What is maintenance mode?#
When you are about to do major work on a site, such as an update, a redesign or a migration, it is best that visitors do not see a half-finished or broken page. Maintenance mode shows a simple message instead of the site, such as "The site is being updated, we will be back soon".
Example#
A store wants to change its theme before a big holiday sale. It turns on maintenance mode for a few hours, does the work, and turns it off after testing. Customers see a polite message instead of errors.
Types#
- WordPress automatic: during an update, WordPress puts the site in maintenance for a few moments
- Plugin-based: with a plugin you can have a designed page and scheduling
- Coming-soon page: for a site that has not launched yet
SEO notes#
The maintenance page should return an HTTP 503 status code so Google understands the situation is temporary. If all pages return 200 with the same maintenance text for months, the index may suffer.
A common problem#
Sometimes an update is left half done and the site gets stuck in maintenance. In that case, deleting the .maintenance file from the site root is the fix.
Common mistake#
Forgetting to turn maintenance mode off when the work is finished.