If your site says it is paused
A site can be paused on our side. When it is, visitors and members see a short notice instead of your website. This page is for whoever looks after the choir's site, and for anyone who has been told "this site is paused".
What people see
Anyone who opens a page of the public website or the member portal sees a plain page headed This site is paused, which reads:
This website is not available at the moment. If it is your choir's, an administrator can find out more by logging in to the admin panel.
The page belongs to no choir, so it carries none of your colours or logo.
What administrators see
The admin panel keeps working. Sign in as usual (see Log in to the admin panel). On the Dashboard, a warning appears at the top:
This site is paused Visitors and members see a notice instead of the site. The admin panel still works and nothing has been lost. Contact whoever hosts the site to have it switched back on.
Nothing is deleted while a site is paused. Your pages, members, donors, orders and uploaded files are all as you left them, and you can keep editing.
How to have it switched back on
There is no button for this, in your account or in the admin panel. Only we can switch a site back on. Write to support from the address you sign in with, and say which site it is (its web address, such as harmony.cmcms.org).
Why a site is paused
We pause a site; it does not happen by itself. The licence terms say that we may suspend or end an account, or remove content, "if you breach these terms, if your use creates legal or security risk, or if Cloudflare, Amazon or Stripe requires it. Where practicable, we will give notice and a chance to fix the problem first."
The terms treat a late payment differently: a 30-day grace period, and then the site moves to the Free plan: see Invoices, changing plan and cancelling.
The Free plan
A site on the Free plan is covered by a shorter promise. The terms (section B6) say:
The Free plan includes website features only and is provided without any warranty or service commitment. We may change, limit, suspend or end the Free plan, or your use of it, at any time and for any reason. Where practicable, we will give 14 days' notice so you can export your content.
If your site is on Free and matters to the choir, keep a copy of what is on it, and think about a paid plan: see What each plan includes. The full terms are summarised in Terms, privacy and your responsibilities.
A closed site
A site that has been closed (deleted) is different from a paused one. Its address shows the default page of the service instead:
You have reached the default page for Choir Master CMS hosted sites. If you are a Choir Master CMS customer, please log in to your account and check your configuration, or contact us for support.
The admin panel no longer opens either. If you are shown this page for a site that should be running, or for a domain of your own, see Domain problems. If you closed your account on purpose, see Your data for what we keep and for how long.