Description: An essential tool to take the site offline in a controlled manner, allowing authorized staff to continue working or testing while visitors see a service message.
What is it for? (Practical examples)
This tool is crucial for safely managing updates or structural changes to the website.
- Safe updates: Blocks public access during the installation of new features or theme updates, preventing visitors from seeing the site in an incomplete or broken state.
- Private testing: By selecting IP-based blocking mode, you can allow access only to your development team or testers, keeping the site completely invisible to the rest of the world.
- Customer access management: If your site is a restricted area (e.g., e-commerce or service portal), you can block access only to unregistered users, forcing authentication before displaying any content.
Main Features
The module offers granular control over who can access the site when maintenance mode is active.
- Quick activation: A simple switch to immediately put the site into maintenance mode.
- Two blocking modes: Ability to choose whether to block access based on IP address or user login status.
- IP Whitelist: Definition of a list of authorized IP addresses that can bypass the maintenance page.
- Automatic IP detection: Function that allows quickly adding your own IP address to the authorized access list.
- Dedicated service pages: The system automatically generates two different blocking pages (one for general maintenance, one for required access) that can be customized.
- Dynamic countdown: Ability to insert a visual block on maintenance pages showing a countdown until the site's reopening date.
How to configure it
Configuration options are found in the system’s general settings panel.
| Setting | Description | Available options |
|---|---|---|
| Set website 'In Maintenance' | The main switch to activate or deactivate the service page. | Yes / No |
| Blocking mode | Defines the criteria for denying visitor access. | Block by IP: Denies access to all IPs not on the whitelist. Block non-logged-in customers: Denies access to those who have not logged in (keeping login and registration pages accessible). |
| IP Whitelist | List of IP addresses authorized to view the site normally even when maintenance mode is active. | Manual entry of IP addresses. |
| Use my IP | Quick button to automatically add your current IP address to the whitelist. | Immediate action. |
Automatic integrations
The module integrates directly with page management and restricted areas, ensuring a consistent workflow.
Service page management
The system automatically adds two new private and customizable pages accessible via Visual Builder:
1. Maintenance page: Displayed when blocking occurs via IP.
2. Access required: Displayed when blocking occurs because the user is not logged in.
These pages can be graphically edited to include alerts, company logos, or a dynamic countdown.
Guaranteed Access to User Area
When using the "Block non-logged-in customers" mode, the system ensures that essential authentication pages remain always accessible:
- Login Page
- Registration Page
- Password Recovery Page
This allows new users to register or existing users to log in even if the rest of the site is blocked.
Visual Builder Components
The module provides a block component called Countdown that can be inserted into the maintenance page to show visitors how much time remains until site reopening.
Key Differences
This tool is specifically designed for temporary management of site access. Unlike a simple redirect, the Maintenance Page keeps login functions active and allows selective access via IP, making it ideal for development and testing phases.
