How to put your WordPress blog in maintenance mode

When several maintenance operations are performed for a short time, it is best to make your blog unavailable so as not to disturb visitors.

It is for this reason that you must switch to maintenance mode. The latter is not an internal feature of WordPress, but a state that you set up using a specific plugin.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to switch to maintenance mode with the plugin WP Maintenance Mode. If anything is beyond your understanding, please let us know.

But before, let's discover together How to Install a WordPress Blog in 7 Steps et How to search, install and activate a WordPress theme on your blog.

Then, back to why we are here.

How to install and configure WP Maintenance Mode

WP Maintenance Mode is a plugin available on WordPress.org, so it can be installed and activated from the dashboard or downloaded as a zip file.

Once the latter is activated, go to the location " Settings >> WP Maintenance Mode »To make your first configurations. In reality, it is from this location that everything will happen.

the "General" tab

We therefore begin by activating the mode (status: activated), which by default is disabled.

However, you may want search engines to continue indexing your content. In this case, you must select the value "Yes" for the option " Bypass for Search bots ».

And if you work with some users, then they will also have access to the dashboards, but for that you have to choose the authorized role (backend Role). The same is true if you want to make front-office access possible for a specific role (frontend role).

As far as the front office is concerned, you can determine how the different pages are indexed: " index, follow "To index and follow links" noindex, nofollow », For no indexing, no link tracking.

From this maintenance mode, you can define a redirection for users after a connection. You can also determine which pages (or at which address) the maintenance mode does not apply, in particular:

wp-admin, for www.exemple.com/wp-admin
login, for www.exemple.com/login
wp-admin / admin-ajax.php, for www.exemple.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php

And so on.

If you want to know how to understand the connection and dashboard URLs, I invite you to read my recent tutorial on retrieving login links and dashboard.

The last option allows you to always have a notification on the dashboard, to remind you that the website is in maintenance mode.

In the Design tab

From this tab, you can define the text that will be displayed for any user who will access your blog. You must not forget to specify the reasons why the blog is currently unavailable.

You can:

Add a title (Title), displayed on the browser page tab
Define a title (Heading), displayed on the page
A text, also displayed on the page, but a little below.

When it comes to backgrounds, you can choose to use:

A specific color
A predefined background
A specific background (image available in the media library).

In the Modules tab

I think this is the tab you will like the most, because indeed, with the different modules it offers, you will be able to:

View a countdown (show countdown)
Display a subscription field to receive notifications (subscribe show)
View social networks (Show social networks)
View contact information (Contact show)

Countdown

You can set the departure date (start Date) and how long is left for it to stop (countdown remaining time), according to the " background You will choose a color for this countdown.

subscriptions

You can take advantage of this maintenance mode to collect some email addresses. You will use it to send some information about the status of your maintenance. Modify the text of the " text ", for " Keep up to date with updates " for example.

You will see statistics on the number of subscribers and you can export this list as a CSV file.

Social networks

Nothing very complicated at this level, you will only have to activate the option and provide the various addresses to your pages on the various social networks available.

Contact information

Also at this level, you will have to activate the option and define the email address that will be displayed and the effects (animation).

Remember to save your settings each time.

Do not hesitate to read our 5 WordPress plugins to save your blog

In the Manage Robot tab

Here you will have the possibility to configure a conversational bot that will allow basic dialogue about visitors or collect their questions and concerns. You can therefore personalize its various messages. But first it should be activated.

The GDPR tab

In this section, it will simply be a question of configuring your website so that it is compatible with the GDPR. Activate this section and fill in the fields.

This plugin allows you to create much more impressive pages.

Discover also some premium WordPress plugins

You can use other WordPress plugins to give a modern appearance and to optimize the handling of your blog or website.

We offer you here some premium WordPress plugins that will help you do that.

1. Themify Builder

Themify Builder is, unsurprisingly, the offering from the Themify team. He incorporates it into several of their WordPress themes to provide customers with easy customization options. But you can also buy it as a standalone plugin and use it with any WordPress theme.

As Divi Builder et Page Builder Pagers, Themify Builder allows you to create layouts in the front-end or the back-end. Another good thing is that this plugin allows you to customize your responsive breakpoints (but only at the whole website level).

Go even further with: Comparison of the few page builder on WordPress

One interesting thing about Themify Builder is that it still lets you use the standard WordPress editor, while other page builders require you to use the visual page builder interface for everything.

Download | Demo | Web hosting

2. Mega Menu Monster

Mega Menu Monster is another WordPress Plugin premium which only costs $15. It's a WordPress Plugin which has been featured several times on CodeCanyon and has already been sold thousands of times. In the features section, this is one of the most versatile plugins out there.

It offers more than 10 menu styles drop-down options. You will be able to use Google fonts, vector icons and even other types of content (image / text / video).

The team behind this WordPress Plugin continues to improve it and offers fairly satisfactory customer support. This is a must-have WordPress plugin, especially if you are looking for a Mega Menu plugin on WordPress.

Download | Demo | Web hosting

3. Ninja Popups

With over 30 sales and a 000 star rating, Ninja Popups is one of the WordPress plugins the most popular ones available on Code Canyon.

Besides a huge range of templates for a variety of use, it also comes with several features such as: visual popup builder, 10 different display positions of popups, 74 different animation effects, anti-blocking technology support to bypass ad blockers, a variety of targeting options, stats in the dashboard, content blocking for opt-in email or social shares, tons of integrations with email marketing services mail and more.

Download | Demo | Web hosting

Recommended Resources

Find out about other recommended resources to help you build and manage your website.

Conclusion

Here ! That's it for this tutorial, hope it helps you get into maintenance mode much easier. Do not hesitate to share with your friends on your favorite social networks.

However, you can also consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on WordPress blog creation.

If you have suggestions or remarks, leave them in our section Comments.

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How to put your WordPress blog in maintenance mode