Alternatives to Elevated X

[dgraves]

Any suggestions for some good alternatives to Elevated X?

I like certain features of the software but too buggy for $300/month and the support just isn't there. They will only support designs that are using their templates so you're on your own if using anything custom.

I either need to find someone who knows that software inside and out or find an alternative that works better.

[StinkyPink]

It's not really that difficult and it isn't that expensive anymore, though still a few alternatives about. I would go gather some urls via google or bing, or even the search here, but so could you.

[AmeliaG]

Go custom

[VladS]

Originally Posted by AmeliaG

Go custom

vlad /at/ faxite /dot/ com if custom is required

[dgraves]

Originally Posted by AmeliaG

Go custom

The issue I had in the past with custom scripts is most designers are flakes and disappear. Then when you find a new guy he tells you that the script is shit code and it would be cheaper/easier to start from scratch. Been down that road several times already.

I thought Elevated X would be a different experience, it's turning out to be just a more expensive experience.

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by AmeliaG

Go custom

Depending on the size and scope of the cms.... I would not recommend it.

Unless you have a lot of time, patience, and money.

[myleene]

Maybe MechBunny with custom modifications to make it a paysite?

Both a free tour and a "user restricted" area. Some seems to use it that way and like the experience.

https://gfy.com/showthread.php?t=1115427&highlight=mechbunny+paysi te

[2MuchMark]

Do this : Contact AJ at elevated X and let him know the issues you had with it. Maybe he might offer a free month or something like that but regardless I know he'll make it right for you.

[EddyTheDog]

With a few well chosen plug-ins you would be amazed at what WP can do - There is a bit of snobbery because it's free, however there are some massive sites that use it - Way bigger than most porn pay sites can ever hope to be...

Also, if you can't find a plugin that does what you want you can pay a few hundred bucks and someone will make it for you - Support is unlimited and free - Take a look at least.....

[plsureking]

Custom is insanity when you need to be spending your time and money on marketing, not site building. There are so many site owners with sites that are "good enough" making tons more money than site owners focused heavily on perfecting their site. Consumers just don't care that much. They want an easy and fast process for consuming your content. Everything else is window dressing.

Your sales are almost completely dependent on how many visitors you can get into your site per day. Don't waste your time and money on anything else.

That being said, www.porncms.com starts at $29 a month and includes hosting and the video converter (elevatedX charges an extra $50 a month for video conversion and you have to pay for hosting).

;)

[dgraves]

Originally Posted by **********

Do this : Contact AJ at elevated X and let him know the issues you had with it. Maybe he might offer a free month or something like that but regardless I know he'll make it right for you.

We came up with a solution that might help. We're going to create an exact "test" copy of each site using their templates as a troubleshooting tool.

They don't provide phone support and their ticket system is a pain in the ass. You can't just create a profile and submit the issue, you have to fill in a bunch of standard info each and every time like you're a new customer which seems ironic for a software company.

[dgraves]

Originally Posted by EddyTheDog

With a few well chosen plug-ins you would be amazed at what WP can do - There is a bit of snobbery because it's free, however there are some massive sites that use it - Way bigger than most porn pay sites can ever hope to be...

Also, if you can't find a plugin that does what you want you can pay a few hundred bucks and someone will make it for you - Support is unlimited and free - Take a look at least.....

I used WP for years and love it but I needed something a little more robust for growth. I still use it for a few paysites but I was eventually going to switch them over to EX so I can maintain them from one admin.

[dgraves]

Originally Posted by plsureking

Custom is insanity when you need to be spending your time and money on marketing, not site building. There are so many site owners with sites that are "good enough" making tons more money than site owners focused heavily on perfecting their site. Consumers just don't care that much. They want an easy and fast process for consuming your content. Everything else is window dressing.

Your sales are almost completely dependent on how many visitors you can get into your site per day. Don't waste your time and money on anything else.

That being said, www.porncms.com starts at $29 a month and includes hosting and the video converter (elevatedX charges an extra $50 a month for video conversion and you have to pay for hosting).

;)

I'll check that out. I'm currently paying $300/month for EX which is a lot of money considering you can't get phone support.

[LucyVanAngel]

Just use wordpress

[2MuchMark]

Originally Posted by dgraves

We came up with a solution that might help. We're going to create an exact "test" copy of each site using their templates as a troubleshooting tool.

They don't provide phone support and their ticket system is a pain in the ass. You can't just create a profile and submit the issue, you have to fill in a bunch of standard info each and every time like you're a new customer which seems ironic for a software company.

I kinda sorta agree with you there. Ticket systems are used for tracking purposes of course and might also be used in case of conflict or disagreement. We try to get our own customers to use our internal forum for support issues but they always call, or email, or Skype, because of course everyone wants an answer "now" and like me, hates waiting. Oh well. Elevated X is still a good product. And I think they announced a new cheaper version too. Maybe give them another shot.

[AJHall]

I don't recall many times in 8 years where of the hundreds of Elevated X users we've provided services for, someone has said the software is buggy.

I take complaints like this extremely seriously and just spent some time looking into your account.

1) Your last ticket was April 11th. Submitted at 10:50am, received a reply at 11:19. The one prior to that shows posts from you replied to within 15 minutes, another you sent at 10:20pm (when we were closed) that was responded to at 5:30am (also when we were closed). Jan 16th, 1:24pm, received a reply at 1:34pm, replied again at 1:50pm and received a reply from my staff at 2:10pm. On Oct 1st I see one where over a dozen ticket exchanges, the longest you waited was 4 minutes for a reply from my staff. The only times you waited for a reply were for tickets you submitted late at night, which were replied to the next morning.

Overall, the level of support response you've gotten looks pretty good to me.

2) We require FTP and member logins each time for faster service. It may be inconvenient but the 30 seconds to provide it avoids your ticket going back into the support queue because my staff was unable to login and needed to email you back to ask you for a working login.

4) We don't offer phone support options but if you're having specific issues, need help getting past a learning curve or want suggestions on how to get things done you can ALWAYS request a phone call. This goes for ALL Elevated X customers, not just those who complain

5) I searched my personal email and couldn't find any messages from you.

My door is always open. Please email me at [email protected] and we can setup a time for a phone call.

Please reach out to me directly over the weekend or first thing Monday so I can figure out how best to get you the help you need and let's get this frustration put behind you ASAP!

AJ

[AJHall]

Originally Posted by **********

I kinda sorta agree with you there. Ticket systems are used for tracking purposes of course and might also be used in case of conflict or disagreement. We try to get our own customers to use our internal forum for support issues but they always call, or email, or Skype, because of course everyone wants an answer "now" and like me, hates waiting. Oh well. Elevated X is still a good product. And I think they announced a new cheaper version too. Maybe give them another shot.

BTW - I do appreciate the mention of our new cheaper starter CMS we just announced at $89/month as a stand-alone CMS or $99 including hosting, however I do not believe that's the issue here or what the OP needs or what will resolve his issues.

Hopefully Dave will choose to reach out directly to me instead of keep up with the forum posting and allow me to try to help him.

AJ

[EddyTheDog]

Originally Posted by AJHall

I don't recall many times in 8 years where of the hundreds of Elevated X users we've provided services for, someone has said the software is buggy.

I take complaints like this extremely seriously and just spent some time looking into your account.

1) Your last ticket was April 11th. Submitted at 10:50am, received a reply at 11:19. The one prior to that shows posts from you replied to within 15 minutes, another you sent at 10:20pm (when we were closed) that was responded to at 5:30am (also when we were closed). Jan 16th, 1:24pm, received a reply at 1:34pm, replied again at 1:50pm and received a reply from my staff at 2:10pm. On Oct 1st I see one where over a dozen ticket exchanges, the longest you waited was 4 minutes for a reply from my staff. The only times you waited for a reply were for tickets you submitted late at night, which were replied to the next morning.

Overall, the level of support response you've gotten looks pretty good to me.


AJ

From the OP it sounds like his problem was about overall support for installs not on your templates - Not about the speed of responses...

[xXXtesy10]

Originally Posted by EddyTheDog

From the OP it sounds like his problem was about overall support for installs not on your templates - Not about the speed of responses...

Actually OP does nothing but cry and bitch about everything. Reminds me of a fucking 5 year old kid

[AJHall]

Originally Posted by EddyTheDog

From the OP it sounds like his problem was about overall support for installs not on your templates - Not about the speed of responses...

I'm aware of what the OP's issue is, however, he chose to make 2 references to support and how the software works...2 different issues. Dave has been with us over a year now and is not a new customer.

If he would like to discuss the problems he's having with me personally as the owner of the company I'll be more than happy to do my best to provide solutions.

AJ

[srockhard]

Originally Posted by AJHall

I'm aware of what the OP's issue is, however, he chose to make 2 references to support and how the software works...2 different issues. Dave has been with us over a year now and is not a new customer.

If he would like to discuss the problems he's having with me personally as the owner of the company I'll be more than happy to do my best to provide solutions.

AJ

@AJ,
Your responses here in this thread have sold me. I've read many threads and reviews here and elsewhere about many different CMS and never read anywhere of people having "buggy" issues with EX. I have been researching and playing with EX demos for awhile and I can't wait to get started as a user. Look for me to be your newest custom in the middle of May!

[dgraves]

I pay someone a monthly fee to handle the technical issues so he takes care of the EX tickets and I'm pretty sure he deals with AJ directly on some issues.

When I said "buggy" I mean features stop working without anything being changed. I have to hear about it from Members and when I inquire about it no one has any clue what's causing the problem.

I can deal with the technical problems because that's part of operating any site. The thorn in my side is when we finally resolve the problem and a week later the same thing happens and once again no one knows why.

Mojo says everything looks good with the servers and to contact EX for support. EX says they don't support custom templates. So now I'm forced to create duplicates of my sites using their templates just to troubleshoot.

When EX is working it works well but I don't have the patience to deal with the exact same issues over and over again. It's frustrating for my Members as well. I was using WP for years and it worked well so they are always asking me to switch back. I wanted to use the EX video transcoder and manage my sites from one location so EX seemed like the best option.

[dgraves]

Originally Posted by AJHall

BTW - I do appreciate the mention of our new cheaper starter CMS we just announced at $89/month as a stand-alone CMS or $99 including hosting, however I do not believe that's the issue here or what the OP needs or what will resolve his issues.

Hopefully Dave will choose to reach out directly to me instead of keep up with the forum posting and allow me to try to help him.

AJ

Email sent, thanks.

[AJHall]

Originally Posted by srockhard

@AJ,
Your responses here in this thread have sold me. I've read many threads and reviews here and elsewhere about many different CMS and never read anywhere of people having "buggy" issues with EX. I have been researching and playing with EX demos for awhile and I can't wait to get started as a user. Look for me to be your newest custom in the middle of May!

Thanks! Looking forward to working with you and having you on board with us! Reach out if you have any questions pre-startup.

Originally Posted by dgraves

I pay someone a monthly fee to handle the technical issues so he takes care of the EX tickets and I'm pretty sure he deals with AJ directly on some issues.

When I said "buggy" I mean features stop working without anything being changed. I have to hear about it from Members and when I inquire about it no one has any clue what's causing the problem.

I can deal with the technical problems because that's part of operating any site. The thorn in my side is when we finally resolve the problem and a week later the same thing happens and once again no one knows why.

Mojo says everything looks good with the servers and to contact EX for support. EX says they don't support custom templates. So now I'm forced to create duplicates of my sites using their templates just to troubleshoot.

When EX is working it works well but I don't have the patience to deal with the exact same issues over and over again. It's frustrating for my Members as well. I was using WP for years and it worked well so they are always asking me to switch back. I wanted to use the EX video transcoder and manage my sites from one location so EX seemed like the best option.

Things don't just "stop working" - the software doesn't have the capability of making things like that happen, removing things or reverting. Could be any number of things be it server side, or template related. We'll start by ruling things out 1 by 1 after we talk.

Originally Posted by dgraves

Email sent, thanks.

Replied to your email. Let's jump on the phone Monday and We'll get the problems sorted out and fixed once and for all.

Hang in there and try not to stress on it anymore in the meantime and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

AJ

[deltav]

Gotta say, for the CMS owner to respond to a random forum thread same-day and keep up a thoughtful detailed dialogue about the issues, doesn't bear out "the support just isn't there". It's fairly impressive actually. Hope the OP gets his tech issues resolved!

[dgraves]

Originally Posted by AJHall

Replied to your email. Let's jump on the phone Monday and We'll get the problems sorted out and fixed once and for all.

AJ

I appreciate that and I'm looking forward to finally getting theses issues resolved. I'm not saying the problems aren't server side or custom template related but the guy who isn't at the meeting always gets blamed. I'm sure it can be resolved quickly with you, my Tech and Mojo on the phone.

[Zuzana Designs]

We work with ElevatedX daily and from a developer’s perspective, I can say the support they offer my company and my clients is outstanding. AJ is available all the time if I have any questions about anything.

[dgraves]

Originally Posted by Zuzana Designs

We work with ElevatedX daily and from a developer?s perspective, I can say the support they offer my company and my clients is outstanding. AJ is available all the time if I have any questions about anything.

This is part of the problem. I pay people to take care of this stuff and things aren't getting done. I tried getting his number several times but the people I was working with wanted to take care of things because that's what I'm paying them to do. I'm being told that EX doesn't support custom templates. If that's not the case then I stand corrected and I apologize to AJ and his team.

AJ pays people to take care of issues like this for him and I pay people to take care of issues like this for me. I'm sure he has better things to do. It's extremely frustrating when things have to escalate to this before something gets done.

[srockhard]

Originally Posted by dgraves

AJ pays people to take care of issues like this for him

Unless someone on GFY says his award winning product is "too buggy" ...in that case he offers up his direct email and wants to setup a phone call. From this thread alone I feel like EX knows how to handle customer service.

[plsureking]

Originally Posted by dgraves

I'll check that out. I'm currently paying $300/month for EX which is a lot of money considering you can't get phone support.

in all honesty, i'm pretty sure AJ spends a lot more time on the phone than i do. i only use the phone for major projects.

we do, however, use email and skype a lot more than our ticket system. i actually push site owners and clients to contact me directly rather than adding a ticket so i can get an answer out faster. the ticket system is full of junk mail and non-client inquiries. while i love new sales, non-client requests are secondary to providing client support.

as far as templating, PornCMS has a php-based template system that is ridiculously easy to use (if you know php). we do a lot of small tweaks for free and we have a flat rate $600 template installation service that installs your tour & member's templates from HTML/CSS files or imported from a live site. i did 2 of those myself last week. very easy.

i saw several free trial requests come in over the last few hours. if you requested a trial, we'll do installs on Monday morning (GMT) when i have techs on the job. or i might do it myself if the wife and kids decide to get out of here on Sunday lol

[AJHall]

Originally Posted by dgraves

This is part of the problem. I pay people to take care of this stuff and things aren't getting done. I tried getting his number several times but the people I was working with wanted to take care of things because that's what I'm paying them to do. I'm being told that EX doesn't support custom templates. If that's not the case then I stand corrected and I apologize to AJ and his team.

AJ pays people to take care of issues like this for him and I pay people to take care of issues like this for me. I'm sure he has better things to do. It's extremely frustrating when things have to escalate to this before something gets done.

Things NEVER have to escalate - EVER.

Usually what happens in these cases is that a customer waits to contact me directly until they've been back and forth with my techs, their host, their designers/developers, is pissed off, not even be sure who to be mad at and is ready to raise hell. Had I been contacted weeks or months prior, it's likely that the problem never would have become a big deal in the first place. I always wish people would contact me sooner and I always regret not having the chance to help them before they're so frustrated.

FYI - My direct 800 line has been at the top of our web site and in every email sig including all outgoing invoices for several years. All you had to do to "get my number" was go to www.elevatedx.com and look at the header. A GFY search for Elevated X will also return lots of threads with the number listed. Certainly not something that's been kept a secret.

I removed the # from the site/emails 2 weeks ago when we announced the $89 basic CMS offer due to the impossibility of me handling the volume of inquiry calls for that myself.

Email is good too. When someone asks to schedule a call I usually reply the same day and offer up a list of times I'm free for a call. This goes for ANY Elevated X customer.

My direct line is 800-690-9277 ext 1 - If I don't pick up, leave me a voicemail.

AJ

[AJHall]

Ryan, with all due respect, your posts here are completely tasteless and entirely out of line. This thread is simply not the place for it. It's bad business.

This isn't going to become a PornCMS spam thread. David is a long time Elevated X customer with some real issues that need to be addressed. He posted here in frustration about something that may not even be an Elevated X product related issue. I'm asking you nicely to please show some respect and behave with dignity here. It's the right thing to do.

AJ

[plsureking]

Originally Posted by AJHall

Ryan, with all due respect, your posts here are completely tasteless and entirely out of line. This thread is simply not the place for it. It's bad business.

This isn't going to become a PornCMS spam thread. David is a long time Elevated X customer with some real issues that need to be addressed. He posted here in frustration about something that may not even be an Elevated X product related issue. I'm asking you nicely to please show some respect and behave with dignity here. It's the right thing to do.

AJ

look at the title. my posts were on topic. i simply posted info about an alternative to your product, as the OP requested.

i'm sorry you are struggling to keep your clients and upset that there are lower cost, easier to use alternatives.

don't hate the player, hate the game.

[2MuchMark]

plsureking: Take it from someone who learned the hard way. Don't spam your stuff in a thread where a competitors trying to save a client. It's not cool and It kind of seems desperate.

Believe it or not, it actually helps to praise or at least acknowledge a competitor's good product or service once in a while. We even refer some customers to competitors if we determine our product's not best for them and guess what, we get referrals back. Give AJ a hand and he might do the same for you one day.

Peace.

[oppoten]

Exalted B.
Inflated J.
Animated L.
Elated K.
Exhilerated P.
High T.

I could go on, but thankfully I won't. Enjoy your biz thread

[VladS]

Originally Posted by plsureking

[...]

Really not nice what you're doing here, looks bad on you.

[oppoten]

which letter would be best for elongated?

I'm thinking S cos you could pull it at either end...

[oppoten]

Grandiloquent has to be Q, surely...

[oppoten]

And ч for big-time, obviously.

Hope you get your issue fixed

[AJHall]

Ryan,
Your first post was on topic. Your last was not. It came after an obvious exchange where issues were being addressed - Issues that may not even be Elevated X related but hosting related or due to work done by a 3rd party coder. Even with your standard of this kind of crap as a marketing approach it's in very poor taste. This thread isn't the place for it.

Mark Prince's advice is good. There are people here who are trying to help you out - including me.

AJ

[plsureking]

Originally Posted by AJHall

Ryan,
Your first post was on topic. Your last was not. It came after an obvious exchange where issues were being addressed - Issues that may not even be Elevated X related but hosting related or due to work done by a 3rd party coder. Even with your standard of this kind of crap as a marketing approach it's in very poor taste. This thread isn't the place for it.

Mark Prince's advice is good. There are people here who are trying to help you out - including me.

AJ

A little bit desperate and definitely hilarious. This is the only way you can compete with my product? By asking me not to post about it? Compete with my product and stop calling me names. Call your mom if you need to cry. This is business.

And ********** - learn to read. Check the title. I was well within my rights to post about my product in this thread.

Call me more names. I'm waiting (and laughing all the way to the bank)..

[247mg]

After reading all the replied in this thread specially the first one, I try not to our reply but than I realised no I have too.... I think with Evx you need inhouse programmer and coder or know smarty very well to work on the template other wise you have to spend good chunks to do a small changes in template to your liking..

[oppoten]

Dammit I already used P

[oppoten]

Raised I-brow. Ahaha!

[Relentless]

I haven't used Elevated X much beyond working with a few clients who were running it. Based specifically on the way Elevated X has responded to this thread I'll be checking out their products in much greater detail. It's pretty obvious that they take their reputation seriously and are trying to take good care of customers. That means a lot. AJ I'll also contact you directly, I have an idea for a simple improvement to your CMS based on the work I have done in it for clients. It's something that you and your clients may find very useful.

[dgraves]

I have a dedicated guy who takes care of all the code work and he's been doing a going job.

It's normally me on the phone with my Tech and Mojo trying to figure out what's going on and why the site is doing odd things. I get very irritated when features on my site don't work and I can't get straight answers. I keep the design very lean so everything on my site is required.

This isn't a hobby for me, it's my bread and butter so when I get the same complaints over and over again from my Members I have to address them as quickly as I can.

As I mentioned earlier, when EX is working it works well. I did a lot of research before switching everything over because it's a big job. It got great reviews and some friends were using it who really enjoyed it.

Now that AJ has agreed to get in on a phone conversation with my Tech and Mojo I can finally get to the bottom of theses issues and find out what's causing them.

[candyflip]

Originally Posted by **********

plsureking: Take it from someone who learned the hard way. Don't spam your stuff in a thread where a competitors trying to save a client. It's not cool and It kind of seems desperate.

Believe it or not, it actually helps to praise or at least acknowledge a competitor's good product or service once in a while. We even refer some customers to competitors if we determine our product's not best for them and guess what, we get referrals back. Give AJ a hand and he might do the same for you one day.

Peace.

Dude, the guy came in here asking for alternatives and he posted his alternative.

Do yourself a favor and get your face out of AJ's asshole.

Originally Posted by VladS

Really not nice what you're doing here, looks bad on you.

Seriously? You too?

[VladS]

Originally Posted by candyflip

[...] Seriously? You too?

Not really, OP contacted me via email, i told him that i have not worked myself with EX, but that from what i heard it is a good and solid product. I offered him a solution to his problem and have done so privately without pissing on other people's work.

Quote from the reply to OP's email towards me:

"I don't work with EX, however i heard good things about them, so should be a good script from what i know."

L.E. Afterwards offered him two alternative solutions, so i got no horses here, never worked with EX, never will probably, have my owns and Konrad's which i constantly work with, just saying my opinion that it's not a nice thing the way he posted here.

Just my two cents, carry on

[srockhard]

Originally Posted by dgraves

It's normally me on the phone with my Tech and Mojo trying to figure out what's going on and why the site is doing odd things. I get very irritated when features on my site don't work and I can't get straight answers.

I'm starting to think that the issues are not with AJ and EX or with Brad and Mojo because these guys are at the top of their game in adult biz both their products and customer service is top notch. I might suggest you take a look at your "tech" guy.

[AJHall]

Originally Posted by dgraves

Now that AJ has agreed to get in on a phone conversation with my Tech and Mojo I can finally get to the bottom of theses issues and find out what's causing them.

We'll start with the CMS and rule things out 1 by 1 and then open up a dialogue with either or both of them once we have some background on what's happening. I'm glad we connected and look forward to talking to you tomorrow morning to help get this resolved.

Originally Posted by Relentless

I haven't used Elevated X much beyond working with a few clients who were running it. Based specifically on the way Elevated X has responded to this thread I'll be checking out their products in much greater detail. It's pretty obvious that they take their reputation seriously and are trying to take good care of customers. That means a lot. AJ I'll also contact you directly, I have an idea for a simple improvement to your CMS based on the work I have done in it for clients. It's something that you and your clients may find very useful.

Thanks Stewart! That would be great. Please shoot me an email or give me a call when you're free. I would love to hear your feedback and ideas for anything we can do to make things better.

AJ