WP Alpha hosting has a maintenance mode function built in. When it is on, visitors see a short message saying the site is undergoing maintenance instead of your normal pages. It is useful while you are working on the site, running updates or doing other maintenance that you do not want visitors to see halfway through. This article walks you through enabling and disabling it, and what to do if the message does not go away.
Step by step: turning maintenance mode on
- Log in to the hosting admin panel and open the site’s dashboard.
- Click the Maintenance mode toggle.
- Give it a few seconds, then load your site in a browser. You should see the message saying the site is undergoing maintenance.
Step by step: turning maintenance mode off
- Go back to the site’s dashboard in the hosting admin panel.
- Click the Maintenance mode toggle again to switch it off.
- Reload your site and check that your normal pages are showing.
How it works
Turning maintenance mode on places a file called .maintenance in your site’s folder. While that file is there, WordPress shows the maintenance message instead of the site. Turning the toggle off removes the file again.
Common problems
If you have switched maintenance mode off but the message is still showing, the .maintenance file has been left behind. Look in your site’s folder for .maintenance, delete it, then reload the site. The message will go away.
Remember to switch maintenance mode off when you have finished your work. Visitors cannot see your normal pages while it is on.
A quick way to confirm the toggle is working is to look in your site’s folder while you switch it on. The .maintenance file appears when maintenance mode is on and disappears when you turn it off.
When to contact support
Contact us if the maintenance message is still showing after you have deleted the file and reloaded the page, or if you would rather not delete files yourself. Our support team can help via a ticket from the client area or live chat.