WordPress Maintenance Mode Carrie SmahaUpdated on March 19, 2025 1 Minute Read Maintenance mode enabled in WordPress allows you to place a splash page up on your website while you are working on it. The basic splash page lets your visitors know that your website is undergoing maintenance. There’s a plugin in the WordPress plugin directory that makes this task easy. Let’s go over the basic steps to install and use the plugin to enable maintenance mode. How to enable WordPress Maintenance mode First, you’ll need to log into the WordPress Dashboard section of your website. Once you are logged into the admin area, look on the right menu pane for plugins, then add new: Now, in the search field type “Maintenance” and you’ll see the related plugins. Select the WP Maintenance Mode plugin and click “Install Now”. The prompt will ask if you if are sure you want to install this plugin. Click “Ok”. You’ll then see a screen verifying the plugin was installed correctly. Click “Activate Plugin”. Now, you will be directed to the plugin page. Select “settings”. Now, once you click the settings button, configure the settings to meet your needs. Now, when you visit the website you will see the splash page similar to the snapshot to the left. Share this Article Carrie Smaha Senior Manager Marketing Operations Carrie Smaha is a digital strategy, web development, and SEO leader with 20 years of experience. She built her foundation in fast-paced agency environments before moving in-house to InMotion Hosting, where she leads go-to-market programs, agency initiatives, and technical product marketing that connects product capability to real customer decisions. More Articles by Carrie Related Articles WordPress 7.0 Armstrong Released: What’s New 10 Ways to Secure WordPress WordPress 7.0 Releases May 20, 2026: What’s New Intro to Migrating your WordPress Site Data Migrating your WordPress Database Migrating WordPress Files Configuring WordPress After a Migration Testing your WordPress website after Migration How to Move WordPress from a Subfolder to the Root Directory Move Your WordPress Site to a New Server