WordPress Under Construction Plugins: 6 Compared

The best WordPress under construction plugin for a site that is already live is LightStart, because it is the only one of the six compared here that sends the HTTP 503 status by default, so Google treats the site as temporarily down instead of indexing your holding page. For a brand-new site that nobody has indexed yet, UnderConstructionPage is the quicker install (600,000+ active installs, 4.8 out of 5 from 1,285 reviews), and SeedProd is the pick when the holding page needs to collect email addresses. If you already run Elementor you do not need a plugin at all.

Jump to: the comparison · which one fits you · who sends 503 · the six plugins · without a plugin · the verdict · questions

Which WordPress under construction plugin should you install?

“Under construction”, “coming soon” and “maintenance mode” are three names for one plugin category: hide the site behind a single page while you keep working behind it. The plugins differ on three things that matter — whether the free version tells search engines the site is down (a 503 status), whether it collects emails, and how you and your client get past the page.

Figures read from each plugin’s WordPress.org page and each vendor’s pricing page on 9 September 2026. Paid prices are the regular annual or lifetime price for the smallest licence.

Which one fits your situation?

These six are not interchangeable. Two of them ship a 503 switch, one sends it whether you ask or not, and one keeps it behind a paid licence. Tick what applies and the answer narrows to one.

Install counts and ratings read from each plugin’s WordPress.org page on 9 September 2026; 503 behaviour read from each plugin’s FAQ, source code or support forum as listed further down.

Which plugins tell Google the site is down?

A holding page can be served two ways. With a 200 status the page looks like ordinary content, so a crawler may index "Coming soon" as your homepage and, on a live site, let it displace pages that already rank. With a 503 Service Unavailable status the crawler treats the visit as a temporary outage, keeps what it already has, and comes back later — sooner if the response also carries a Retry-After header. WordPress itself does exactly this during a core update: the .maintenance file makes wp_maintenance() answer every request with a 503 and Retry-After: 600.

So a new site wants 200, because you want the domain indexed as early as possible, and a live site wants 503. What each plugin actually sends is buried in a FAQ, in source code or in a support thread, and this is what those say:

Read from each plugin's WordPress.org listing, its public source code on GitHub, or the WordPress.org support forum on 9 September 2026.

The practical consequence: the most-installed "under construction" plugin by name is the one that cannot send a 503 for free, while the plugin most people would file under "maintenance mode" does it without being asked. If you are hiding a live site, that table is the comparison.

The six plugins, verified

LightStart (formerly WP Maintenance Mode)

For anyone taking a live site offline for a few hours or days. Version 2.6.23, updated in the 30 days to 9 September 2026, 400,000+ active installs, 4.3 out of 5 from 873 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.1, requires PHP 7.1.

The deciding capability is what happens with no configuration: the code sets the status to 503 unless a filter changes it, adds a Retry-After header calculated from the countdown timer, and has separate switches to let named search bots through and to print a noindex tag. Themeisle now maintains it under the LightStart name and has added landing-page templates on top; the maintenance side is what it always was.

The honest limitation is the rating. At 4.3 it is the lowest of the six, and the setup wizard added in 2.6 offers to install Otter and import a template, which you can skip. There is no paid version, so nothing is held back, and nothing is coming either.

LightStart on WordPress.org

UnderConstructionPage (WebFactory)

For a new site where the holding page needs to exist in the next five minutes. Version 5.81, updated in the 30 days to 9 September 2026, 600,000+ active installs, 4.8 out of 5 from 1,285 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.1, requires PHP 5.2.

What decides it is friction: pick one of the bundled designs, type a headline and a line of text, whitelist your user role so you keep seeing the real site, and switch it on. The free version also carries an opt-in box that syncs with MailChimp, an automatic end date and a login button for the admin.

The limitation is the status code. The free plugin serves the page with a 200, and when a user asked for 503 in December 2025 the author replied that the option is in the Pro version. Pro is $49 a year for three sites, or $119 and $250 lifetime for five and a hundred sites, and it also adds the drag-and-drop builder and 500+ templates. On a live site with rankings to protect, either pay or pick LightStart.

UnderConstructionPage on WordPress.org

SeedProd (Website Builder by SeedProd)

For a pre-launch page whose job is to collect email addresses. Version 6.20.9, updated in the 30 days to 9 September 2026, 700,000+ active installs, 4.9 out of 5 from 4,699 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.1, requires PHP 5.6.

Its free version is a real drag-and-drop builder with coming soon and maintenance templates, and it hooks the signup box to Mailchimp, ConvertKit and other lists. It is also the only plugin here whose FAQ spells out the status codes in plain words: Coming Soon mode returns 200 so Google can index the page, Maintenance mode returns 503 for short-term work on an existing site.

The limitation is that the plugin is now a full site builder with a theme builder, WooCommerce pages and 404 templates, and the free version is the top of that funnel. The Basic plan is $79 a year for one site; the theme builder starts at Plus, $199 a year for three, with introductory discounts on the first year only. If you only want a holding page, expect prompts for the rest.

SeedProd on WordPress.org

Maintenance (WebFactory)

For a plain maintenance page with a logo, a background and nothing to configure. Version 4.32, updated in the 30 days to 9 September 2026, 1 million+ active installs, 4.4 out of 5 from 864 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.1, requires PHP 5.2.

It is the most-installed plugin on this page, and the free version has the tick box that matters: "503 Service Temporarily Unavailable". The FAQ is explicit that search engines only stop seeing the site when that box is on, so the default is 200 and you must remember it. Free also gives you a front-end login, Google Analytics, page exclusions and cache compatibility.

The limitation is that there is no email capture and no countdown in the free version, and the design options are a colour picker and a background. The Pro version, sold as WP Maintenance PRO, is a lifetime licence at $59 for one site, $69 for five and $119 for a hundred, and adds 200+ themes.

Maintenance on WordPress.org

CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance (NiteoThemes)

For agencies that need to show a client the real site without giving them a login. Version 4.1.18, updated in the 30 days to 9 September 2026, 200,000+ active installs, 4.7 out of 5 from 326 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.1, requires PHP 5.6.

The deciding capability is the bypass URL: a secret link, with a copy-to-clipboard button, that lets anyone holding it through the holding page. Alongside it are role-based bypass for editors, authors and contributors, a whitelist and blacklist of which pages the holding page covers, a subscribe form, a countdown and social icons. The status code is a setting you choose between 200 and 503, and the FAQ explains when to use each.

The limitation is design depth: three themes come bundled and the rest are downloads, some free and some premium, sold outside WordPress.org without a price on the listing. It is also the smallest install base of the plugins that ship a 503 switch.

CMP on WordPress.org

Minimal Coming Soon (WebFactory)

For a single coming-soon page with a signup box and nothing else. Version 2.45, updated in the 30 days to 9 September 2026, 100,000+ active installs, 4.4 out of 5 from 281 reviews, tested up to WordPress 7.1, requires PHP 5.2.

It does one thing: show non-logged-in visitors a minimal page with a MailChimp signup, while you and other logged-in users see the site. The description offers to let search engines view the normal website while visitors see the coming soon page, which is the sensible setting for a new domain.

The limitation is that its listing says nothing about a 503 status at all, so treat it as a coming-soon tool for new sites, not a maintenance tool for live ones. WebFactory sells a Pro version with 450+ themes; the price is not on the WordPress.org page. If you want this style of page and a documented status code, CMP does the same with the toggle.

Minimal Coming Soon on WordPress.org

WPBrigade's similarly named "Under Construction, Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode" also appears in search results. It is maintained, with 10,000+ installs and 4.6 from 46 reviews, but it is tested only to WordPress 7.0.4 and its listing says nothing about status codes, so it is not compared here.

Can you put a WordPress site under construction without a plugin?

If Elementor is installed, yes, and you should. Elementor → Tools → Maintenance Mode is part of the free plugin (10 million+ installs, version 4.2.4). You choose a mode, choose an Elementor template to display, and choose who gets through: every logged-in user, or named roles. The source code is unambiguous about what each mode sends. Maintenance mode answers with a 503 and Retry-After: 600; Coming Soon mode sends nothing special, so it is a 200.

WordPress core has no switch of its own. The 503 behaviour you see during an update comes from a .maintenance file that WordPress writes to the site root and deletes when the update finishes. It has existed since WordPress 3.0, it expires after ten minutes, and the message can be replaced by a maintenance.php drop-in in wp-content. You can create the file by hand over FTP for a very short outage, but it locks you out of the admin too, which is why plugins exist. If a failed update leaves the file behind, the site stays stuck on the 503 message until you delete it.

Some themes and hosts also have a switch. If your theme options or hosting panel offer a maintenance or coming-soon mode, check which status it sends before relying on it for a live site, because the table above shows how often the default is 200.

Which WordPress under construction plugin should you choose?

For a live site, LightStart. It is the only one of the six that sends a 503 without a setting to find, it adds a Retry-After header, and it has a free subscribe form if the outage doubles as a pre-launch. Maintenance by WebFactory is the runner-up if you prefer the bigger install base and do not mind ticking the 503 box yourself.

For a new site, UnderConstructionPage or SeedProd. UnderConstructionPage is the fastest holding page there is, and its 200 status is harmless on a domain with nothing indexed. SeedProd is the choice when the page needs to look designed and collect email addresses, and its Coming Soon mode serves the indexable 200 on purpose.

Skip installing anything if you run Elementor, and skip Minimal Coming Soon for live-site maintenance, since it never states which status it sends. Reach for CMP only when the client preview link is the requirement; it is a good plugin, but that link is the reason to choose it over the others.

Once you have chosen

• Fix a failed WordPress update — if the site is stuck on "Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance", that is the core .maintenance file, not your plugin, and this page shows where to delete it.
• Best landing page WordPress plugins — when the holding page turns into a real launch page with a form and a pitch, these are the builders that do that job properly.
• WordPress page builder plugins compared — if you are choosing SeedProd or Elementor partly for the builder, this is the comparison of what each builder is like to live with after launch.
• How to launch a WordPress website — the checklist for the day the holding page comes down, from DNS to the first backup.

Frequently asked questions

How do I put a WordPress site under construction?

Install a maintenance-mode plugin such as LightStart or UnderConstructionPage from Plugins, Add New, activate it, and switch the mode on in its settings. Whitelist your own user role first so you keep seeing the real site while logged in. If the site is already live and ranking, use a plugin that sends a 503 status, so search engines treat the outage as temporary.

Does WordPress have a built-in under construction mode?

No. WordPress only has the .maintenance file it creates during updates, which makes the site answer with a 503 and a ten-minute Retry-After header and then expires. There is no switch in Settings to turn a holding page on or off, so you need either a plugin, a theme or host feature, or Elementor's built-in Maintenance Mode under Elementor, Tools.

What is the difference between coming soon and maintenance mode?

The status code. A coming-soon page is served with a normal 200 so search engines can index a new domain before launch. A maintenance page should be served with a 503 Service Unavailable so search engines keep the pages they already have and check back later. SeedProd, Elementor and CMP let you choose; LightStart sends 503 by default; UnderConstructionPage's free version sends 200.

Will an under construction page hurt my SEO?

On a new site, no, because there is nothing to lose and a 200 lets the domain start being indexed. On a live site it can, if the holding page is served with a 200 for long enough that search engines replace your real pages with it. Sending a 503 for the duration avoids that, which is why the status code is the first thing to check in any plugin.

Can I still log in while the site is under construction?

Yes, with every plugin here. The holding page is shown to visitors who are not logged in, while whitelisted roles or users see the normal site. Bookmark the wp-login.php address before switching the mode on, or enable the plugin's login button, since the holding page usually hides the navigation that would take you there.

How do I make an under construction page without a plugin?

If Elementor is active, use Elementor, Tools, Maintenance Mode, pick a template and choose who can access the site. Otherwise you can create a .maintenance file in the site root by FTP, which makes WordPress send a 503 to everyone including you, and add a maintenance.php drop-in to wp-content to change the message. For anything longer than a few minutes, a plugin is easier.