How to Put WordPress in Maintenance Mode (and Fix "Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance")

Redesigning your homepage, migrating to a new host or running a big WooCommerce update? You do not want visitors seeing a half-built page or placing orders while things are broken. WordPress maintenance mode shows visitors a friendly "back soon" message while you keep working on the real site.

Done wrong, though, it can confuse search engines or lock you out. This guide covers the safe way to use it, and the one-minute fix for the stuck "Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance" message.

Maintenance mode vs coming soon

• Maintenance mode: a live site, temporarily hidden for a few hours or days. It should tell search engines "temporarily unavailable, come back later".
• Coming soon: a brand-new site that has not launched. Here you simply do not want anything indexed yet.

What a good maintenance mode does

• Returns a 503 status, which tells Google the outage is temporary so it does not index your maintenance message or drop your pages.
• Shows logged-in admins the real site, so you can keep working and testing.
• Shows a clear, branded message with when you will be back and how to contact you.
• Is easy to switch off, ideally with one click.

Method 1: A maintenance mode plugin

The free SWS Site Fixer plugin (download below) includes this on its Maintenance tab:

1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Open Site Fixer > Maintenance.
3. Write a short Title such as "We'll be back shortly" and a Message, for example "We are updating our website and will be back by 6 pm. Need help now? Email hello@yourdomain.com."
4. Tick Maintenance mode and save.
5. Open a private window to confirm visitors see the message, while you, logged in, see the real site.

When you finish, untick the box and save. Your site is live again immediately.

Method 2: The temporary .maintenance file (advanced)

WordPress itself uses a file called .maintenance in the WordPress folder during updates. While it exists, every visitor (including you) sees "Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute." It is fine for a few minutes of manual file work, but it locks you out of the dashboard too, so a plugin is better for anything longer.

Fix: stuck on "Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance"

This message appears when a plugin, theme or core update was interrupted (for example, you closed the browser tab or the server timed out) and WordPress did not remove its temporary file.

1. Open your hosting File Manager or connect with FTP.
2. Go to your WordPress folder (usually public_html), where wp-config.php is.
3. Show hidden files if needed, and delete the file named .maintenance.
4. Reload the site. It is back.
5. Go to Dashboard > Updates and re-run the update that was interrupted, or reinstall that plugin.

If you then see "There has been a critical error", the interrupted update left a plugin broken. Follow our critical error guide.

Best practices for planned maintenance

• Use staging for big changes. Build a redesign on a staging copy and push it live in minutes, instead of keeping the live site in maintenance mode for days.
• Pick a quiet time, such as late night in your visitors' time zone, and avoid sale days.
• Take a backup first.
• Tell people when you will be back and give a contact option.
• Keep it short. A day is fine; several weeks can hurt your search visibility.
• Do not forget to turn it off. Check your site from a private window after finishing.

Is your site missing from Google after maintenance?

A maintenance or coming-soon page left on by accident is a common reason sites disappear from search. If your traffic dropped, check from a private window, then follow our checklist for a WordPress site not showing on Google.

Download the free plugin below to switch maintenance mode on and off in one click.