Today, we explain in detail about the WordPress website maintenance mode and how Elementor can help you create ‘under construction’ and ‘coming soon’ in the simplest way.
Sites constantly need updating and maintenance. The problem is that when you are working on your sites, things can get buggy, and you don’t want to show your visitors a buggy site. This is why, when you are working on your site, it is recommended to set maintenance mode.
There are several methods to creating a maintenance mode page, but the easiest way is with Elementor, which includes a built-in and completely free maintenance mode feature, as well as a ‘coming soon’ mode for new websites. it’s quick, easy to use, and the result is beautiful and custom made .
Let’s go over all the steps required to create and set up a maintenance mode on your WordPress website.
Table of Contents
- What is WordPress Maintenance Mode?
- When Should You Use Maintenance Mode?
- When Should You Use Maintenance Mode?
- 1. Put WordPress Into Maintenance Mode Using Code
- 2. Put WordPress Into Maintenance Mode Using a Plugin
- 3. Put WordPress Into Maintenance Mode Using Elementor
- How to Get WordPress Out of Maintenance Mode
- Coming Soon Page Templates
What is WordPress Maintenance Mode?
When your site is set to maintenance mode, it means users other than administrators cannot use or view your site while maintenance is taking place, or before the site has launched.
Instead, those users see a maintenance mode page or a coming soon page, informing them of the fact that the site is temporarily unavailable.
The site administrators, on the other hand, still have access to the site, so they can test it and make sure the site is fixed or is ready for launch.
When Should You Use Maintenance Mode?
There are many situations when your site would need to be set as maintenance mode and coming soon.
- Making changes to your website
- Fixing a bug
- Launching a new product or service
- Launching a redesign of a site
- Getting search engines to know if your site is going to be launched or is down for repair
These are just some examples of situations when you would want to be able to see the website yourself, but present an under construction or coming soon page to visitors.
How to Put WordPress in Maintenance Mode
1. Put WordPress Into Maintenance Mode Using Code
WordPress offers an in-built maintenance mode function. The problem is that it’s done automatically and only available during updates and you don’t have direct control over it.
To bypass the above problem, you can use code to show the maintenance mode page. You can modify the functions.php by adding the following code snippet to it:
// Activate WordPress Maintenance Mode
function wp_maintenance_mode() {
if (!current_user_can('edit_themes') || !is_user_logged_in()) {
wp_die('**here you can add your maintenance mode message, for example:
<h1>Under Maintenance</h1>
Website is under maintenance, please check back later.');
}
}
add_action('get_header', 'wp_maintenance_mode');
2. Put WordPress Into Maintenance Mode Using a Plugin
There are numerous plugins available for creating a WordPress maintenance mode like: SeedProd, Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode, CMP and others. Some are free, and some are not.
One of the more popular ones is SeedProd, and like the others, all you need to do to start using it is install it and activate it and use it. This particular plugin requires you to do the following:
- Go to the Settings tab in your WordPress dashboard
- Choose the Coming Soon Pro option
- Here you can select the status of your site (whether you want the maintenance mode or the coming soon enabled).
- Now you can choose page designs and customize them
3. Put WordPress Into Maintenance Mode Using Elementor
Elementor offers an easy way to add a maintenance mode page, and, not only that, but it enables you to customize it any way you want. Try it, it’s absolutely free.
1. Add a Maintenance Mode (Coming Soon) Page
- Install Elementor.
- Once Installed, start editing a page by clicking on Edit with Elementor
- Click on Add template, and choose from the 12 designated maintenance mode templates and click Insert.
- Customize and tweak the template to fit your website. You can consider adding widgets like Login, Countdown Timer, Share Buttons and Contact Forms that are popular in under construction pages
- Click on Save Template and name your template
For a list of coming soon templates, see below
2. Set the Maintenance mode template
- Go to Elementor > Tools and choose between coming soon and maintenance.
- Choose the template you saved earlier
- Click Save changes
3. Set access roles
You can set the specific roles that will have access to the site in development.
This way you can control who, apart from Admins, has access to the complete site, while regular users see an under construction or coming soon page. These roles include Administrators, Editors, Authors, Contributors, and Subscribers.
Pro users can include a login form in the maintenance mode page, so users with proper access can log in to the site from the maintenance mode itself.
When you set Maintenance Mode, you will see a red button on your top WordPress bar with the text: “Maintenance Mode ON”.
4. HTTP Response Codes
In addition to the fact that it’s extremely easy to put a WordPress site into a maintenance mode with Elementor, there are are also SEO advantages:
Maintenance Mode Response Code
When you set Elementor’s Maintenance Mode on, it will make your site tell search engines that your site is temporarily down for maintenance. It does so by sending the temporary maintenance response (HTTP 503). This way, search engines know to come back a short time later to check again if the site is already online.
Coming Soon Response Code
Setting Elementor to Coming Soon, on the other hand, makes your site tell search engines everything is working as normal, and they can index the website as usual. This is done by returning a response of HTTP200.
By sending these responses, Elementor makes sure that your SEO goes undamaged.
How to Get WordPress Out of Maintenance Mode
Once you are finished working on your site, and you want to relaunch it again and get it out of maintenance mode, you can go back to Elementor tools to switch it off.
Go to Dashboard > Elementor > Tools > Maintenance Mode, and under ‘Choose Mode’ switch it to disable. Now save and you will see the red notification on the top of the page removed.
Elementor Coming Soon Templates
Elementor has stunning maintenance mode & coming soon page templates.
These templates include everything you might like from a maintenance mode page, including a counter, registration form, social media icons and more. Bare in mind that you can easily turn a maintenance mode template to a coming soon template and vice versa.
Check them out:
This beautiful coming soon template features a large background image with a purple background overlay. It includes a clean counter, clear message and short description of vision, services and contact details
This FREE template features a close up on a clock, signaling that time is ticking till launch. This is a clean and minimal coming soon template that can be a good fit for business and fashion websites
This FREE flowery template has an original use of Elementor’s progress bar widget. It shows the user just how far long we are from launching the site. It also includes social media icons to connect users with your profile pages
A split-screen and dramatic coming soon template that features a counter, as well as a minimalist subscription form. This template is specifically for fashion websites but can be easily adapted to fit other topics
This hip coming soon template is straight to the point, with a short message and a counter. It features your email and social icons, so people can get in touch with you before launch. It is well suited for a freelancer website
If you are going to a pre-planned update of your site, with a designated ETA for finishing the repair, you can use this high-tech under construction template to tell your loyal visitors when the update will be finished
A FREE under construction template that gives a short notice of the situation, and also provides all the contact details the user might need. The background shows a tractor plowing away at a construction site
This is a classic coming soon template, that features ‘lift-off’ using our counter widget. It also features a subscription form, so people can register and be notified after the site has launched
A bold coming soon templates, featuring strong orange and black colors. This template features a login form, so users who have access can log in and enter the full website.
Another login template, this time featuring a form column and a portrait image of a model. This type of landing page can be used not only for under construction and maintenance mode but also to restrict access to your site
A classic & FREE coming soon template, also featuring a clock element. This template is another example of using black and white colors, as well as another accented color on the main headline and email address
Free and Easy Maintenance Mode
Even though under construction and coming soon pages have recurring patterns, like a big headline announcing the maintenance mode, a timer, and an update subscription form, there still are a lot of design possibilities to explore when you set your own maintenance mode and coming soon page.
Elementor allows you to fully customize the design of your WordPress site’s maintenance mode and coming soon pages and it’s absolutely FREE!
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