Common problems
| You see | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Auctions and draws don't end, emails don't go out | The scheduled task isn't running. Check "Cron last ran" in Settings Security Logs Cron Logs and set it up as in Scheduled tasks. |
| Customers get no emails | Set your mail server in Settings Email (SMTP) and press Send test email. Then check Marketing Notifications Send Log for failures. While sending is off, a strip on every admin page says so. |
| A page shows an error reference such as ERR-7F3A21C9, or a blank page | Search for the reference in Settings Error Tracking. The full PHP log is in Security Logs Server errors. |
| Members ask how to buy coins | They can't: a Rewards store sells no coins. Point them to the Earn page, and make sure Earn & Games and the ways to earn you want are switched on. See Earn. |
| A member can't afford anything after signing up | Check the sign-up bonus in Settings Rewards, or add coins by hand from their profile. See Give members coins. |
| The coin price can't be changed | That's by design: on a Rewards store one coin is always one unit of your currency. |
| A payment plugin won't switch on | Plugins that move real money can't run on a Rewards store, and the add-on store doesn't offer them. |
| Uploads fail | Security Logs Upload Logs says why: wrong file type, too large, or a folder the server can't write to. The images/ folder must be writable. Images can be JPEG, PNG, GIF or WebP up to 5 MB. |
| Pages other than the home page show "not found" | .htaccess is missing or ignored. Upload it again, or on nginx use nginx.conf.example. Security Logs Server check tests it. |
| "Server is missing the Zip extension" | Switch on PHP's zip extension. Plugins and themes install from zip files. |
| Bids appear only after a few seconds | That's normal without a WebSocket server: pages check for news by themselves. For instant updates, connect the Realtime plugin; see Live bidding. |
| A customer can't sign in | After 5 failed attempts in 15 minutes the account and IP are locked out for a while. From their profile you can send a password reset; the link works for one hour. |
During installation
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Check that this server can make outgoing HTTPS connections" | Ask your host to allow HTTPS to api.startmymarketplace.com and license.startmymarketplace.com. |
| "Install at the root of a domain or subdomain" | Move the files to the domain's web root, or make a subdomain for the store. |
| The database turned down the username or password | Check the details in your host's database page. The wizard explains each database error in plain words. |
| Your database is too old | You need MariaDB 10.2.7 or newer (recommended), or MySQL 8.0.13 or newer. See Server requirements. |
| Setting up tables stopped partway | Your host cut off a long import. Press Finish setting up to carry on. |
| This installation was started in another browser with a different licence | Enter the purchase key it was started with, or continue it with its database password. To start over with this licence, delete the .env file the installation wrote, then reload. |
More on each step in Install with the setup wizard.
Pages that help you diagnose
| Page | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | System health: whether cron is running, new errors have come in, and the licence is valid, each linked to its page. |
| Settings Error Tracking | Each crash once, with repeats counted, searchable by reference. Resolve one when fixed; it reopens by itself if it happens again. Email alerts are optional. |
| Security Logs Server errors | The PHP error log, logs/error.log in your private folder. |
| Security Logs Server check | Whether private files stay private and every page address reaches the store, and where your private folder is. |
| Security Logs Cron Logs | Every scheduled run, failures first, and the exact setup command and URL. |
| Finance Transactions Orders paid with coins | Every checkout paid with coins, and what it delivered. |
| Customers Data health | Broken customer emails, phones, names and countries, with a repair you can undo. |
Still stuck?
Email [email protected] with what you see on screen, the error reference if there is one, and your store's address.
More help
More answers are in the knowledge base, and Get help says where to ask and what to send.
Something wrong or unclear on this page? Tell us at [email protected], or see how to get help.