SiteBuilder 3 Issues

[swopedesign]

I am a new owner (not proud yet) of SB 3 on a Linux server. But I am having many issues with just using the damn thing.

1) It has been installed, but is not integrated into Plesk. There are no instructions ANYWHERE to do this. Where can one find HOW to integrate this thing with Plesk? Should be a click of a button!

2) I can access the admin area, and I've read the administrator's guide several times, and tried to get one site, any site, up and running with SB3. Either I don't understand the users-host-sites link, or it doesn't work. How are these items connected? I can't create a site. I enter the URL and sitename. I get an error that the sitename is invalid. I've even tried using the Builder first. Same results. VERY FRUSTRATING! How the freak does one use this dang software!

3) Templates. I have downloaded all the templates available from the SWSoft web site for SB3. However, there isn't anywhere that they can be installed, and no instructions about how to do so. ??? What the freak!? It would be nice to have more than 6 templates to work with, when I'm finally able to create a site. Can't sell the service with just 6 templates!

So far, these are the only questions I need answered, and answers are no where to be found in the documentation. Any and all help is appreciated.

PS: I can't believe that in order to use the product, SWSoft also offers training...FOR A FEE! In order to use our software, because we've got crappy documentation, we'll charge you for support for our software (more than the software cost, mind you) after 30 days, and also charge you to enable you to use it so your purchase isn't wasted. What a business plan!

 

[swopedesign]

Considering a revew of SB3...

I am considering also writing a review of SiteBuilder 3. I've got plenty of data now to write a review, no matter how scathing. Shouldn't be hard to find a publisher for it. I write regular reviews for several web sites and epinion.com.

But I want to be fair. If you're running SB3 successfully, and have some customer sites that I can view, and some feedback of your own, that would be great.

 

[swopedesign]

How the heck are sites connected to users?

Forget the manual. They're next to useless. Can anyone provide any insight into how once a user is created and a site is created by the admin, how that site becomes owned by that user? So that user can login and do his/her thing with SiteBuilder?

 

[ZeroSixty]

I'm still trying to figure it all out myself, doesn't seem to be very logical. I made a post about how it should integrate with Plesk (http://forum.swsoft.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37825), I think that would be how most people would expect it to work!

Templates can't be installed via the admin panel, they need to be done via command line. I have server admins that installed it for me so I can't provide instructions.

 

[SibProgrammer]

1) Plesk have special module called SBM to connect Plesk with SiteBuilder.
2) Really there is a problem with "owning site" feature. One fix was made in 3.0.1 and another fix will be in upcoming 3.0.2. As for site creation, you can easily create site in admin panel in site list by clicking 'Add New Site' and then edit it my clicking 'pencil' button near site in list.
3) Depends of that you downloaded. For rpm-based systems: rpm -Uvh *.rpm; for Debian-based systems: dpkg -i *.deb; for FreeBSD: sh <name>.sh

 

[swopedesign]

Thanks for the response.

1) Where is the SBM module? How does one use it?
2) If I create a site as an admin, I cannot give anyone else ownership apparently. THAT IS THE PROBLEM. A huge problem at that. How is anyone supposed to use SB3?
3) What does the command do?

It would seem that support is performed elsewhere than the U.S. Posts and responses from tech support have been incomplete, similar to responses from people who have trouble communicating in English. Is tech support in India?

 

[SibProgrammer]

1) SBM module perform communication between SB and Plesk. Please, contact support or search at the site. Really, I use it sometimes.
2) This was fixed in upcoming 3.0.2 release. Field Owner in site properties became editable.
3) As your are not Unix-guy it's better to contant support for help.

P.S. Tech support located in different countries (but not in India)

 

[swopedesign]

3.2 Upgrade

How difficult will it be to have 3.2 installed by our server admins? When is 3.2 expected to be released?

 

[SpidermonBob]

I am having the same problem with SWsoft's installation

In late June I ordered PleskPlus, SiteBuilder, Plesk Professional Website Editor, and Installation.

After 6 months I have yet to see SiteBuilder actually work. As with all the documentation about the current Plesk products the documentation is terrible. However the documentation for SiteBuilder is virtually nonexistent. Anything I can find has no technical information to support it. I thought I was purchasing a product that was integrated into the control panel so that people like me who don't know Unix can maintain their environment.

I have been using Plesk since PSA 2.5 and have never had a problem even with the last 2 platform upgrades. My last upgrade on my old server was to 5.0.5 it ran flawlessly until recent SPAM downed Email services on almost a monthly basis. If I would have known what a nightmare it would be to get the new server with Debian to run Plesk 8. and SiteBuilder I would have had a different control panel installed, as my hosting company suggested.

I chose PleskPlus because my plans were to move up to HS Complete and additional servers Running Plesk and Virtuozzo so as to control a secure mixed Windows / Nix environment.

I am currently reconsidering my decision since the safety, security, and consistency I require seems questionable at best.

I am even questioning SWsoft's current business model since they don't seem to know their position in the channel since they seem to do things that circumvent their customers.

I need a control panel that can promote my branding and the professional image I wish to project. I don't need a control panel with cute little icons and links and messages to confuse my clients. I also provide Domain Registrations and in following links in the control panel I find SWsoft wants to sell their own certificates and domain registrations. I find this to be a direct conflict of interest.

Apparently someone or some people at SWsoft need to get their marketing and corporate act together. They are taking the company down a road I will not follow.

I only deal with corporate clients and I can not continue with a company who's management is intentionally shooting themselves in the foot.

I’m sorry if I sound upset, but having a server go down for 3 days because of an Email problem related to an upgrade that was probably rushed as an end of the year promotion or as a platform to spew product SPAM in inexcusable.

Anyone capable of logical thinking probably visited SWsoft.com and already knew about all the new products like Virtuozzo before they decided to do an upgrade. If SWsoft wants to market their products they should do it in their own environment, not in mine where my clients can see it and erroneously associate this sort of nonsense with me.

At this point I am reluctant to give my clients control panel access. And so the point of having a control panel is ???


I am sorry to get off topic but someone has to inform SWsoft that they have a marketing and identity problem...


Yes, SiteBuilder does not work with Plesk 8.1, as far as I am concerned. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it.

Until SiteBuilder works on my server as it has been projected it is not a real product, but just Vaporware.


for detailed information on my SiteBuilder problem please see my other threads.

 

[swopedesign]

SiteBuilder's success depends on skill of admin

First off, don't anyone use Tektonic.net for managed VPS hosting. Their support is horrific. I have had open support tickets for more than 3 weeks that have not had any response or closure, despite my updates to these tickets. Also, they could not install SiteBuilder 3, tie it to Plesk, or install templates. Very poor experience. AVOID TEKTONIC.NET AT ALL COSTS!

My new VPS provider is AmeriHosting.com and is much more professional and responsive, and they had SiteBuilder 3 installed and integrated with Plesk with all templates I provided to them in less than 3 days. Moreover, I was able to migrate sites from my Tektonic VPS almost flawlessly to their VPS.

So that which was once a horrific experience with SiteBuilder has turned out much better, due to the quality of my VPS provider. AmeriHosting.com are a SWSoft Platinum provider, so they're familiar with SWSoft's products, which explains why they were able to get along with SiteBuilder 3 so well.

However, that being said, nothing excuses SWSoft's lack of good, accurate documentation for SiteBuilder 3 installation, Plesk integration or template and module installation.

Or SWSoft's failure to respond to forums such as this one where they are getting excellent, frontline feedback about how to make their product much, much better and likely double their sales.

 

[SpidermonBob]

SiteBuilder's functioning depends on something?

To quote the above thread...

"SiteBuilder's success depends on skill of admin"

Well, I had PleskPlus & SiteBuilder installed concurrently by SWsoft. I would therefore have expected that both would work together. Perhaps I just expected too much???

Since I have never seen the software or even know where it is installed, I don't even have a readme.txt file to look at.

I am also having problems with other software installed through ApplicationVault, and I am anticipating it has to do with some of the settings within PHP such as register_globals being set to off, or other settings never properly configured.

Perhaps my problem isn't directly related to SiteBuilder, but to the fact that Plesk and SiteBuilder were never setup correctly by SWsoft.

This nonsense of it taking six months to put a new server on line is killing me.


...Anyone have any solutions or suggestions?

 

[swopedesign]

What are your host details?

What are your host details and hosting situation? Perhaps there is a better hosting solution than your current situation?