How to Hide a WordPress Blog Under Development
Generally you would not want the public to see a website that is still in the initial development stages. Visitors who stumble upon the website would see that you are testing designs and have added little content and might leave, never to return. WordPress has a built-in option to prevent a new website from being indexed by search engines, but this is only part of the solution. To hide your website completely, install the WP Maintenance Mode plugin so visitors will see an "Under Construction" page rather than the actual website.
Instructions
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Click the "Plugins" heading on the left side of the WordPress dashboard then click "Add New."
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Type "WP Maintenance Mode" in the search box and press "Enter." Click the "Install Now" link under "WP Maintenance Mode" on the result page then click "OK" and "Activate Plugin."
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Click the "Settings" link under "WP Maintenance Mode" upon returning to the "Plugins" page to view the configuration options for the plugin.
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Click the drop-down menu under "Plugin Activate" and change the value to "True." Click the "Update" button to begin displaying an "Under Construction" page for website visitors. Scroll down the window to see "Title" and "Text" boxes that you can use to type a custom message to display for visitors. Continue to the next step if you also want to hide your website from search engines.
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Click the "Settings" heading on the left side of the WordPress dashboard then click "Privacy."
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Click the second radio button on the "Privacy" page to block search engines from indexing your website.
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Click "Save Changes."
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