Update Protection - is it worth it? 
Author: Wayne B.I have been a user of X5 since Version 8 and it has been a great tool to create my own sites. My update protection expires in a few days and I am (finally) trying to decide if it is worth renewing.
The reason that I am thinking about this is that when I look at the Forum, the vast majority of questions posted there remain unanswered to the satisfaction of the questioner. The Moderators (and many others) do an amazing job of helping out, but Incomedia staff appear to be the "meat in the sandwich" between users and the Development Team and often have to resort to stock answer phrases because they cannot offer anything else.
Proper E-Commerce facilities are what are being asked for - Incomedia rolls out a Preview program, which to me is just the Beta tester system renamed. Update Protection will cost me around $172 NZ per year. I can buy a new version of another website creation tool for less than that. In fact, I have done so for one that runs on my Mac and am trying to get up to speed with using it. It's not as easy as X5 but offers a lot more when it comes to E-Commerce and other features. I don't have to pay $172 every year to use it or get updates...
If Update Protection was cheaper (say, 50% less than it now costs) I would still maintain it. Otherwise, I am pretty sure that I could wait out 2 years or more on my present version and if by then a new version with everything I wanted in it was out, it would cost me less to buy this outright than what I would have paid in Update Protection in that time. As it stands now, I am not at all sure if I will renew it.
Advice from other users would be appreciated. What do you think?
I think like you and will not extend my UP.
+1
My thoughts exactly.
@all,
yes update protection is not very expensive.. but for what ????
No fixes asked by us...always minor issues.
The main feature of the actual preview is a new "Content Slider" ... Ho nice, pretty ...blablabla but others main issues are not into the pipe.
This new design / sexy object has never been asked by customers on this forum...
and probably not the priority... OUR priority...
E-commerce.... nothing since Now 5 yrs
I am thinking like you...
Prestashop is a litlle bit expensive if you have module by module....
but it's works for small and big shop...
Disapointed like many users and not so far to leave.
Author
I have purchased Rapidweaver 8 for my Mac. It costs $99 US (about $140 NZ). I will need to get Stacks 4 as an add on to give me better functionality but this is only another $60 US. There might be a few more add ons for e-commerce needed also but I can buy them when needed. (Ecwid Online Store is actually free to add to Rapidweaver).
I have not yet installed the latest update for X5, as I was not sure if there were any bugs to be discovered. Has anybody found anything that might cause issues? I don't want to update and then be stuck with a version that I cannot fix without having Upgrade Protection....
I feel that Update Protection (UP) offers very little. Incomedia makes small cosmetic improvements to X5 but continually fails to address the ”meaty” issues.
I’ve never bought UP and I’m happy with my decision.
@ All
I have bought a X5 for the e-commerce part ONLY (I had a valid registration of other WYSIWYG software).
I had no time investigating all the e-commerce features before the purchase - and even if I had - I bet I would miss something that I've detected while building my DEMO web-shop (i.e. delivery costs sorted by country, VAT by country etc.).
I have posted (too)many post regarding the important e-commerce updates. I have never - nor I will - ask for any "fancy" features - I just ask for a normal stuff so I can finish my DEMO shop (which is still unfinished).
The thing that bugs me the most is the fact that fixing the majority of e-commerce features doesn't take a month for the developers to do it.
They could handle it in 1-2 weeks (with testing).
I would buy an UPDATE PROTECTION gladly when I would get an e-commerce software that I can use professionally.
Unfortunately - this is not the case - and judging by the "history" of such demands, I doubt that Incomedia would do something about it before my license (sorry, UPDATE PROTECTION) runs-out...
Would you mind sharing the Mac software name? I am testing Rapidweaver as it seems to produce very tight code (which should result in faster page load time (= better ranking)) Adrian
Did you realize that there is no comment to this post from Incomedia?
Does it mean anything?
I need a better CMS system for my clients. Better Webshop management ... Incomedia please listen to old clients you have for years. Give us loyal customers a better price and listen to our requests... PLEASE !!!
Author
Hi Adrian,
I am in fact using Rapidweaver 8. The learning curve is a bit steep but I hope that it will become easier as time goes by. At this stage I do not have any live sites but will hopefully have one in a couple of months.
If you're a Mac or Linux user you might take a look at Quick'n Easy Web Builder. Sister program to WYSIWYG Web Builder.
Regards
@Tom,
+200 views and Incomedia absent as usual !
Customer issues.complaints is not their problem.
They prefer to spend time to develop a new "content slider" object or 15 templates than to fix our issues....
Hi Wayne,
thank you for your feedback.
The choice of extending the service depends on your personal needs only: therefore, if you feel you would prefer to wait for a future version which can better fulfill your needs, you can of course simply keep the version you own without extending Update Protection. As you know, the program will still be active regardless its Update Protection status.
Also, please don't forget that Help Center is the official support platform for WebSite X5: I then kindly ask you to keep the conversation focused on WebSite X5 rather than on other software. Thank you in advance for that.
I wish you all a lovely day.
The problem if we don't extend the Update Protection is that we don't get any WX5 bugs fixed as we would no longer get updates, including any bug fixes in the versions we've paid for. Catch 22. There should be separate updates, one for bugs (for those that don't wish to renew UP) and updates for new features (for those that wish to keep extending UP).
That's my two pennies worth.
@ Nigel
My thoughts exactly!
Not agree Nigel... the role of editor company is to fix any issues for their customers and to provide new features into same package.
After +20yrs with working with editors companies I can say to you that for R&D and product management it's too complicate to manage different updates
BUT.... For customers issues is the responsability of the compnay to desserve a product running correctly.
I take care because one moderator considers to be a policeman and remove my comments
Author
Fair enought to refrain from mentioning other products....but the one I mentioned is not a competing product as it will not run on a PC and Website X5 won't run on a Mac (unless using an emulation environment). A quick look at my profile will show that I have owned X5 since Version 8 and made the switch to Professional a few versions back (Version 14), so I am a loyal customer. I will continue to use Website X5 and hope that the version I have now has no major bugs that won't be able to be fixed.
Is it "safe" to update to v2019.2.8 yet? Any major issues? If I do so, I won't have the ability to apply bug fixes.
Hi Wayne and @Nigel,
please don't worry, with the new versioning system (starting from 2019.1), when the Update Protection ends you still have the right to receive all the updates and fixes for the version you own. Let me make an example, so to put it clearer: if you have version 2019.2 and you haven't extended your Update Protection, you can receive all the updates related to version 2019.2, but not version 2019.3.
Still, I would like to stress the fact that keeping your Update Protection active will have many advantages: you are sure you always have access to all new features and to the most updated version, so that you will be able to keep your projects up-to-date. Moreover, thanks to the Preview Program you will be able to have access to the anticipations regarding the version which is still under development, so you always know what will come next. Finally, extending the Update Protection will be more convenient than purchasing a new version: in fact, the discount for Update Protection is 50%, while you will be able to enjoy a 10% standard discount for a new licence.
Please let me know if I can be of further help.
Thanks Elisa, I wasn't aware of that :)
Updates for bugs should be free and outside the features updates.
Also, as I said before, the update protection was just a gimmick to get more money, before this there was the yearly features update and I was fine with it since there were interesting stuff added to the program, but no "UP" garbage that can be easily manipulated to release important features outside the window of protection of most users.
This "Up" was made to force us to pay because if you don't, you may be stuck with a ver. full of bugs, for example in Ver. 16 there's still crashes related to the preview window that were never addresed (and they were carried from Ver.13) I suppose those crashes are still an issue so no, I haven't and I'm not paying for "Up" untill I see some real support for bugs AND OUT OF BETA updates like full width hero slider (this is beta for now I guess) and maybe negative margins placement of objects.
Also many optional objects should now be a default for the app since they are required for regular web design, like mobile contact (social interaction is a must) accordion text, justified gallery, buttons and others.
Almost 1 year on and this question is still being asked. Have a look at "Update protection (bait or real thing?)" and "is it really whats new" posts.
I am so glad I didnt fall into the trap of UP. What updates have been added since it was introduced make it worth the UP fee? How many extra features have been added, how many bugs have been fixed? Not a lot that I can see to justify paying in advance for. As others have said paying upfront with no road map is not really acceptable, you just don't know what you are getting so cant hold Incomedia to account. It's a trust issue and so far I only see trust from the customers.