To put WordPress in maintenance mode, install the free ExtenderX plugin and enable Maintenance Mode under Site Enhancements → Site Access Modes. Visitors see a maintenance page with a 503 status and Retry-After header, so search engines know it's temporary, while administrators keep full access. Use Coming Soon Mode instead for a site that hasn't launched.
Maintenance mode or coming soon mode?
| Maintenance mode | Coming soon mode | |
|---|---|---|
| Use it when | A live site is temporarily down — a redesign, migration, big update | The site hasn't launched yet |
| HTTP status | 503 Service Unavailable, with Retry-After | 200 OK |
| Search engines | Come back later; rankings are kept for short outages | Shouldn't index the placeholder |
| How long | Hours or days | Until launch |
The status code matters. A maintenance page that returns 200 tells Google your homepage is now a "back soon" message. A 503 tells it to come back later. ExtenderX's maintenance mode returns 503 with Retry-After: 3600, and both modes mark the screen noindex.
Set up maintenance mode
- Install and activate ExtenderX.
- Go to ExtenderX → Site Enhancements → Site Access Modes.
- Enable Maintenance Mode.
- Choose a style preset, then set the icon, heading, message and colours.
- Save, then open the site in a private browser window to see what visitors see.
You stay logged in and can keep working — administrators always bypass the page.
Set up coming soon mode
- In the same Site Access Modes screen, enable Coming Soon Mode.
- Write a heading and a line about what's coming.
- Save and check it in a private window.
Switch it off on launch day — and remember to check Settings → Reading that "Discourage search engines" is off.
Free vs Pro
| Free | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance page with 503 + Retry-After | Yes | Yes |
| Coming soon page | Yes | Yes |
| Admins bypass | Yes | Yes |
| Presets, heading, message, colours | Yes | Yes |
| Live countdown | — | Yes |
| Logo and background image | — | Yes |
| Notify-me form | — | Yes |
| Let other roles or IP addresses through | — | Yes |
ExtenderX Pro starts at $19.99 a year and also adds cookie consent, a GDPR notice, age verification and an exit-intent popup.
Compared with dedicated plugins
| ExtenderX | Maintenance (WP Maintenance) | LightStart | SeedProd Lite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance mode, free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Coming soon mode, free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Drag-and-drop page design | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Subscribe / contact form | Pro (notify form) | — | Yes | Email integrations in Pro |
| Also an accessibility toolbar, animations, dark mode, code snippets | Yes | — | — | — |
Sources: Maintenance, LightStart, SeedProd, as of October 25, 2026. Disclosure: WPXERO makes ExtenderX (version 1.10.0).
If you want a designed landing page with forms and integrations, a builder like SeedProd or LightStart fits better. If you want a clean, correct maintenance switch without another plugin, ExtenderX already has it.
Maintenance checklist
- Back up first. Maintenance mode hides the site; it doesn't protect it.
- Clear your cache after switching the mode on and off, or visitors may see the wrong page.
- Keep it short. Long 503s can eventually affect rankings.
- Test logged out in a private window.
- Turn it off and check the homepage, a post and the checkout.
ExtenderX also adds header and footer code, dark mode, block animations and a free accessibility toolbar.