How to Put WordPress in Maintenance Mode: Complete Guide

Do you want to put your WordPress site into maintenance mode?

One thing is certain about websites: they are always changing. Some changes are so small that you can do them without visitors knowing. However, some changes are so significant that you must put your website into maintenance mode.

Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with WordPress maintenance mode or how to enable it. This guide will not only explain what it is but will also walk you through the steps required to put your site into maintenance mode.

Let’s get started!

What is WordPress Maintenance Mode?

Maintenance mode in WordPress informs visitors that you’re making significant changes to your website. This mode often includes an estimated time when the site will be live again, ensuring visitors know the downtime is temporary.

By default, WordPress displays a basic maintenance mode message: “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.” While this message is functional, it lacks visual appeal and engagement.

Fortunately, there are several ways to enhance this message. Creating a custom maintenance mode page can turn this simple notice into an engaging experience. Not only does it inform visitors of the ongoing maintenance, but you can also promote your social media channels, offer behind-the-scenes glimpses, and let visitors sign up for an email list to get updates. This approach keeps your audience engaged and informed, even when your site is down.

Additionally, if your site is not yet live or undergoing a complete overhaul, consider creating a “coming soon” page. This page can include a countdown timer to the launch date, generating excitement and anticipation among your visitors.

When to Put Your WordPress Website in Maintenance Mode

Putting your WP site in maintenance mode is a good decision in several scenarios. Here are key situations when enabling maintenance mode is beneficial:

1. Performing Major Updates

When updating your WordPress core, themes, or plugins, it’s advisable to enable maintenance mode. This prevents visitors from encountering errors or incomplete features during the update process.

2. Redesigning Your Website

If you’re undertaking a major redesign or restructuring of your site, maintenance mode helps keep the unfinished elements away from public view. This maintains a professional appearance and allows you to work without distractions.

3. Fixing Critical Errors

It’s best to put your site in maintenance mode when fixing significant issues like security vulnerabilities, broken functionalities, or database errors. This prevents users from experiencing a faulty site and ensures that all fixes are thoroughly tested before going live again.

4. Launching a New Feature

If you’re introducing new features or functionalities, enabling maintenance mode can help manage the launch process smoothly. It ensures that all new elements are tested and functional before being presented to your audience.

5. Migrating Your Website

When moving your website to a new host or server, enabling maintenance mode ensures that users don’t experience downtime or access incomplete data during the migration process.

6. Scheduled Maintenance

Regular maintenance tasks like backups, server upgrades, or performance optimizations should be performed in maintenance mode. This keeps the site stable and secure while these essential tasks are carried out.

How to Put WordPress in Maintenance Mode

Now that you know what maintenance mode is and when you should use it, let’s look at how to turn on it. Here are two ways to put your WordPress site into maintenance mode.

How to Put WordPress in Maintenance Mode Manually

If you have some technical knowledge and know how to edit your theme files, you can manually set WordPress to maintenance mode.

Simply log in to your WordPress admin dashboard and go to Appearance » Theme Editor.

From here, click and open the function.php file. Now, scroll to the bottom of the functions.php file and write the following code snippet:

Once done, click on the Update File button at the bottom.

Now, open a new browser window and check your site to make sure it’s in maintenance mode. Here is how the default maintenance mode page looks.

You’ll note that the default maintenance mode page is fairly plain. If your site is only under maintenance for an hour or two, that’s fine. However, for a longer maintenance time, you may create and customize a maintenance mode page using a plugin.

How to Put WordPress in Maintenance Mode with a Plugin

If you don’t feel comfortable tweaking your theme files, you can use a plugin. There are various WordPress maintenance mode plugins to choose from.

For this guide, we’ll be using the SeedProd plugin.

SeedProd is the most popular WordPress page builder, with over a million sites using it. It lets you create stunning coming-soon pages in WordPress, optimize your 404 page, design unique landing pages, and even create custom WordPress themes using drag-and-drop.

Even more, the SeedProd premium version includes over 300 professionally designed templates and blocks. However, you can put your WordPress into maintenance mode using the free SeedProd plugin, which we’ll use in this guide.

Simply install and activate the SeedProd plugin. For more, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once activated, go to SeedProd » Landing Pages and click on the Set Up a Maintenance Mode Page option.

Now, you will see various page templates for maintenance mode.

You can create your page from scratch or use a ready-made landing page template.

To select a template, hover your mouse over the design’s thumbnail and click the checkmark icon.

After you’ve chosen a template, you’ll be directed to the drag-and-drop visual builder, where you can start customizing the maintenance mode page.

Customize Your Maintenance Mode Template

You can now change the content of your maintenance page template to match your brand better.

On the left side of the screen, you’ll see blocks and sections that you can add to your design. On the right side, you can see a live preview of your site.

Most templates already have certain blocks, which are an essential component of all SeedProd designs. To add additional blocks to your maintenance page, just drag and drop them from the left-hand menu into your design.

For example, you may add an image, contact form, countdown timer, and other elements.

The options you see may differ based on the plugins installed on your website.

For example, if you have RafflePress, you can use the Giveaway block to run a contest on your maintenance page, as seen in the image below.

To customize a block, simply click on it in your layout. You can then customize the block using the options in the left-hand menu.

To delete a block from your design, simply click on it. Then, you can click on the trash icon.

Now, continue changing the design by adding new blocks, removing the unwanted blocks, and making changes to the left-hand menu.

Once you’re satisfied with how the maintenance page looks, click the Save button to publish it.

Enable WordPress Maintenance Mode

The last step is to turn on maintenance mode for your WordPress website. From your WordPress admin area, go to SeedProd » Landing Pages and find the Maintenance Mode option.

Then, to activate WordPress in maintenance mode, click the Inactive toggle to Activate.

You will not see maintenance mode since you are already signed in to the site. However, if you open your site in an incognito browser tab, you will see the maintenance page in action.

When you’re ready to relaunch your website, go to SeedProd » Landing Pages. In Maintenance Mode, click the Active toggle to Inactive.

Control Website Access for Logged-in Users

By default, only visitors who are not logged in can see your maintenance mode page. Your current users, such as members, customers, and clients, can continue to access their accounts without interruption.

If you want to provide select users access during maintenance, you can do so. Simply edit your maintenance page and then go to Page Settings, followed by Access Control.

To get started, turn on the Exclude Default slider. This enables users to access URLs containing the phrases login, admin, dashboard, and account. This will prevent users from being locked out of their accounts.

The Bypass Cookie option grants access to users who have certain browser cookies, although it can be affected by WordPress caching plugins.

To directly control access, you can select specific user roles. To do so, click the Add Role and then select one of the roles from the available options.

When you’re finished with your settings, click the Save button.

Exclude Pages from Maintenance Mode

SeedProd Pro additionally allows you to include and exclude certain URLs from maintenance mode. This comes in helpful if users require access to specific pages.

For instance, if you have a custom login page, you should normally keep it out of maintenance mode. If you offer support by email, you might want to remove your contact form as well.

You can do so via SeedProd’s Include/Exclude URLs settings. Simply choose Include URLs or Exclude URLs, and then add your links in the box.

When you’re finished configuring the maintenance page, click the Save button to save your new access control settings.

What to Do if WordPress is Stuck in Maintenance Mode

Although enabling and disabling the maintenance mode is straightforward, you may encounter problems along the way. For example, your website may get stuck in maintenance mode.

Typically, this occurs because of a conflict that leads the maintenance file to feel that updates are incomplete. This can also happen if you move away from the screen or refresh the website before an update is complete.

Don’t panic if you can’t log in to your website or access the back end. You can troubleshoot and fix the issue with a few simple actions.

First, connect your site via an FTP program or your web host’s file manager. Then, browse to your site’s root directory, find the maintenance.html file, right-click it, and delete it.

After deleting the file, reload your webpage using a new browser tab. It should get back to normal. If you’re still seeing the maintenance mode page, try to clean your browser cache as well.

Try WordPress Maintenance Mode Today

Maintenance mode allows you to make large changes to your website without affecting the front-end experience. Users will not be able to see your content at this period, but you can make your under-construction page more visually appealing and boost conversions.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the two different ways you can use to put your website into maintenance mode:

1. Manually editing your WordPress functions.php file
2. Using a WordPress maintenance mode plugin

The best option for you will be determined by your comfort level and expertise in handling site files and adding code to WordPress. However, we recommend you go the SeedProd way.

It’s simpler, faster, and allows you to keep your visitors engaged while you work on your website.

We hope this article helped you learn how to apply WordPress maintenance mode effectively.

For more, check out these other helpful resources:

• Solved Failed to Load Resource Error in WordPress
• Fix WordPress There Has Been a Critical Error on This Website

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