Maintenance Mode plugin

If added, the maintenance.php drop-in will be ignored by a VIP Platform WordPress environment. The Automattic-authored “Maintenance Mode” plugin is the suggested alternative for the functionality that the maintenance.php drop-in provides.

The Maintenance Mode plugin can temporarily block a site from public traffic until site maintenance is complete. A customized page template and messaging can be served to users while the plugin is enabled.

After the plugin is installed, activated, and configured:

• Logged-out requests requests will return an HTTP 503 status other than requests initiated by the user agents iphone, UptimeRobot, and user agents containing check_http will be served as these user agents are used by VIP’s application monitoring system. Requests made by Jetpack will also continue to be served.
• Requests to the WordPress login page will continue to be served to allow users to log into the site. Only registered users with at minimum an Author role will have the ability to access the site.
• The access restrictions will only apply to content that is generated by WordPress. Media and static assets will continue to be publicly accessible.
• Content will continue to be syndicated via Jetpack’s content distribution tools. To change this behavior, refer to Controlling Content Distribution via Jetpack.