What is PrestaShop maintenance mode and what is it for?
PrestaShop maintenance mode is a feature that allows users to display a custom page while the store is inactive or under maintenance, so visitors do not see a blank page or error messages. While the store is in maintenance mode, visitors will not be able to make purchases or view products, allowing you to carry out essential maintenance tasks such as updating the system, adding new features, or resolving technical issues. This feature also lets you display a custom message to your customers and visitors, informing them when the store is expected to be back online. Maintenance mode is a very useful feature for online store owners who want to minimise the impact and risks of any potential technical issues.
How to enable PrestaShop maintenance mode in version 8.x
Here are the steps to put a PrestaShop store into maintenance mode in version 8.x:
- Go to the administration area of your PrestaShop store. You can do this by entering the corresponding URL in your browser and using your admin credentials.
- Once inside the PrestaShop backend, go to the «Configuration» section.
- In the «Configuration» section, find and select «General Parameters».
- Within «General Parameters», scroll down to find the «Maintenance Mode» option.
- Check the box next to «Enable the store in maintenance mode».
- You now have the option to customise the message displayed in the store while it is in maintenance mode. You can edit the message in the corresponding field.
- If you want to restrict store access to a specific IP address during maintenance mode, you can enter the IP address in the «Allowed IP access» field.
- Save the changes.
How to disable maintenance mode in PrestaShop
This is very easy. If the store is in maintenance mode, there will be a link in the top right corner that takes you directly to the administration area. There, activate the store and save the changes.
What is PrestaShop and what is it for?
PrestaShop offers a wide range of features and functionalities that make managing an online store easier. Some of the main features and benefits of PrestaShop are:
- Product management: Easily add and organise products into categories, manage inventory, set prices, shipping options, and more.
- Design and customisation: Offers a wide variety of customisable templates and themes to adapt the store's design to your needs. It is also possible to modify the source code for more advanced customisation.
- Order processing: Facilitates order management, shipment tracking, invoice generation, and return management.
- Payments and shipping: PrestaShop is compatible with numerous payment gateways and shipping methods, offering flexible options to customers.
- Customer management: Allows you to manage and maintain a customer database, send newsletters, offer discounts and promotions, and more.
- SEO optimisation: Includes tools and features to optimise search engine positioning and increase online visibility.
- Analytics and statistics: Provides detailed reports on sales, website traffic, product performance, and more, helping you make informed decisions for business growth.
PrestaShop is a flexible and scalable solution, suitable for businesses of different sizes, from small online stores to larger enterprises. Being open source, it also benefits from an active developer community that contributes plugins, extensions, and support, offering a wide range of customisation and expansion options.
Video transcript
We often receive this question when a customer installs a PrestaShop store and visits it only to find the maintenance mode screen — that is what PrestaShop's maintenance mode looks like.
So how do we exit maintenance mode? We need to go to the backend — the PrestaShop administration area. If you have installed a PrestaShop store, you probably know where the administration area is, which may have a different URL from the one shown in this video, as you configured it yourself when installing PrestaShop.
To exit maintenance mode in version 8.x, the system directly indicates that you are in maintenance mode. You click that option and it will take you straight to the maintenance section. What you need to do is activate the store.
It also offers some options. For example, if you want to allow the store only for a specific IP address, you can enter the IP address you want to allow. You can also change the message displayed in the store during maintenance mode.
At the moment, we are working to improve our store. We save the message and, if we want to activate the store, we also check "Activate store" and click the "Save" button. Now when we visit the store and refresh, it appears online.
If we want to go back to maintenance mode and cannot remember where the setting is, it is quite simple. In the configuration area, go to «General Parameters» and there you will find maintenance mode. We deactivate the store and click «Save». When we refresh, it shows the message «We are working to improve our store» and we are back in maintenance mode.
If you found this video helpful, give it a like and I also invite you to visit our website if you do not know us yet. We offer free hosting, and our professional hosting services are available at very competitive prices for all webmasters. Thank you for your visit. Cheers!