What Is BD Maintenance Mode?
BD Maintenance Mode is a WordPress plugin that lets you display a maintenance page or a coming soon landing page to visitors while you work on your site. Logged-in administrators and whitelisted IP addresses automatically bypass the block and see the normal site.
Key Features
- Two modes — Maintenance Mode (HTTP 503 + Retry-After header) and Coming Soon (HTTP 200)
- Countdown timer — optional live countdown to a target date and time
- Custom content — editable headline, message, logo, and background image
- Role-based bypass — choose which WordPress roles can see the normal site
- IP whitelist — allow specific IP addresses to bypass the maintenance page
- SEO-friendly — maintenance mode returns 503 so search engines know to retry later; coming soon returns 200 for pre-launch indexing
- Admin preview — preview the maintenance page as an admin without logging out
- No database tables — all settings are stored in a single WordPress option (
bdmm_settings)
Installation
- Download the BD Maintenance Mode plugin ZIP file from getbdshield.com/shop.
- In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
- Select the ZIP file and click Install Now.
- Click Activate Plugin. You will be automatically redirected to the plugin settings page.
System Requirements
- WordPress 5.6 or later
- PHP 7.4 or later
- A valid BD Maintenance Mode license key (required to enable blocking)
Activating Your License
The maintenance page will not display to visitors until you activate a valid license key, even if you enable the plugin. This is a safety measure to prevent accidental lockouts.
- Navigate to BD Maintain → License tab in the WordPress admin sidebar.
- Enter your license key and click Activate.
- Your tier (Starter, Professional, or Agency), expiration date, and site count will appear once activated.
All tiers include the full feature set (both modes, countdown, IP whitelist). The difference is how many sites you can activate:
| Tier | Sites | Priority Support |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1 | No |
| Professional | 3 | Yes |
| Agency | Unlimited | Yes |
Enabling Maintenance Mode
Once your license is active, enabling the maintenance page is simple:
- Go to BD Maintain → Settings in the WordPress admin sidebar.
- Toggle the Enable Maintenance Mode switch to ON at the top of the page.
- Choose your mode (Maintenance or Coming Soon) in the Mode section.
- Click Save Settings.
When enabled, a status pill in the plugin header changes to show either Maintenance Active or Coming Soon Active with a pulsing indicator. When disabled, it shows Disabled.
What Visitors See
When maintenance mode is active, any visitor who is not logged in with a bypass role and whose IP is not whitelisted will see a full-page maintenance or coming soon screen instead of your normal site. This page includes:
- Logo (optional) — displayed at the top of the page if configured
- Headline — defaults to “Under Maintenance” or “Coming Soon” depending on the mode, or your custom text
- Message — a paragraph of explanatory text below the headline
- Countdown timer (optional) — a live countdown showing days, hours, minutes, and seconds until your target date
- Background image (optional) — a full-screen background image with a dark overlay for readability
The page uses its own minimal CSS file (bdmm-front.css) and does not load your theme. This keeps it lightweight and ensures it works even if your theme has errors.
Default Content
If you leave the headline and message fields empty, the plugin uses sensible defaults:
- Maintenance mode: Headline: “Under Maintenance” / Message: “We are currently performing scheduled maintenance. We’ll be back shortly.”
- Coming Soon mode: Headline: “Coming Soon” / Message: “We’re working on something awesome. Stay tuned!”
Countdown Timer
The countdown timer is an optional feature that shows visitors how long until your site is expected to be back or launched.
Setting Up the Countdown
- In the Countdown Timer section of the Settings tab, toggle Enable Countdown to ON.
- Set the Target Date & Time using the datetime picker. Choose the date and time when your maintenance window ends or your site launches.
- Click Save Settings.
The countdown displays four boxes: Days, Hours, Minutes, and Seconds, each updating in real time via JavaScript (bdmm-front.js). When the target date is reached, the countdown stops at 00:00:00:00.
Previewing the Page
As an administrator, you normally bypass the maintenance page. To see exactly what your visitors will see:
- Click the Preview button at the bottom of the Settings tab.
- A new tab opens at
yoursite.com/?bdmm_preview=1, which forces the maintenance page to display even for admins.
The preview uses the same rendering logic as the actual block, so what you see in preview is exactly what visitors get.
Understanding the Admin Menu
BD Maintenance Mode adds a menu item called BD Maintain in the WordPress admin sidebar, using the hammer icon. It appears at position 83 in the menu order. The plugin has two tabs:
- Settings (default) — all configuration options for mode, content, countdown, and access control
- License — license key activation, deactivation, and plan comparison
A quick “Settings” link is also added to the plugin’s entry on the Plugins page for fast access.