Are you hoping to boost your brand awareness with a WordPress under construction page? Learn how you can easily build one in three steps!
When launching your WordPress website, you’ll likely need to spend a considerable amount of time working on the back end before you go public. However, if you keep your audience in the dark while you’re toiling away on a stellar site, this could result in a dull debut.
Thankfully, you can increase your chances of a successful launch by using an under construction page. Similar to a billboard that announces forthcoming housing developments, a WordPress coming soon page can boost awareness about your new site.
In this post, we’ll explore what a WordPress under construction page is and why it can be useful. Then, we’ll show you how to create one in three steps. Let’s get started!
What an under construction page is (and why it's useful)
Messages such as “coming soon” and “under construction” may seem very different at first. However, they serve a very similar function. They are both placeholders for a page or site that isn't quite finished yet:
Typically, these pages include some common elements. They might feature a countdown timer, contact information, or an email opt-in form inviting visitors to sign up and stay up to date. Most importantly, these pages let visitors know that your upcoming site is in the works.
Whether you're a small business owner or simply hoping to create an online portfolio, there are plenty of reasons to leverage a WordPress under construction page:
- Business launch. You may be working on your e-commerce store and want to raise some brand awareness before you go live.
- Company re-brand. Products and markets are always evolving, so you may need to re-invent your site at some point.
- Site-migration: For a number of reasons, you might want to move your site to a new domain.
In any of these circumstances, a coming soon page can be a powerful marketing tool. By creating hype for your new business or brand makeover, you can grow your audience, increase your conversions, and reduce customer churn.
How to create a WordPress under construction page (in 3 steps)
With the right tools, creating an under construction page should be simple. You can use a number of WP coming soon plugins, such as SeedProd, Minimal Coming Soon Page, and Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode by Nifty. For this tutorial, we'll be using SeedProd as it's a popular and trustworthy choice with a suitable free version.
Step 1: Install and activate the SeedProd plugin
SeedProd's free plugin is a great choice if you're hoping to create an under construction / coming soon page. To access it, simply navigate to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress dashboard. Then, use the search function to look for “SeedProd”:
Click on Install Now, then select Activate. Once the plugin has been activated, you should see the following page:
You'll also see the SeedProd option in your dashboard menu. You can now start creating your coming soon / under construction page.
Step 2: Select a template for your under construction page
Navigate to SeedProd → Pages in your WordPress dashboard. You'll immediately see that the free version gives you a few options:
Under Coming Soon Mode, you'll want to click on Set Up a Coming Soon Page. On the next screen, you'll notice that you have a limited choice of templates. However, if you look to the top of your page, you'll see that you can fill out an opt-in form to get more free templates:
We recommend that you go ahead and enter your email address. Then, click on Get FREE Templates and you should see the following page:
You'll also find that these new templates have been unlocked in your WordPress dashboard:
Here, you'll want to browse the available options and select a template you want to use. We're going to go with the Coming Soon / Maintenance Mode template.
Step 3: Edit and publish your new page
Once you select a template, you'll be taken to the page builder. You can use its intuitive interface to customize and configure your new coming soon page:
To edit the design, you can click directly on the blocks within the page. For example, if you want to modify the image, select the Image block. You'll then see that your left-hand menu bar changes, enabling you to modify this specific element of the page:
For instance, you can swap out the image, add alt text, adjust the alignment, and more. Simply click on any other element to edit those as well.
For this template, we recommend providing a valid contact email. Just click on the Text block and enter your contact details. Make sure to select Save when you're done.
When you've finished editing your under construction page, you might want to make sure that you're happy with the results. To check out your work, you can click on the Preview button at the top right-hand corner of the screen. You can then see what your page looks like on the front end:
Now, all that's left to do is publish your new WordPress coming soon page. To do this, click on the arrow symbol next to the Save button, then hit Publish in the dropdown menu. That's it – your coming soon / under construction page is now live!
Conclusion
Cultivating brand awareness pre-launch can be a difficult task. However, a dual coming soon under construction page can be your ticket to making a splash.
Let’s quickly recap the three simple steps you can take to make a WordPress under construction page:
- Install and activate the SeedProd plugin.
- Select a template for your under construction page.
- Edit and publish your new page.
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