Under Construction Page - or Coming Soon

    • 8 posts
    February 17, 2018 4:14 PM EST

    Hey Everyone,

     

    I have read through the guides and tutorials and can't seem to find out how to set up an under construction page. I would like to have a page that has our logo or video with a coming soon. I also need to be able to log in so I can see the changes made while I set everything up. Any ideas?

    Thanks

    Dustin

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    February 17, 2018 7:46 PM EST

    ==> '... how to set up an under construction page...'

    I don't think one exists, but I could be wrong.  There's probably a way of adding an image and text for this to the LP, but for simplicity I use this excellent Plugin which offers more than just Under Construction pages.  --> https://www.socialengine.com/marketplace/app/advanced-error-pages-plugin

     

    ==> '...I also need to be able to log in so I can see the changes made while I set everything up. Any ideas?...'

    I typically use multiple browsers for this.  Ex. FireFox when logged in as ADMIN, Chrome and/or IE for testing by different Member levels, etc.  Plus I keep multiple Tabs open for different things.  In my experience, whatever User is logged in in a particular browser is the User for all SE Tabs in that browser.  So, with 3 browsers, 3 different Users can be accessing SE at a time from one PC.  URLs that may be helpful:

    yourdomain.com(/optional_foldername/) = LP (Landing Page in Layout Editor (LE))

    yourdomain.com/login = login page (signin page in LE)

    yourdomain.com/admin = signin required and ADMINcp (ADMIN Console Page), (signin required in LE)

    yourdomain.com/signup = signup page (signup page in LE)

     

    So you could be logged in as ADMIN in FF, and have all 4 of the above in Chrome and simply reload the desired Tab based on what you're doing in FF.  

     

    There may be better ways of doing this, but this is just the way I do things - plus when needed, multiple devices (PC, laptop, tablet, Android phone/tablet, etc.).  

     

     

     

    • 45 posts
    February 17, 2018 8:44 PM EST

    If you know how to work with html and are able to design your own coming soon page, then this may be helpful:

    Settings > General > Maintenance Mode.

    "Maintenance Mode will prevent site visitors from accessing your website. You can customize the maintenance mode page by manually editing the file "/application/maintenance.html"."

     

    You will also be able to set a code for accessing a website while in maintenance mode.

    • Moderator
    • 6923 posts
    February 18, 2018 5:11 AM EST

    Maintenance mode is the way to go IMO. You could also do something like this, http://scripttechs.com/ (my site, it's safe) , with a little HTML and then have the maintenance behind that. You wouldn't need two buttons but you get the idea. That's very basic. You could dress it up much more than that. I didn't have time to.

    • Moderator
    • 6923 posts
    February 18, 2018 5:12 AM EST

     I use the same method as @gs for viewing the site in different browsers while working. I also have a local install that I use for doing changes before putting them to my live. Mamp Pro has been the easiest to  use on mac and winblows.

    • 8 posts
    February 18, 2018 7:53 AM EST

    ok! Maintenance mode sounds perfect. The addon also sounds interesting as well. I will explore both. Thanks everyone!

     

    • 8 posts
    February 18, 2018 8:21 AM EST

    ok, so very new so not sure if I am doing things correctly. I went to settings>general>maintenance then hit the offline radial, saved changes and ... nothing happened. I don't see the maintenance page. I WAS using the same browser though so it may be cached. Checked another browser and the maintenance page shows up. Awesome!

     

    I can access the maintenance page HTML, or at least view the source file but I don't know how to change it. I have a page designed in HTML that I would like to use but don't see how to change the code. I know, rookie question but hey, got to start somewhere

    • Moderator
    • 6923 posts
    February 18, 2018 1:20 PM EST

    For my own site, I made an index.html file and used that as a basic splash page. Otherwise, you'll need to edit the tpl file and I'm not in my files atm to check where it is for the maintenance page.

    • 71 posts
    February 20, 2018 6:09 AM EST

    I might be late, but we have a nice plugin for this purpose.

    https://webhive.com.ua/store/product.php?id_product=40

     

    It allows gathering emails (so you can invite people later) and also you can set countdown till the website is open.