WordPress Maintenance Mode Plugins (2026): 10 Compared

Every site needs a quiet spell now and then: a redesign, a big update, a move to a new host, or the weeks before launch when there's nothing to show yet. A maintenance mode plugin hides the unfinished work behind one page while you, and anyone you invite, carry on behind it.

The ten below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and each description comes from the plugin's own WordPress.org directory page. If you're getting a brand new site ready, my guide to launching a website or blog covers the steps around it.

Coming soon and maintenance plugins side by side

All ten are free plugins in the WordPress.org plugin directory, as of Oct 2026, so the free plan column reads Yes. Some makers sell extra features on their own sites, so check the plugin's page before you plan around one.

Tool	Type	Good for	Free plan
CMP	WordPress plugin	Coming soon and maintenance pages with a response code setting	Yes
Colorlib Coming Soon	WordPress plugin	Fifteen templates with countdown timer and email signup	Yes
HKDEV Maintenance Mode	WordPress plugin	Lets clients preview a site before public launch	Yes
LightStart	WordPress plugin	Drag and drop maintenance and coming soon pages	Yes
Maintenance	WordPress plugin	Branded maintenance and coming soon pages with a 503 option	Yes
Maintenance Redirect	WordPress plugin	Shows a maintenance page and lets invited visitors bypass it	Yes
Minimal Coming Soon	WordPress plugin	Quick coming soon and maintenance page	Yes
SeedProd	WordPress plugin	Coming soon pages inside a full page and theme builder	Yes
Slim Maintenance Mode	WordPress plugin	No settings page, activate it and work on the site	Yes
Under Construction	WordPress plugin	Simple under construction and coming soon pages	Yes

Ten maintenance mode plugins, one line each

CMP

Best for: Coming soon, maintenance or landing pages where you want to choose the response code yourself, either 200 OK or 503.

Colorlib Coming Soon

Best for: Pre-launch pages built from fifteen responsive templates, with a countdown timer, a MailChimp subscribe form and social media links.

HKDEV Maintenance Mode

Best for: Developers who need to let clients preview a site before public launch, or hide a WordPress site for a while.

LightStart

Best for: Building a splash page by drag and drop that works as a coming soon page, a maintenance screen or a landing page.

Maintenance

Best for: Branded maintenance, coming soon and under construction pages set up in minutes, with a 503 option you switch on.

Maintenance Redirect

Best for: Showing a maintenance page to the public while the visitors you invite bypass it to preview the site.

Minimal Coming Soon

Best for: Getting a simple coming soon or maintenance mode page up in seconds, with very little to set up.

SeedProd

Best for: Sites that want coming soon and maintenance pages inside a full drag and drop website, theme and landing page builder.

Slim Maintenance Mode

Best for: Scheduled maintenance with no settings page at all: activate it, do the work, and deactivate it when you're finished.

Under Construction

Best for: Setting up under construction, coming soon and maintenance mode pages from the WordPress Customizer, kept deliberately simple.

The response code decides what Google sees

Google Search Central's page on HTTP status codes is clear about what happens when a site answers with a 5xx error. Already indexed URLs are preserved in the index, but eventually dropped, and any content Google receives from a URL that returns a 5xx status code is ignored.

That's the catch most people miss. A maintenance screen that sends a 503 marks the downtime as an error rather than as your normal pages, so Google keeps what it has indexed for a while and ignores the holding page. Leave that screen up for days, or weeks, and pages can start falling out of the index. A short window is fine. A forgotten one isn't.

Which plugins name the 503 setting

Two plugins here are explicit about it. The Maintenance plugin, the most installed here with 1,000,000+ active installs and 88/100 from 869 ratings as of Oct 2026, says in its own FAQ that the site is hidden from search engines only if its 503 option is enabled, so it's a setting you switch on, not something you get by default. CMP lists a response code setting with a choice of 200 OK or 503.

A 200 OK tells Google the holding page is your real page. On a live site with pages already ranking, that's the wrong signal, so pick 503 for maintenance and turn the screen off the moment you're done. Whichever plugin you use, look for the response code before you look at the templates.

Holding screen, coming soon page or client preview?

• A short maintenance window on a live site: one of the two plugins above with a 503 option, switched on only for as long as the work takes.
• A coming soon page before launch: a builder or template plugin. Colorlib Coming Soon, for one, adds a countdown timer and an email signup to its templates.
• A page up in seconds: Minimal Coming Soon says it creates coming soon pages in seconds, with little to set up.
• Letting a client see the site first: look for preview or bypass access for invited visitors, which two of the smaller plugins describe.
• Working in the Customizer: Under Construction, which sets its pages up there.

What the directory numbers say

Among the builders, SeedProd has 600,000+ installs with 98/100 from 4,699 ratings, the most ratings here by a long way, and LightStart sits at 400,000+ installs and 86/100 from 874.

At the small end, Slim Maintenance Mode scores 100/100 from 63 ratings and has no settings page at all, and Maintenance Redirect scores 98/100 from 24. HKDEV Maintenance Mode's 92/100 comes from just 14 ratings, so treat it as an early signal and nothing more. An install count shows how many sites run a plugin, and a rating count shows how many of those people bothered to say what they thought.

Before you switch maintenance mode on

1. Check which response code the plugin sends, and choose 503 for maintenance on a live site.
2. Decide who needs to see the real site behind the screen, and use a plugin with preview or bypass access if that's a client.
3. Give yourself a finish time, and switch the screen off as soon as the work's done.
4. Once it's off, open the site in a private window, logged out, to check visitors see your pages again.

Do you make a WordPress maintenance mode plugin? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.

My plain advice on maintenance mode

Use a maintenance screen for hours or a few days, not weeks, and make sure it sends a 503 while it's up. For a site that hasn't launched, a coming soon page is fine, and one with a countdown and an email signup puts the wait to good use. Whichever you choose, the click that matters most is the one that switches it off.

If the work behind the screen is an update or a security fix, my piece on where your host's security stops on a WordPress site is worth reading first.

Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.

Frequently asked questions

What does a WordPress maintenance mode plugin do?

It shows visitors a single holding page while you work on the site, and lets you, and anyone you allow, see the real site behind it. Most also make coming soon pages for sites that haven't launched.

Should a maintenance page return a 503?

On a live site, yes. Google Search Central says content from a URL returning a 5xx code is ignored, and already indexed URLs are kept for a while but eventually dropped.

How long can I leave maintenance mode on?

As short a time as you can. Google keeps indexed pages for a while during 5xx errors but eventually drops them, so a screen left up for weeks puts your rankings at risk.

What's the difference between maintenance mode and a coming soon page?

A maintenance screen hides a live site for a short time while you work. A coming soon page stands in for a site that hasn't launched yet, often with a countdown and an email signup.

Are WordPress maintenance mode plugins free?

All ten here are free plugins in the WordPress.org plugin directory, as of Oct 2026. Some makers sell extra features separately, so check the plugin page.