Even if your site is still under construction, your domain may already be accessible and displaying content. An under construction page allows you to promote your future website and is also used during maintenance work. Discover here the key points to take into account when designing and setting up this type of page.
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What is the function of a site under construction?
It can take several weeks or even months between registering a domain and actually launching a website. So it is a good idea to submit the URL in Google Search Console to request its indexingwhile informing visitors using a page under construction of your projects: creation of an online store, launching a blog or setting up a business website. A “Coming soon” page helps generate curiosity, raise awareness of your site and encourage visitors to return.
Note
If a website is under renovation rather than construction, the home page will often say « Under construction ». The structure and purpose are similar to that of an under construction page, but the emphasis is on information: explaining to existing customers why the site is not accessible normally and indicating the expected duration of the interruption.
| Criteria | Page under construction | Page under maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | – Present a new product, brand or service – Arouse the interest of the target audience and generate leads |
– Inform visitors of temporary unavailability during a redesign – Maintain existing visibility without positive SEO impact |
| Content | – Minimalist but attractive – May include a registration form (newsletter), teasers, social media links and a short announcement/vision |
– Clear message indicating that the page will soon be accessible again – Often accompanied by a countdown |
| SEO | – Can help build authority and notoriety – Integrates keywords, metadata and backlinks; – Uses HTTP status code 200 OK |
– Limited SEO role – Temporary maintenance of ranking – Uses HTTP 503 Service Unavailable status code + Retry-After header to report temporary unavailability |
| Duration | – Usually a few weeks to a few months | – Limited to a few days or weeks |
| Marketing | – Active and integrated into the marketing strategy | – No marketing role |
If you are creating a new online presence, simply design and configure a home page dedicated to the site under construction. Once your content is ready, replace it with the final home page.
However, the potential of such a page is often underexploited. A simple message such as “Site under construction” or “Coming soon” accompanied by an image of a construction site is not false, but it does not arouse or curiosity neither want to come back. You also lose the opportunity to introduce yourself in advance. Here are the most effective contents and elements for a “Coming soon” page.
Present your project or vision
What will happen on your site under construction? The information provided does not need to be as detailed as on an “About Me” or “About Us” page, but it should give visitors a clear idea what they can expect in the future.
In the case of a site under construction linked to maintenance work, briefly explain the reason : a website redesign or, for example, a reorganization of your stock for the new season. This type of message can be presented in a light and pleasant way, explaining with humor that the page is temporarily inaccessible, whatever the reason.
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Establish your corporate identity
Include at least the logo or company nameeven if your site is still under construction. Ideally, colors, fonts and other graphic design elements are already defined and can be used on the page under construction. This already gives a visual impression of your future online presence.
Indicate the availability date
The classic is a countdown until the site is launched or resumed normally. However, this choice implies respecting the set date, and a delay risks disappointing your customers. It is often better to announce a time window, for example « This summer », « In the fall » or « This end of the year », which gives you some margin. You can also offer a alert : invite users to enter their email address to be informed as soon as your site under construction is (again) online.
Integrate current means of contact
Add a link to a contact formprovide an email address or phone number, and provide links to your social media profilesprovided they already contain content.
Collect newsletter subscribers
It is common on sites under construction to offer a subscription to the newsletter, depending on the type of website, associated with the promise of discounts for first subscribers. These benefits can be sent before launch, during maintenance, or even at launch to mark the first shipment.
Adopt the right tone
In addition to features and content, the style of your site under construction plays a vital role in keeping it memorable. According to the tone of your business and your targetthe tone can be humorous and casual, or factual and neutral. Ideally, tie in with the theme of your website, such as an online store evoking a decluttering warehouse.
If you sell furniture online, you might write: « We arrange the space so that your furniture fits perfectly. » « . If you run a restaurant, a suitable wording would be: “We are cooking up a new menu, just a little more patience. » or “The kitchen is being created, come back and taste it soon!” « .
3 examples of successful pages under construction
Humorous presentation of the company
Countdown & newsletter
Chatbot
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How long can a maintenance page stay online?
If this is a new website, you could, in theory, leave the « Coming soon » page active as long as you want. On the other hand, for a site under construction, the period must remain as short as possibleideally a few days to a week. In any case, once a date has been announced, it is essential to respect it, otherwise you risk quickly losing credibility.
Note
From a technical point of view, it is recommended to use the HTTP status code 503 Service Unavailable accompanied by the header Retry-After. This helps make it clear to search engines that the unavailability is temporary and that they should return to index the site later.
In summary: sites under construction and SEO
For a “Coming soon” page, SEO has no significant role since Google does not yet have any important content to index. On the other hand, for a site under construction, it becomes essential. If the Google crawler crawls your domain during the construction phase and only finds a maintenance page, this may send a negative signal and affect visibility. In addition, repeated or prolonged work phases can have a significant negative impact. This is an additional reason to reduce these phases to a minimumin order to limit the risk of Google crawling your site precisely at that time.
