considering that tech support hasn’t replied to my past five inquires over two months.

Honestly, with this being the case, I will now more aggressively look into transferring my site to another service, since sticking with a company that will be ending support makes little sense.  Especially since there are known substantive bug issues on record that are not being fixed.  That’s a site-wide problem that cannot get better, and only become worse.

Unfortunately, because (as I understand it) Weebly uses proprietary coding, it is not as easy to port a Weebly site.  However it appears that the company cms2cms is able to move data from Weebly to Wordpress.  It’s not inexpensive, but that probably beats the option of sticking with a company that is pulling back on fixing its problems and offering support.

Again, I very much appreciate the time you’ve taking answering my inquiry, and as I said, none of this is directed at you.

Robert