Website under construction page – for WordPress and Website Builder

If you want to build your new website without publishing it, you can use a “website under construction” page. In this article, we’ll explain how to create such a page in a step-by-step guide.  

This guide is best suited for WordPress and the one.com Website Builder, but the information provided is useful for all types of websites.  

We’ll also reveal how you can turn your “website under construction” page into a powerful landing page for your upcoming launch. 

Why create a “website under construction” page? 

A page informing visitors that you’re developing your website can be a great way of showing that you have something exciting in the works. With a page indicating that your site is under construction, you can still get online even while you’re still preparing for a full launch and generate interest in your business. 

You can also use an “under construction” page to temporarily remove parts of your website for maintenance. For instance, if you’re launching a new product, you might take down the old product page while preparing the new one.  

This strategy is used by many large and small businesses. A well-known example is Apple Store, which typically posts maintenance notices before launching new products on its website. 

Why an “under construction” page might be a bad idea 

An “under construction” page isn’t always a good thing, and there are several reasons to avoid creating one. One reason is that they often contain little value, meaning they don’t contribute to SEO (search engine optimisation). Established websites can be harmed by having pages with little valuable content. 

An “under construction” page may also lack meaningful value for visitors. Ask yourself: what value does your visitor get from visiting the page? If you can’t come up with a good answer, you might not need the page. 

However, these downsides don’t mean you should never create an “under construction” page. You can minimise the drawbacks by using the page for a short period and adding value to it. Later in this article, we’ll explore how to create a valuable “under construction” page. 

Creating an “under construction” page 

Setting up an “under construction” page is easy. We’ll show you how with guides for WordPress and Website Builder. 

Setup in WordPress

For WordPress, there are several good options for creating an “under construction” page. We’ll share two methods. 

Use a staging environment 

A WordPress staging environment is a copy of your website that you can edit and modify as much as you want without affecting your live website. If you have a staging environment for WordPress, you don’t need any additional plugins or functionality to create an “under construction” page. It gives you the flexibility to build an engaging page. 

If you’d like to learn more about creating a staging environment, check out our article on WordPress staging pages. You can also read more about using a staging environment with WordPress from one.com.  

With one.com, a staging environment comes pre-installed with Managed WordPress, which also helps keep your website secure and up to date. 

After creating a WordPress site with a staging environment, follow these steps to create an “under construction” page: 

• Create a page on your live website. 
• Add engaging content and customise the design as you like. 
• Log into your staging environment and prepare your website for launch. 
• When you’re ready to launch, move your staging site to your live website. 

Use a plugin 

You can use a WordPress plugin to easily create an “under construction” page. Examples of such plugins include Under Construction and Under Construction, Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode. These plugins allow you to create an “under construction” page and block visitors from seeing the pages you’re working on. 

If you don’t have a staging environment for your WordPress site, a plugin is usually the easiest solution for creating an “under construction” page. Just remember to uninstall the plugin when you’re finished. 

Setup in Website Builder

If you’re creating a website using the Website Builder, you can easily create an “under construction” page. We recommend creating a page and including engaging content that encourages visitors to return to your website. 

You can prepare your launch by creating new pages that are not visible to visitors or search engines: 

• Press Page, then Add new page. 
• Choose a blank page or a template. 
• Press Add. 
• Give the page a name and press OK. 
• Press the page name at the top of the page. 
• Press the three dots next to the page name in the list. 
• Choose Settings. 
• Choose Hide page. 
• Select Don’t publish this page. 

By doing this, you can prepare your pages for the launch. Uncheck Don’t publish this page when you’re ready for launch. 

Locka med intressant innehåll

A page that says, “We’re under construction, come back later” isn’t very engaging. A page like that doesn’t give visitors a good reason to return. Instead, consider it a way to generate interest in your website or your upcoming launch. Here are some examples of how to create interest with an “under construction” page. 

Mention your other pages 

If you’ve created an “under construction” page because you’re working on one part of your website, you can mention other interesting pages on your site. For instance, if you have an online store where you sell soap and you’re working on a new category for body scrubs, you might write: “We’ll soon be launching a collection of our finest body scrubs. In the meantime, check out all our current body scrubs on this page.” You can link to an existing page where all the body scrubs are available. 

Use a CTA 

In our previous example, we tried to direct visitors to another part of the online store. If, however, no part of your online store is live yet, it might be a good idea to use a different type of CTA (call-to-action). An example of a valuable CTA could be a form where visitors can sign up for a newsletter. You might write something like: “Subscribe to be the first to know about our organic body scrubs and enjoy our exclusive launch offer of 30% off!” 

With a CTA, your “under construction” page becomes more of a landing page that helps generate value for your business and sets you up for a successful launch. 

Countdown 

If you’ve set a date and time for your launch, you can generate interest by including a countdown or launch date on your page. You could create an intriguing image or video that offers a sneak peek at your launch and a large launch date in bold type. This can build excitement and encourage visitors to return for your launch. 

Things to consider when launching your website 

When you’re ready to launch your website, there are some important things to consider. We’ve gathered our top tips to help ensure a smooth launch. 

SEO

SEO (search engine optimisation) is the process of optimising a website to rank in search engines like Google. Before launching your website, it’s important to work actively on SEO. Find appropriate keywords for your pages and use them in headings and texts, create valuable content, and use SEO tools like Rank Math for WordPress to ensure you’re on top of your SEO. 

Delete your “under construction” page when it no longer applies

Even if you’ve spent time and effort creating a valuable “under construction” page, it’s important to delete it once it’s no longer needed. This way, you avoid confusing visitors, and you ensure the page doesn’t harm your SEO. 

If you’ve used a plugin to create an “under construction” page in WordPress, it’s essential to uninstall it, as unused plugins can create security issues for your website. 

Check Analytics 

If you set up Google Analytics when you created your “under construction” page, you can analyse the results. For example, you can see how many visitors the page received, how many stayed on your site, how long they stayed, and compare the number of visitors to the number of newsletter sign-ups. This helps you assess whether your “under construction” page delivered positive results and what you might do differently for your next launch. 

“Under construction”, the right way 

If you want to create a “website under construction” page, it’s important to know how to do it right. In this article, we’ve explored the pros and cons of such a page and explained how to generate interest for your launch in a meaningful way. Now, it’s up to you to set the stage for a successful launch of your new website.