When you are looking to grow a blog, it is important to start small and work your way up. One of the most important parts of a blog is the theme that is used. There are many different types of themes that can be used on a WordPress site, but one of the best WordPress plugins for under construction is the WP Maintenance Mode plugin. This plugin allows you to have an easy time using your blog, while also allowing your visitors to see that it is not completely done yet.
The WP Maintenance Mode plugin will help you get started by giving you the ability to create a page that will be visible to all of your visitors. This page will show them what they need to do in order to get to the rest of your content. It will also give them information about how long it will take for them to get there. You can use this page as a placeholder until you have everything set up and completed.
Once you have everything set up and completed, then you can begin adding content. This is done by creating posts that are related to each other and then linking them together using permalinks. You can also add images and videos, which will help make your blog more attractive and useful for those who visit it often.
Best WordPress Plugin For Under Construction
All the below plugins are freely available from the WordPress plugin repository. Some of them offer a premium version also. The list is actively maintained and will be kept up-to-date.
1. SeedProd
SeedProd is a freemium plugin. Its lite version is currently one of the most popular choices with over 1 million installations.
- Get SeedProd Free
In addition to coming soon and maintenance modes, the plugin also supports custom 404 error pages. But to access it, you need the premium version.
The plugin is quite easy to set up. The revamped settings page looks much better than when I checked it the last time. You can toggle the page modes with a button toggle. There is no confusing number of options either.
Another advantage of SeedProd is its beautiful collection of templates. There are nearly 25 of them, out of which only two are free. And I found the ‘Rocket coming soon template’ to be a good one.
You can further customize the templates using SeedProd’s built-in page builder. The interface looks similar to Elementor’s maybe better, in my opinion.
The free templates could have been better if they supported a count down timer, which is currently a pro-only feature. There is also a blank template, which you can use to design pages from scratch.
The starting price for the premium plugin is $79, which unlocks all the premium templates. Not only that, but it also allows adding a lot more elements like opt-in form, countdown timer, etc. to your page using the page builder.
Overall, SeedProd’s lite version is quite powerful and sufficient for most websites.
2. CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes
CMP’s settings page is not as simple or minimal as SeedProd’s. But it’s not complex either. The main advantage is that the free plugin offers a lot of features not found in other plugins.
- Get CMP
The list of free features includes a countdown timer, social icons, custom CSS, and custom logo uploads. There are also three free templates.
For example, here is a page that I quickly made using CMP’s free template – Countdown. It’s complete with a logo, description, timer, and a signup form.
Another cool feature is the ability to add random background photos from external sources like Unsplash. You can also set YouTube videos as the background.
Although the plugin does not have a premium version, you can purchase premium themes/templates from NiteoThemes. And some of these themes support additional features not found with the free themes, such as image slider background, and special effects. There are also templates specially designed to work with page builders like Elementor and Divi.
- Free plugin with lots of features
- Premium themes available
Overall, this is my personal favorite coming soon plugin.
3. WP Maintenance Mode
WP Maintenance Mode is a completely free plugin. That means there is neither a premium version nor any paid-addons or templates. It’s also quite popular with 700k+ active installations. However, the rating is a bit lower – 4.3/5.
The plugin is developed by Designmodo, and it includes all the essential features one needs to set up a coming soon page.
The settings page design is minimal, which looks like the rest of the WordPress admin. But one disadvantage is that there are not many customization options, although you can change the background and colors. You can also enable countdown timer, subscription form, and social media icons.
In addition, there is a built-in chatbot feature that can make the whole experience more engaging for the visitor. You can manually set the replies from the plugin’s Settings page. However, the central positioning of the chatbox seems unusual.
Still, compared to the page-builder level customizability of the other plugins, WP Maintenance Mode looks basic. There are no ready-made themes either. But if that is what you want, then it may be sufficient.
- Free plugin
- Minimal interface & features
- Get Plugin
4. IgniteUp
IgniteUp is a no-nonsense plugin with customizable coming soon and maintenance page templates.
As of writing this post, IgniteUp offers five free templates. The Launcher template includes an animated image of a rocket and a countdown timer. However, it doesn’t allow uploading your logo image.
Regarding the other four templates, they allow uploading a custom logo image, but there is no timer. I think that’s a strategy to make your purchase their premium templates, which support all the page elements. And their prices are in the range from $3 to $6.
The opt-in form supports two options – save the subscriber emails to the database, or your MailChimp list. If it’s the latter, you can integrate your MailChimp API key from the Settings page.
Overall, IgniteUp is a decent plugin with enough features. Nothing more, nothing less.
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5. Site Offline
Site Offline plugin looks very neat on the front-end. The plugin has a good rating and 30k+ installations.
However, compared to the other plugins on this list, the Settings page of this plugin looks chaotic, in my opinion. There is also a huge Upgrade button right at the top.
Another issue is that the plugin’s stylesheet seems to be overriding the default WordPress styles, including the body font on the admin page. But it should not be a problem for your visitors on the front-end.
There are also no pre-made templates, although you can customize most of the things from the Settings page. If you want templates, then you need to upgrade to Pro, which also supports email signup form and MailChimp integration. The price is $19.
Except for the over-designed admin area, Site Offline is a good plugin with all the features found on other plugins. Email opt-in form is missing in the free version, though.
under construction plugin wordpress free
Minimal Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode
As the name already suggests, this free plugin is minimalistic and straightforward. But before you look away and start scrolling to the next one, you should know that Minimal Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode is completely customizable. That includes personalizing colors, images, fonts, content, and much more. To be more precise, every element on the page is configurable. Elements can be quickly rearranged, and if you want total control over the page, you get to write your own CSS and HTML code.
The plugin supports W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache plugins, something that’s important in the world where everybody talks about caching.
Collect emails with MailChimp, track visitors via Google Analytics, use integrated Google fonts, etc. Check out more details on the official Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode PRO site.Currently, the plugin is on AppSumo, and you can get a lifetime license for as little as $39!
UnderConstructionPage
The first plugin on the list is a fantastic one, indeed. UnderConstructionPage is as simple as it gets, yet it gives you everything you need to prepare your site for the maintenance mode. After months of stagnation, Web Factory took over the development of this free plugin and the numbers have started to sky-rocket. Currently, there are 300,000 active installs which make the plugin one of the most popular, and the number of users (and five-star ratings) keeps on growing.
That’s because UnderConstructionPage plugin is quick to install, easy to set up and beautifully designed. All you have to do to create a visually stunning page is to select a theme, set the name and a few settings and hit the button that will turn on the under construction mode. The developers update the plugin every two weeks, and that’s something you need to appreciate when we talk about free plugins.
Check out the full Under Construction Page review, install the free version, and have your professional page in just a few minutes after reading this.
Maintenance
Maintenance is a popular (more than 400,000 active user-base, with more than 2,000 new downloads per day) plugin that allows you to set your site under construction. The plugin allows you to quickly create & customize a maintenance page that your visitor will get to see instead of your normal site. Still, you can show a minimalistic icon that will allow you to log in to the site.
With this free plugin, you can change background images, edit content, and create a beautiful page that your visitors will love.
WP Maintenance Mode
This fully customizable plugin is another popular solution among under construction page plugins for WordPress. WP Maintenance Mode will get you a subscription form to collect emails from your visitors and a simple contact form.
There are some nice landing page templates you can choose from, and everything is responsive, so you don’t have to worry about mobile users. The plugin works on a multisite, and there’s a nice feature that allows you to exclude specific URLs from maintenance.
That’s not all; you get to use a countdown timer, social media icons, and it’s important to know that there are SEO options available.
EZP Coming Soon Page
The last plugin on our list counts more than 20,000 active users. It allows you to quickly turn your WordPress site into an under-construction page. It’s highly customizable, fully responsive and it won’t judge you for not knowing how to code in HTML – you can do everything through a simple user interface.
EZP Coming Soon Page will help you collect email addresses from your potential customers. Once collected, the plugin can export the addresses to MailChimp, Aweber, and other email providers.
The plugin will let you use a countdown timer; something useful if you have already set a date for launching your site. You can add your logo, customize CSS, and the most interesting part is built-in backgrounds which will make a coming soon page look wonderful. You get to use social media icons, and much more. Another alternative is using Thrive Architect, a popular WordPress Plugin that is more customizable, but more time-consuming to set up. Using it can pay off well as it gives you more room to maintain consistency in your design.
Conclusion
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