Display a temporary page while preparing a new WordPress website or carrying out short maintenance. Choose the method that fits your purpose and the tools available in your hosting account.
For a new website before launch, use CMP’s Coming Soon mode. For short work on an existing live website, use Maintenance mode in CMP or WP Toolkit. These modes are not interchangeable: CMP’s Coming Soon mode returns HTTP 200, while its Maintenance mode returns HTTP 503 to indicate temporary unavailability.
Use one method at a time. A temporary landing page affects visitor access but is not a substitute for access control on confidential development content.
Method 1: enable Maintenance Mode in WP Toolkit
This option is for a temporary maintenance screen. It does not require installing CMP. Availability and menu names depend on your hosting plan.
- Sign in to the Client Area, open Services → My Services, and select the hosting service for the correct website.
- Select Login to cPanel if available. Alternatively, use the cPanel address in your hosting activation email and sign in with your cPanel credentials.
- In cPanel, open WP Toolkit or WordPress Management, depending on your interface.
- Select the correct WordPress installation and domain.
- Switch on Maintenance Mode and save if prompted. If this control is unavailable, use the CMP method below.
- Open the website in a private/incognito window to check what visitors see.
Method 2: enable a Coming Soon page with CMP
You need permission to install plugins, normally an Administrator on a standalone site. In Multisite, ask the network administrator if plugin installation is restricted. You do not need to open cPanel to use this method.
1. Sign in to WordPress
Use https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin, replacing yourdomain.com with your domain, and sign in with your WordPress account. If your site uses a custom login address, use that address instead.
Alternatively, sign in to the Client Area, open Services → My Services, select the correct hosting service, and use WordPress Login if your service provides it.
2. Install and configure CMP
- Open Plugins → Add New Plugin.
- Search for CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes and verify the author before installing.
- Select Install Now, then Activate. Use the current version available from the official WordPress plugin directory.
- Open CMP Settings. Choose a layout or theme, and add your page heading, message, and optional logo or background image.
- For a pre-launch site, select Coming Soon / Landing Page. For short maintenance on an existing site, select Maintenance. Labels may vary slightly by version.
- Enable the CMP page/status and save the settings. Installing and activating the plugin alone is not the same as enabling the temporary page.
- Preview the page, then check the homepage and an inner page in a private/incognito window.
Logged-in administrators normally see the real website rather than the CMP page. Test as a logged-out visitor; the page’s bypass and role settings can also affect what you see.
Turn off the temporary page
- If you used WP Toolkit, select the same installation and switch off Maintenance Mode.
- If you used CMP, open CMP Settings, disable the temporary page/status, and save.
- If both methods were enabled, disable both before checking the public site.
- Open the homepage and an inner page in a private/incognito window and confirm the normal site is visible.
If the page does not change
Confirm the selected domain and WordPress installation, check that settings were saved, and make sure a second maintenance tool is not still enabled. Clear the affected site’s WordPress cache, hosting cache, CDN cache such as Cloudflare, and browser cache as applicable. Incognito mode does not bypass server or CDN caches.
If the issue continues, contact Support with your domain, the method used, and a screenshot. Do not include passwords.
