The constant of a website is essential for it to remain functional and up-to-date. Whether it’s troubleshooting a back-end issue, you may need to put your WordPress website into maintenance mode to prevent it from crashing live.
This article shows six different methods you can use to put a computer into maintenance mode.
We’ll also explain how maintenance mode works and what you can do to make sure visitors come back when your site is ready.
What is WordPress maintenance mode?
WordPress maintenance mode is a state that is applied to a website when potentially breaking changes are being made to it.
Some small adjustments, such as updating or publishing content, can be done when the WordPress site is up and running. However, if you are working on more significant changes, it is better to turn it off to avoid bad impressions.
When a WordPress site is in maintenance mode, the URL displays a screen with a message about the status of the site. The message usually explains why the website is offline and includes an estimate of when it will be back online.
WordPress maintenance mode works by using the function and creating a file .maintenance that contains the message. After the maintenance process is complete, you can configure WordPress to remove the maintenance file, and your website will work as usual.
WordPress maintenance mode is also used to prepare a future website. With maintenance mode, you can create a display of «Coming soon«. When users enter your URL, they’ll see information about the upcoming website and know when to return.
How could site maintenance affect your visitors?
During maintenance, a WordPress site may not function properly or even appear broken. This can create a poor user experience and visitors may doubt the credibility or security of the website, which can negatively affect future traffic.
WordPress offers a default maintenance mode and a welcome page. However, it is just a simple HTML page with the text «Not available for scheduled maintenance. Check the site again in a few minutes‘, which looks pretty boring.
Having a custom maintenance mode page provides a better user experience. It allows you to customize your message and its overall design to fit your brand.
You can also shorten WordPress maintenance time. This is a separate copy of the website where you can work on changes without affecting the actual site.
Once you’re done working on the test website, you’ll need to push the update to the real website, and all changes will be applied automatically without any downtime.
Why activate WordPress maintenance mode?
Not all website changes require maintenance mode. Changes such as content management, minor bug fixes, or blog content updates will not affect the overall functionality of your site. Therefore, it is safe to do them while the site is active.
However, more significant changes, such as setting up new plugins or customizing themes, can affect the overall performance of your site. In these cases, it is better to avoid the risk of the site crashing while it is active and put it into maintenance mode.
Here are some other reasons why you might want to put a WordPress site into maintenance mode.
Avoid a bad impression
Having a broken or non-functional site can leave a bad impression on your visitors. People can lose trust in the business, which negatively impacts traffic and conversion rates.
There are several WordPress maintenance mode plugins that allow you to customize the maintenance page to suit your website design. Not only will this let customers know when the site will be back up and running, it will also make the business appear more professional and organized.
Minimize security risks
Another reason to use WordPress maintenance mode is , especially if you are working on fixing security issues.
For example, if a malicious link is detected on your website, it is better to take it offline until the problem is completely removed rather than risk the safety of your visitors.
Create a Coming Soon page
WordPress maintenance mode can be used to indicate or promote a site that is under development.
You can use the same WordPress maintenance plugins to display a welcome page while working on the site. Once the site is ready, simply disable maintenance mode and welcome visitors to your new website.
6 methods to put WordPress maintenance mode
Activating maintenance mode doesn’t have to be complicated.
While some methods require some code tweaking, WordPress maintenance mode plugins allow you to do so with a few simple clicks.
1. Use the SeedProd plugin (recommended)
is a landing page builder plugin. It allows you to easily create landing pages for “Coming Soon” and “Maintenance” modes with its drag and drop builder.
This plugin has a free version and offers a premium plan, starting at $39.50 a year.
First, download and install the plugin. Once activated, go to the plugin control panel.
You will see the modules to configure the pages «Coming soon” Y “Maintenance» and the buttons to activate them. At the bottom, there is a section to manage your landing pages.
To set up a maintenance mode page, go to SeedProd’s landing page template library and click on a maintenance mode template that you like. It will take you to the drag and drop builder where you can customize the template. click on Save to save the changes.
To add more landing pages, click the button Add New Landing Page in the section Landing Pages. You can also rename and the URL of the page in the section Page Settings of the builder.
When you configure the maintenance page, activate the maintenance mode by clicking the button inactive a turn on in the plugin panel. You will see the maintenance mode active message in the top right corner of your WordPress dashboard when it is activated.
2. Use the WP Maintenance Mode plugin
The plugin allows you to activate maintenance mode without touching a single line of code.
First, download and install the plugin WP Maintenance Mode. After activation, go to Settings -> WP Maintenance Mode in the WordPress dashboard.
On the settings page, you will see 5 tabs: General, Design, modules, manage the bot Y GDPR. Let’s look at these tabs in more detail.
General
At the top, you will find the section Condition. This is where you can turn maintenance mode on or off.
If you activate the option Avoid search engines will be able to access your website during maintenance.
Finally, the options Administration Profile Y cover profile allow you to choose which user roles can access the backend while maintenance mode is enabled. If you don’t define it, you can only enter the Administrator.
Design
This is where you can create a maintenance page. To get started, go to the option Title (HTML Tag) and add the title. Then add the Header and the Text to customize the maintenance message that will appear on the screen.
When you’re done, you can change the background color of the maintenance page. You can also use an image as a background to make the page more visually appealing.
modules
In this tab, you can set a countdown by defining the start time and the remaining time. Additionally, you can ask visitors to sign up to be notified when the site is back up.
In the next tab option modules you can configure your social networks. Enter your social media account link in the appropriate place and the plugin will automatically display the social media icon on the maintenance page.
manage the bot
Create an interactive subscription form to attract new subscribers. In short, the idea is that when a user enters the maintenance mode screen, he can have a conversation with a bot.
There are 10 customizable messages and four response options spread across them. You can collect the names and email addresses of users with this method.
To download the list of subscribers, go to the tab modules and select Export as CSV under Subscription.
GDPR
In this tab, you can configure the . It is important to configure it if you collect data from the subscription form on the home page.
The RGPD is a regulation of the European Union (EU) that obliges companies to protect the personal data and privacy of users. Failure to comply with this regulation entails one of the €20 million or 4% of the company’s annual global turnover, whichever is greater.
Although the latest version of WordPress is GDPR compliant, there are a few steps you need to take to make sure your website is also GDPR compliant.
First of all, you will need to activate the GDPR status found in this tab. Then link the Privacy Page and create opt-in boxes for the contact form and the subscription form. If you haven’t set the Privacy Pagego to Settings -> Privacy to set one up.
Once the configuration for GDPR is complete, click save settingsand your maintenance mode will be ready to use.
3. Use the WP Maintenance plugin
is another maintenance plugin that allows you to customize the maintenance page of your WordPress site.
Once installed and activated, access the plugin settings from the left sidebar. There are nine sections available:
- General: Here you will find the button to activate the maintenance mode and configure the message of the landing page.
- Colors and Fonts: Customize the appearance of the landing page. Edit the background color, text color, and fonts to suit your brand. Note that there is no drag and drop builder or visual editor, so you have to make these changes manually.
- Images: add a header image and a background image. Also, you can add a pattern image and a slider.
- Countdown: Activate the countdown and set the launch date and time. There is also an option to automatically disable maintenance mode at the end of the countdown for your website to go live.
- css-style: Contains the CSS sheet for the maintenance page. If you want to customize the…
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