This is a simple, very easy to use Maintenance Mode plugin that allows you to put your site into “maintenance mode” in order to perform updates or other changes. The plugin allows you to specify a set of authorized IP addresses for people that will be allowed to see the site normally, and also to set a redirect location for unauthorized visitors.

Demonstration

From the plugin settings page, you can quickly enable maintenance mode, set the authorized IP addresses, and choose where to redirect visitors who do not have access, either to a WordPress page or external URL.

Download Plugin
  1. Michael

    Finally, a maintenance page plug-in that has thought the process of a maintenance page through and through.

    Thanks Pippin.

  2. Pippin

    @Michael – Thanks for the kind words. The pro version will be coming out pretty soon 🙂

  3. Jose Depaz

    Awesome!!! Just what I need. I can’t wait to have the pro version. Just an idea… countdowns are great in letting visitors know when they the site will be up again. I guess a shortcode to display that countdown on any exist page would be great.

    • Pippin

      That’s on the todo list for the pro version, which is about 70% done. Features will include: automatically turning maintenance mode on/off between a certain time frame, unlimited custom templates (with several included), timer count down, and a little more.

  4. Jo

    Hi pippin,
    I have installed your plugin an activated it as per the steps in your video however I being redirected to my maintenance page on my own computer dispite having entered my computers ip address. Is there anything obvious I may have done wrong? Thank you for your help 🙂

    • Pippin

      Are you running it on localhost? If so, then ips do not work in that scenario.

    • Kate

      Me too! I am on hostgator site, not localhost. I have the Headway framework and now I can’t get to the Headway Visual Editor either…..any ideas? I will have to deactivate your plugin soon to get back to work but I am leaving it so you can see it. I love the plugin but…..
      http://e-inkvoices.com

    • Pippin

      Why are you using maintenance mode on localhost? IP addresses don’t always play by the same rules on local installs, so that’s probably the problem.

  5. Jo

    Thanks for your reply! Hmm not sure what u mean by localhost…can u elaborate?

  6. michael

    Hello Jo,

    Are you running your WP on a test installation on your computer? To jump in, I think that is yo what Pippin was referring.

  7. Pippin

    @Jo – yes, Michael is correct. Do you have the plugin setup on a test site that is running on your computer, vs running on a live web server?

  8. Nick

    My ISP changed my IP address unexpectedly and now I am locked out. I have tried removing the plugin via FTP, but I still can’t get to the admin dashboard. What now?

    • Nick

      Disregard that. I had mistyped the URL! Need more caffeine.

    • Pippin

      @Nick – Ha, okay.

    • Pippin

      @Nick – You will always be able to access /wp-admin. The plugin doesn’t prevent users from getting there at all. Also, if you have removed the plugin via FTP, then it cannot be preventing you from getting in, not unless you have a cache issue.

  9. Matt Rees

    thanks for this plugin – but I’m having trouble getting it to work properly – even when activated, computers whose IP addresses I haven’t entered are still being granted access rather than being redirected.

    any idea how I can stop this? thanks!

    • Pippin

      Do you have all of the redirect settings set? It sounds like perhaps something in your theme or another plugin is conflicting.

  10. angie

    Hi, I installed this but when I enter my IP address it’s not giving me access – I can stil log in and access the dashboard, but not the pages. I am not working on a local host.

    How do you enter the number? Should there be spaces, dots separating them?

    Thanks

    • Pippin

      Is this on a local machine or live server?

  11. David Mitchell

    Hi, I think I took from above that I would always be able to type in /wp-login.php and access the admin area right, even if the ip address is not on the list? right?

    I have my IP in there so I can access now. I am partially deactivating the site for a year, and so sometimes ip addresses change. I want to make sure I can’t get locked out. I tried to figure out where the ip addresses are stored in the database so I could add later if need be, but didn’t figure that out.

    Please confirm if my understanding is accurate… Thanks.

    • Pippin

      Correct, you will always be able to access the login page.

  12. Andrea Vischi

    Hi Pippin…
    I’m using your plugin and I’ve noticed that you don’t have considered the situation when the server (on wich wordpress is installed) is behind a proxy. I’ve edited the function restrict-access.php in your plugin like this:

    function cmm_ip_test($ips){
    $userIP = isset($_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP']) ? $_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP'] : (empty($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR']) ? (empty($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']) ? @getenv('REMOTE_ADDR') : $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']) : $_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR']);
    if(in_array($userIP, $ips)) {
    return true;
    }
    return false;
    }

    Maybe you can release an update of the plugin with this feature added.
    It would be nice also that the IP address of the administrator was mentioned somewhere in the setting page.

    Thank’s for your work.

    • Pippin

      I have accounted for that in the Pro version, just haven’t updated the free version. I will try and get an update out.

  13. Fede

    Hey Pippin,
    I don’t know if I messed up by updating WordPress to 3.5.1, but after spending weeks building my site behind the curtain of your great plug-in, now I can’t access the site anymore! I can access the dashboard and everything else, but I can’t see the new site, as I’m redirected every time, in spite of my IP being on the list.
    As far as I can understand, I’m working on a live server.
    It was working perfectly before.
    Thanks
    Fede

    • Pippin

      Does it only redirect when you view the front end, or also when in the admin?

  14. Rick Collins

    Hi Pippin, I’ve been using this plug-in for some time now and love it. Recently I’ve been having the problem of accessing my site while in Maintenance Mode even though my IP address has been entered into the exceptions box. I’m still being redirected to the Maintenance Page. I’ve double-checked my IP address and it’s right. It used to work…….

    • Pippin

      What version of the plugin are you using?

  15. Kate

    to add to what I replied to above….free version of plugin

  16. Kate

    Sorry, I probably should have added my comment at the bottom. Here it is:

    Me too! I entered the IP but still cant get in from my ipad (which is the IP I entered, not my computer) I CAN get in on my computer. I am on hostgator site, not localhost.

    BUT I have the Headway framework and now I can’t get to the Headway Visual Editor at all…..any ideas? I will have to deactivate your plugin soon to get back to work but I am leaving it so you can see it. I love the plugin but…..
    http://e-inkvoices.com

    • Pippin

      If you enter the IP of your computer, does it work?

    • Davide Renzi

      Sometimes mobile devices go through a proxy that exposes an IP address other than the one that owns the device.
      In addition, some managers change this IP at regular intervals.
      See “Andrea Vischi” comment…

    • Pippin

      Yes, that could certainly explain why some mobile devices don’t work.

  17. Kate

    Hi again,
    So I have entered my computer’s IP. Which I got from Network utility so I am sure it is right. I can get to the dashboard from the computer and work on pages directly (but I cannot use the Headway Visual Editor at all) and whenever I want to View Page, it sends me to the maintenance page: http://e-inkvoices.com/launching-in-may-2013/

    • Pippin

      The Headway editor probably doesn’t work because it is bypassing the plugin’s IP check system, which is not really surprising.

    • Kate

      I am not understanding your response. Suggestion to fix? Are all theses folks using Headway? I also can’t see any pages…..

    • Pippin

      No, those other responses are related to viewing the site from mobile devices.

      For Headway, I don’t think there will be a way (without some custom code) with use the Visual Editor and have it in Maintenance Mode at the same time.

  18. Kate

    Just to review:
    On a live server
    Same thing happens on my ipad

  19. Kate

    To continue from above….
    Okay, I accept that it is incompatible with Headway and you don’t have a suggestion to fix that. I don’t always use the Headway editor and I could work on pages IF I could see then those pages BUT I can’t, as I said above.

    I am also using it on a site that is running the Catalyst framework and on that site as well, when I click VIEW PAGE or post, I am redirected to the maintenance page and cannot see the page I am working on. IPs are entered.

    Your thoughts on making this work for the WordPress Editor, if not for the Headway Editor?

  20. Kate

    and on my phone, I can’t see the sites at all–it is a white screen

  21. Kate

    I fixed it by entering the IP of my home network, not my computers

    • Pippin

      That’s the one you’re supposed to enter; the outside IP, not your computer’s internal IP.

  22. Shaun

    Hi Pippin,
    First I’d like to thank you for a great plugin.

    I am presently working on an E-commerce site where I have used your plugin to redirect traffic while in the progress of building it.

    The client however wants to use a Sagepayment gateway which is all well and good but Sage want to test the site first. i.e. place something in the basket etc.

    Anyway my dilemma is, Sage won’t give me their IP address and they need to look at the site but the client doesn’t want to go live.

    Do you have any suggestions, any help would be grateful received

    Thanks
    Shaun

    • Pippin

      If you upgrade to the Pro version, you could create a user account for Sagepay and then grant access to all users with that role.

  23. Shaun

    Hello Pippin,

    I would be really happy to do that, but how would that help if I can’t get their IP addresses as they do multiple tests from different sites.

    As a suggestion for the future…

    It would be good to have a Username and Password box that if the correct details are given the persons IP address is added to the permitted list.

    • Pippin

      The pro version doesn’t require IP addresses for user accounts. You can grant certain user roles unlimited access, so as long as you provide them with a user account and have them log into the site first, then can view it.

  24. A.McClean

    Better than all the other options. I can use this to divert between two sites while I work on one visitors are automatically directed to the other.

    Great plug-in

  25. Joel Schlotterer

    I have had random ip’s able to access my domain while the plugin is turned on (causing some serious problems) what might be causing this? it seems to make a difference whether they used www. or not

    PLEASE HELP

    • Pippin

      AS you noted in the support ticket, the issue had to do with a CDN. Note, please, please do not post tickets in 5 different places. Open a ticket in one location and then give me a chance to answer it.

  26. Mark Jackson

    Hi, is the paid version still available?

    • Pippin

      No it is not, sorry.

  27. Horacsio

    Hi
    is it compatible with 4.7?
    Thanks.

    • Pippin

      Yes it is. I use it on several of my own sites and WP 4.7.

Comments are closed.