Hushpage – Maintenance Mode & Coming Soon

FAQ

Can I put only part of my site in maintenance?

Yes. Under Where it applies, choose Only these pages and list the paths, one per line, for example /shop/. A path also covers everything under it, so /shop includes /shop/cart/. The rest of the site, and the REST API, stay live. Pages listed under Always available are never blocked, whichever option you choose.

How do live status updates work?

On Settings → Maintenance Mode, type a short note under Live status updates and click Post update (or run wp hushpage update "Backups done"). It appears on the maintenance page with the time. While a visitor keeps the page open, it checks the same address once a minute (only while the tab is visible) and reloads when there is a new update or when your site is back. It contacts only your own site, and stores nothing about visitors. Updates are cleared when the page switches off, and you can turn the automatic check off under Notifications.

How does a scheduled maintenance window work?

Turn the switch on and set Switch on automatically and, optionally, Switch off automatically. Until the start time visitors see the normal site; at the start time the maintenance page appears and page caches are cleared; at the end time it switches off and caches are cleared again. If email alerts are on, the site admin gets an email at the start and at the end.

Will my search rankings suffer?

In maintenance mode the page is sent with HTTP 503 “Service Unavailable” and a Retry-After header. That is how search engines expect a temporary outage to be signalled, and they keep your existing listings. Avoid leaving a site in maintenance mode for weeks.

I’m logged in but I see the normal site. Is it working?

Yes. Administrators (and any roles you allow) always see the real site. Use Preview the page on the settings screen, or open the site in a private window, to see what visitors see. A red “Maintenance mode is on” item in the admin bar reminds you that it is active.

Visitors still see the old page after I switched it off

The plugin clears the common page caches automatically. If your host or a CDN caches pages in a way the plugin can’t reach, clear that cache too. Developers can hook into hushpage_purge_caches to add another cache.

Another plugin locked me out. How do I switch this off without logging in?

Add define( 'HUSHPAGE_DISABLE', true ); to wp-config.php, or run wp hushpage disable with WP-CLI.

Can I use my own page design?

Copy templates/page.php into your theme and return its path from the hushpage_template filter. The $hushpage_settings array is available inside it.

My site is behind a proxy or CDN and the IP allowlist doesn’t match

For security the plugin reads only REMOTE_ADDR, because forwarded headers can be forged. If your host passes the real visitor address in a trusted header, return it from the hushpage_client_ip filter.

Does it store personal data or set cookies?

Only if you switch on the contact form. Then it stores the name, email address and message a visitor sends, after they tick a consent box, so you can reply. IP addresses are not stored (spam rate-limiting uses a short-lived hash). Messages are deleted automatically after the number of days you set (90 by default), they are included in WordPress’s Tools → Export Personal Data and Erase Personal Data, and suggested wording is added to Settings → Privacy → Policy guide. Without the form, Hushpage stores no visitor data.

It sets one cookie (hushpage_bypass) only for people who open your secret bypass link, so they can keep seeing the real site.

How is contact form spam stopped?

Without any outside service or CAPTCHA: a hidden field that only bots fill in, a check that rejects forms submitted faster than a person can type, a WordPress security token, and a limit of three messages per visitor every ten minutes. Bots that are caught get the normal “thank you”, so they learn nothing.