How to report a problem to your web developer

When something goes wrong with your website, you want it fixed as soon as possible. The first instinct is to fire off an email saying “My website isn’t working. Can you fix it?”

Unfortunately, this isn’t enough information. As the first step to getting it fixed, your developer needs to replicate the error so they can see what is going on. Making him hunt for it takes time and can cost you more.

When reporting a problem, make sure your provide the details your developer needs to locate the problem. It is better to send over too much information, than not enough.

Include a description of exactly what is happening or not happening and the page it occurred on. When did it start happening? Did you try to fix it? If so, what did you try? This will help diagnose the problem and speed up the repair process.

For the quickest results, answer these questions:

• What page were you on when the error occurred?
  Copy & paste the website address (URL) from your browser address bar.
• What you were trying to do?
  e.g. just load page, submit a form, click button or link etc.
• What did you do?
  Describe the steps someone needs to take to in order to replicate the error.
• What did you expect to happen?
• What actually did happen?
• Was there an error message?
  If so, copy and paste it into your message.
• Does it happen on other pages?
  If so, indicate which pages.
• When did you first notice problem?
  Did it start today? Been going on a long time? After you did something? After an update or edit?
• What platform you using?
  Windows 10 desktop, Mac OS 12, iPhone, Android, laptop etc.
  Some errors only show in specific browsers.
• What browser are you using?
  Include browser name and its version number

It can be helpful to include a screenshot to share what you are seeing on your screen.