Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

• What is Markup Factory?
• What is "Markup"?
• Do you provide training classes on how to use Markup Factory?
• What if there is a problem with the system - who do I contact?
• Can I take payments through my Markup Factory website?
• Is my Markup Factory website secure?
• How can I obtain a guided demonstration of Markup Factory?
• Do I need any special software to maintain my website?

Billing Questions

• When will my credit card be charged?
• Do you provide discounts for non-profit groups?
• Can I get a refund if I am not satisfied with the service?
• Can I get a free demo account?
• Do you have a partner or reseller program?

Technical Questions

• Can I host a Markup Factory website on my own server?
• Can I integrate my own Rails, PHP or other code with my Markup Factory website?
• Is there an API available for Markup Factory?
• Can I use videos, Flash or other media in my website?

Online Store Questions

• Which payment gateways are compatible with your online store?
• How are shipping costs calculated by the online store?
• How is tax collected through the online store?
• How can I market my online store?

Web Design Questions

• How do I apply a design to my Markup Factory website?
• Do you have pre-designed templates available?
• Can I have you design my website for me?

What is Markup Factory?

Markup Factory is an web publishing platform for today's agile web designer and developer. You can learn more about our system by taking the tour or by contacting us directly.

What is "Markup"?

You can learn about Markup language on our about page or on Wikipedia. 

Do you provide training classes on how to use Markup Factory?

As a matter of fact, we do. Contact us to find out more about our training courses and consulting offerings. We provide consulting and training courses to help you get the most out of your Markup Factory subscription and to leverage best practices in internet marketing, SEO, ecommerce, and more. 

What if there is a problem with the system - who do I contact?

Every Markup Factory subscription comes with phone and email support for the term of your service with us. You can find contact options on our support page. 

Can I take payments through my Markup Factory website?

Yes, you can. You can take payments for any of the following: (1) General Payments; (2) Products; (3) Subscriptions to your website; (4) Event Registrations. In order to take payments, you need to subscribe to the online store package and / or the online registrations package depending on what you would like to take payments for. You'll also need an internet merchant account. Once you are subscribed to the packages, you can access comprehensive instructions on how to configure your Markup Factory system to deliver payments into your bank account.

Is my Markup Factory website secure?

Yes, it is. For more detailed information on security, review our privacy policies. As with any computer based system there are always risks. We do our best to keep those risks to an absolute minimum. If you're taking payments on your website, website users making payments will be directed to a secure URL on the payment forms. The address of this form will be https://handle.markupfactory.com, where "handle" is your unique site handle. You may also have an ssl certificate installed for your domain name and have users redirected to https://www.yourdomain.com. Contact us for information on having a custom ssl certificate installed for your website.

How can I obtain a guided demonstration of Markup Factory?

If after visiting our online tour, you still have additional questions, you can try reading through some of our online documentation or contacting us for additional information or to schedule a guided demonstration. 

Do I need any special software to maintain my website?

No. Our web publishing system is fully web based and works on PCs, Macs, and Linux. We support Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox browsers.

When will my credit card be charged?

Your credit card will be charged once immediately after creating your account with us. After this, your card will be charged monthly on the day of the month when you first signed up. If you upgrade or downgrade your plan, the charges will be pro-rated for the remainder of the current billing cycle. On the first day of the next billing cycle, your card will be charged for the full amount of your current plan rate. 

Do you provide discounts for non-profit groups?

Unfortunately, we do not provide any special discounts for non-profit groups. Many of our non-profit clients have found our products to be of excellent value when considering the staff hours that are saved using our web publishing system. Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask!

Can I get a refund if I am not satisfied with the service?

We do offer a 30 day satisfaction guarantee with our services. We are committed to providing a satisfying and valuable experience for our subscribers. If you are not satisfied with your subscription to Markup Factory or the service we've provided to you, let us know in writing. We'll be quick to address your concerns and if we can't make it right, we'll issue you full refund for your services. 

Can I get a free demo account?

Yes, we offer a 30 day free trial so that you can get see for yourself how Markup Factory works. After 30 days, you will be asked to enter your payment information to continue your subscription. You can start a free trial anytime. Start a Free Trial

Do you have a partner or reseller program?

If you are a web developer or designer and would like to make Markup Factory a part of your offerings, you may be eligible for our partner program. We are fairly selective in who we accept into this program. You should contact us and provide samples of your design work for consideration. Benefits to this program include discounts on additional Markup Factory subscriptions and priority support and training.

Can I host a Markup Factory website on my own server?

Markup Factory is offered only as a hosted solution. We've chosen to make this offering so that we can focus our efforts on building and improving our software instead of supporting and packaging the software for installation on third party hardware. We think that as a result, everybody wins.

Can I integrate my own Rails, PHP or other code with my Markup Factory website?

We do provide support for third party integrated scripts and applications on a case by case basis. We have an API available that will enable you to leverage the Markup Factory template engine in conjunction with your third party scripts and applications. Contact us for more information related to this.

Is there an API available for Markup Factory?

We currently offer a limited API that allows you to perform certain functions against your Markup Factory database. If you are interested in using our API, contact us via email to request an API key.

Can I use videos, Flash or other media in my website?

Yes. Markup Factory allows you to easily upload and embed videos, flash, audio, and a variety of other media in your pages. This can be done using the content editor or within the template engine.

Which payment gateways are compatible with your online store?

We currently support Authorize.net, PayPal Pro, and Echo payment gateways. Out of all of these, we recommend Authorize.net based on our extensive proven track record of integrating with their system. 

How are shipping costs calculated by the online store?

Shipping costs are calculated using real-time UPS shipping integration. The store uses weight based shipping prices and also allows you to specify a flat rate shipping mark up for all shipments. You'll need to create a UPS account and obtain an access key to use this system. 

How is tax collected through the online store?

Taxes are usually required for sales made within your state. You should check your local regulations for what is required. Our online store allows you to upload a database of sales tax rates by zip code. We recommend Tax Data Systems as a provider of up to date sales tax rates for your states.

How can I market my online store?

We believe it is essential to market your online store once you've launched it. After all, how will anyone purchase your products if they never find your store? Internet based marketing has become quite a science in our day and age. None the less, there are plenty of opportunities if you have a unique product that meeds a market demand. We recommend consulting an internet marketing expert for some help in marketing your products. Since each situation is different, usually some customized consulting can help you reach your audience.

How do I apply a design to my Markup Factory website?

We've built Markup Factory to be used together by web designers / developers and content managers. Your web designer should be able to easily design and code a template for your website and quickly load it into Markup Factory. We are happy to recommend a designer if you don't currently have one. Contact us to have one of our experts recommend a great web designer to work with. 

Do you have pre-designed templates available?

We do not currently offer pre-designed templates with Markup Factory. In some attempts in the past to use third party pre-designed templates, we've found many points to be lacking and have come to believe that there is just no substitute for a talented web designer.

Can I have you design my website for me?

Although we do not officially offer web design services as part of our service, we are happy to recommend a designer who will fit your needs. Over the years, we've worked with some excellent web designers whom we can recommend without reservation. Contact us for more details.