Answer

Yes, we offer these services to those who have purchased a supported version of Movable Type. The current price for this service is shown on the Movable Type Store of your account.

Requirements Before We Begin

Please make sure to confirm that your host/server meets the requirements before requesting an installation, as the fee is non-refundable once we begin.

You can view the system requirements and get helpful information on choosing a web host in the Introduction to Installation and Upgrade in the Users Manual.

We strongly advise you to use MySQL if available for reasons of stability and speed. To use MySQL, your server must have DBD::mysql and DBI.pm installed, and your hosting package must provide you with the use of at least one MySQL database. The database must be set up by either you or your webhost before we can begin the installation.

If you are requesting an installation on a Windows server, please review Installing Movable Type on Windows to ensure the necessary server configuration steps have been addressed before requesting the service.

We require either FTP or SFTP access to the server in order to perform the installation.

Note: If you are requesting an upgrade, your current installation must be in a working state (i.e., no rebuild errors or other unusual behavior which is not related to a known issue with your current version of the software). If your installation is not in a working state, please first open a support ticket to try to resolve the problem. If the problem cannot be resolved (i.e., database corruption), we will not be able to perform an upgrade for you; we will only be able to perform a new, default installation for you.

What Installation Includes

Installation is for the Movable Type software only, although it does include installation of some required Perl modules (see next section). We cannot configure Perl, MySQL, PHP, or any other server variables required to make our software run on your system.

We will load the software, perform a "pre-flight" check to make sure basic server requirements are met, and then initialize your database with the default Movable Type data.

After that, we log in and configure your First Weblog, using the default settings. We ensure that the publishing location is working correctly (i.e., the pages are generated and the archive links all function).

We then test the functionality of the basic features in the system. At that point, your installation is complete pending our final response to your ticket containing the relevant login and database information for your reference.

Further customization of your weblog settings, templates, etc. and installation or configuration of plugins (even those which ship with the product as examples) are not included with our service.

Modules We Do And Do Not Install

There are four required modules we can install, and some (but not all) of the optional modules. Those modules which are included in the distribution package (in the extlib folder) will be installed for you.

We cannot install any of the four database modules for you; one of these must already be present on your server.

We do not install the following optional modules:

HTML::Entities
Image::Magick
Storable
Crypt::DSA
Mime::Base64

Making The Purchase

When you login to Your Account, there is a link at the bottom of the main page to purchase additional products and services. This link takes you to the Movable Type Store, where you can purchase the installation.

This purchase will create a new ticket in our help desk system, which we will respond to with an outline of the information we require to proceed. This ticket should be visible in your Open Tickets list after the purchase is completed.

Wait Time

The maximum wait for an installation to be completed is usually three to five business days after receiving your server information. This time frame can vary depending on volume of requests at any given time, as well as any difficulties which may be encountered once we begin your installation. Most delays are caused by improperly configured servers, so confirming that your host meets the requirements before making your purchase will help to expedite the installation.

Please note: If there is an impending new version of Movable Type, we may ask that you wait until the new version is released in order to ensure that your application is as current as possible.

Testing Period

After we've installed Movable Type on your server, you have seven (7) days to test our work and ensure the installation process was performed correctly and completely. Problems which occur after the seventh day will require payment of a new installation fee. Other circumstances which will require an additional installation fee (regardless of when they occur) include:

* Any errors or problems caused by host changes to the environment, server, etc.

* Any errors or problems caused by modifications to the Movable Type core code or configuration files we have installed on your server

In other words, we will only reinstall at no additional fee if there was some failure on our part to properly install the software the first time, and this caused the problem or error to occur.

Cost For Upgrades After First Installation Service

If we have installed Movable Type on your system and a new release becomes available within thirty days of when your installation is completed, we will upgrade your version for free. You will need to re-open your original installation ticket to make the request for an upgrade within that thirty day period.

If it has been more than thirty days since your installation was completed, a new service fee is required for upgrade requests.