“I can’t log onto the site! Help!”
It’s the most common email I find in my inbox on a weekly basis. This problem almost always stems from lost login credentials, though this is rarely admitted to. Why? I don’t know, because it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Web security is paramount. Everything is protected by password anymore: your phone, tablet, computer (home and work), Wi-Fi, and all of the countless websites you share your most private and sensitive information with.
With that in mind, is your account information going to get lost in the shuffle of your life sometimes?
Of course.
Here are a couple of tips to consider when troubleshooting username and password issues:
01. I know my login information, I swear, but I still can’t get in…
Double-checking login credentials is key.
Savvy internet users DO NOT use the same passwords for multiple sites. Many of us do (I’ve been guilty of it in the past) and it’s a practice you should stop now — as in today, right after you finish reading this post.
Please send me an email and I’ll gladly help you access your account information to get you started. But after you’ve gained access, you’ll want to be proactive with your information and stash it somewhere safe, organized, and easily accessible to you and only you.
I highly recommend a password management program like 1Password (my personal favorite) or LastPass.
It will take some time and energy upfront to log as much of your information as possible, but the payoff is ever-so sweet. And keep up with it; persistence will pay off and eventually you’ll have a secure password vault that will sync between your devices.
02. That’s great and all, but I have the correct username and password, and I still can’t log on…
From time to time this glitch pops up.
It occurs during the communication process between our billing vendors and our membership database when new members sign up. If it happens, you should completely log out of your account, close and reopen your browser, and then log back in. This refreshes our system to recognize your membership status from “free” to “paid.”
And while we’re on the topic — sometimes there is a 15-minute delay between the bank transactions of new members and the biller that is processing the payment for membership. It doesn’t always occur, but every once and awhile it might happen.
If either of these troubleshooting tips don’t help, or if you have any other questions concerning your membership, please reach out to me via email and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
This blog post was originally written as a “Webmaster Open Letter” for Lucas Digital Content.
