Fri. Feb 7th, 2025

Maximizing your website’s experience through regular maintenance ensures its maximum functionality. Whatever update you’re looking to have through the maintenance, whether it’s fixing a backend or frontend issue, ensuring its under construction mode is critical since it will make visitors to your site aware of what’s going on and when to expect normalcy. This will ensure maintenance or construction is done without giving poor impressions to visitors to the site. It will also allow you to do the work while keeping peace of mind. However, you need a well-designed and executed plan to ensure the maintenance process is successful. This is where a WordPress maintenance plan comes in. You can check out this WordPress Support and Maintenance provider for well-designed, affordable, and elaborate plans. 

When to Use WordPress Maintenance Mode

While minor activities like updating a blog post, editing old links, fixing minor bugs, and updating contact details may not need WordPress maintenance mode, other significant changes will. They include extensive modifications such as; 

  • Fixing a website after a major security breach
  • When rebranding your website 
  • Installing and testing new plugins
  • Promoting a new site that is under development to create a new buzz while the development is underway
  • Troubleshooting errors and glitches on your site 
  • Editing out content you don’t want visitors to see on your site’s frontend 
  • Changing your sites code or core files 

In simple terms, it’s always prudent to consider setting up maintenance mode on your website whenever it requires a major overhaul that will render it non-functional or broken. This will go a long way in ensuring your company maintains its trust and legitimacy and avoids a bad impression among people. It will also make your website appear organized in the eyes of the visitors while passing them relevant information such as when to expect it to be back. A professional and organized website is crucial in fostering its credibility or security, which also positively impacts its future traffic. 

How will WordPress Maintenance Mode Page Appear to your Visitors?

The default maintenance mode for WordPress is a simple HTML message alerting visitors that the site is under maintenance and what time they can recheck it. While this may appear dull, the good thing is that it can be tailored to become more appealing and feature more information. For instance, pertinent information about your brands, such as contact details and social media account links, can be added for customers interested in reaching out. This is possible thanks to the several useful WordPress under maintenance plugins that aid in customizing the maintenance page to best suit your website’s design. 

How to Activate WordPress Maintenance Mode

Now that you know what the WordPress maintenance mode is and scenarios that make sense to activate it, let’s now look at how you can activate it on your site. Below are 3 common methods you can employ to activate WordPress maintenance mode; 

Method #1: Use a Maintenance Mode Plugin 

Setting your WordPress website into maintenance mode using one of the several available plugins from the WordPress plugin repository is the fastest and easiest way. Some of the most common and dependable options include SeedProd Plugin, WP Maintenance Mode Plugin, and the Elementor builder plugin. The general process for each of them is easy, although they all have different steps depending on your specific plugin. 

Method #2: Modify the WordPress Theme’s function.php file

Another method you can consider is adding code to one of your site’s core files, your theme’s functions.php file. It’s crucial to proceed cautiously and back up all your files if you choose this step, as it involves editing a core file. After locating the functions.php file, scroll to the bottom of the file and add the snippet below; 

function wp_maintenance_mode() {

if (!current_user_can(‘edit_themes’) || !is_user_logged_in()) {

wp_die(‘<h1>Under Maintenance</h1><br />Website under planned maintenance. Please check back later.’);

}

}

add_action(‘get_header’, ‘wp_maintenance_mode’); 

(This is the default WordPress maintenance mode setting) 

Method #3: Modify your WordPress site’s .htaccess file

Another option is to edit your .htaccess file (once again, remember to back up your site before). Navigate your files root directory and create a new file named “maintenance.html.” Open the file and edit the message you want to appear on your maintenance page, and exit saving your changes. Next is to open your .htaccess file and post the following code snippet at the bottom and save; 

RewriteEngine On

RewriteBase /

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/maintenance\.html$

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://example.com/maintenance.html [R=307,L]

Visitors to your site will now be redirected to the maintenance.html you created and the message you created displayed. 

You can use several methods to activate your site’s WordPress maintenance mode. Ultimately, your preferred choice will come down to your experience with adding code & modifying site files and your overall comfort level. Whether you go with tweaking site files or using the various available plugins, it’s crucial for your decision to match your technical skills and specific needs. However, you don’t have to do this alone. There are many reputable third-party providers of unique WordPress maintenance services; all you have to do is identify one to work with that matches your needs.

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