Are you preparing to launch a new WordPress website? Instead of allowing visitors to see an unfinished site, create excitement with a professional coming soon page.
At CanadaCreate, we’ve assisted thousands of users in successfully launching their websites. We’ve discovered that a well-crafted coming soon page is more than just a placeholder; it’s an effective marketing tool.
You can professionally conceal your unfinished site, generate anticipation for your launch, begin collecting email subscribers before going live, and create excitement around your brand.
The best part? Designing a stunning coming soon page is easier than you might think. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the process of creating an engaging coming soon page that effectively promotes your business, even before your launch. 🚀
What Benefits Does a Coming Soon Page Offer?
Let’s face it. Many people simply display a basic ‘Coming Soon’ message and wait. However, savvy business owners utilize this time to start paving their path to success.
At CanadaCreate, we rely on SeedProd for our custom pages because we understand the impact of a strong pre-launch strategy.
For instance, Mustard Seed eCommerce, a client of SeedProd, can create effective coming soon pages in less than 30 minutes, allowing them to start gathering leads for their clients right away instead of waiting weeks or months for the complete site to launch.
The key is to go beyond merely concealing your incomplete site with a basic under-construction page. You can:
- Host a contest to generate excitement.
- Provide exclusive ‘early bird’ offers to gather email addresses.
- Establish a VIP list for your most engaged visitors. We’ve observed businesses amass lists of over 1,000 subscribers even before their official launch!
With this in mind, let’s explore how to create a coming soon page for your WordPress website. You can use the quick links below to navigate to a specific section:
- Step 1: Set Up Your Domain and Hosting Account
- Step 2: Personalize Your Coming Soon Page
- Step 3: Integrate Your Email Marketing Service
- Step 4: Adjust Your Coming Soon Page Settings
- Step 5: Launch Your Coming Soon Page
- Common Questions About Coming Soon Pages
Step 1: Set Up Your Domain and Hosting Account
To start, every website requires a domain name and a WordPress hosting provider. If you already have these, feel free to move on to Step 2.
If you don’t have these already, you’ll need to purchase them.
Typically, a domain name costs about $16 per year, while hosting plans start at $7.88 per month, usually billed annually. This can be a significant expense for new businesses just getting started.
Fortunately, our partners at Bluehost are offering a free domain name and a substantial discount on hosting exclusively for CanadaCreate readers.
In essence, you can create a viral waitlist landing page or even an entire website for just $2.99 per month.
Once you sign up for a hosting account, Bluehost will automatically install WordPress for you.
You can then log into your WordPress account dashboard. From there, go to the ‘Websites’ tab and click ‘Edit Site’ on the site where you want to create a coming soon page.
If you prefer not to use Bluehost, you can also install WordPress on other hosting providers like Hostinger, SiteGround, or WP Engine, following a similar process.
For more comprehensive instructions, check out our step-by-step guide on how to install WordPress.
Step 2: Personalize Your Coming Soon Page
Creating a coming soon page is simple with SeedProd, the leading landing page builder available. Its intuitive drag-and-drop editor enables you to quickly design professional-looking pages.
SeedProd offers over 320 pre-designed templates and 90 customizable blocks that you can easily drag into your layouts. This feature allows you to craft diverse page designs without needing any coding skills.
Important Note:SeedProd also provides a free version that lets you create personalized page designs regardless of your budget. However, this guide will focus on the Pro version, which allows integration with email marketing services.
This functionality enables you to gather leads and build your mailing list even before your website goes live.
For further details, check out our comprehensive SeedProd review.
To get started, you need to install and activate the SeedProd plugin. For detailed instructions, refer to our step-by-step guide on installing a WordPress plugin.
After activation, navigate toSeedProd » Settingsand input your license key.
You can locate your license key in your account on the SeedProd website. Once you’ve entered the key, click the ‘Verify Key’ button.
Next, head toSeedProd » Landing PagesIn the ‘Coming Soon Mode’ section, click on ‘Set Up a Coming Soon Page.’
Now, you can select a template for your coming soon page.
To see a design preview, hover your mouse over it and click on the magnifying glass icon.
Once you find a design you like, simply click on ‘Choose This Template.’
We are using the ‘Launch Coming Soon’ template in all our images, but feel free to choose any design you prefer.
After selecting a template, you will be directed to the drag-and-drop page builder, where you can begin customizing your coming soon page.
On the right side of the screen, you’ll see a live preview of your page.
To customize any section of the template, click to select that block in the layout. The left-hand menu will display various settings available for customizing that block.
You can also add new blocks to your coming soon page. For instance, let’s add a countdown timer to inform visitors how long they need to wait until your site goes live.
In the left-hand menu, locate the ‘Countdown’ block and drag it onto your page preview.
Next, click to select the Countdown block in your layout.
In the left-hand menu, specify the date and time when you intend to launch your blog, online store, or website.
The countdown block will display the days, hours, minutes, and seconds remaining until your WordPress blog or website launches. This feature helps create excitement and anticipation for your site’s official debut.
You can easily add additional blocks to your WordPress coming soon page by following the same steps outlined earlier. If you need assistance in building your page, check out these helpful guides:
- How to Select the Ideal Color Scheme for Your WordPress Site
- A Beginner’s Guide to Adding Dynamic Content in WordPress
- How to Implement Number Count Animation in WordPress
- Creating a High-Converting Squeeze Page in WordPress
- Essential Design Elements for a Successful WordPress Website
Step 3: Link Your Email Marketing Service
A coming soon page is an excellent tool for gathering leads and expanding your email list in preparation for your website’s launch.
Fortunately, SeedProd is compatible with all major email service providers, including ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, and Drip.
To link the page to your email provider, click on the ‘Connect’ tab.
Next, hover over the email marketing service you use for your website, such as Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) or Mailchimp.
When the ‘Connect’ button appears, simply click it.
The steps may differ based on your service provider, but we will use Constant Contact as an example. Click on ‘Constant Contact’ and then select ‘Connect New Account.’
Next, enter the API Key from your Constant Contact account.
After that, provide a name for the connection. This is for your reference, so choose anything that helps you identify this connection in WordPress.
Once you’ve completed that, click on the ‘Connect’ button.
This will open a popup where you can log into your Constant Contact account. If you’re comfortable granting SeedProd access to your Constant Contact data, click on ‘Allow.’
SeedProd will now retrieve all the information from your Constant Contact account.
Simply select the email list you want to use for your coming soon page, and then click on ‘Save Integration Details.’
Step 4: Set Up Your Coming Soon Page Settings
SeedProd offers advanced settings that can help you gather leads, enhance customer loyalty, boost brand awareness, and more.
To explore these advanced settings, click on ‘Page Settings’ in the page builder.
Control Access Based on User Role
By default, SeedProd will display your coming soon page to all users who are not logged in.
There may be times when you want to control who can view your site while it is in coming soon mode. For instance, if you’re building a website for a client, they might want to preview it during the development process.
WordPress includes a comprehensive user roles and permissions system that regulates what actions users can perform on your site and what information they can view.
You can utilize this system to manage access to your website while it is in coming soon mode by selecting the ‘Access Control’ option.
To allow access to specific user roles, click on ‘Add Role.’
This will display a dropdown menu where you can assign access based on the user’s designated role, such as subscriber or author.
You also have the option to grant access based on IP address, which is particularly helpful if someone consistently visits your site from the same location. For example, you might want to whitelist the IP address of your client’s office or your home.
To do this, simply enter the IP address in the ‘Access by IP’ field.
Enhance the SEO of Your Coming Soon Page
While in the ‘Page Settings,’ consider navigating to the ‘SEO‘ tab to add an SEO title, description, favicon, and a featured image that SeedProd will use when your coming soon page is shared on social media.
This can enhance your WordPress SEO and help establish brand recognition even before your full website is launched.
We highly recommend instructing search engines not to index your coming soon page. This prevents Google from indexing an incomplete site, which is beneficial for your SEO in the long term.
To do this, simply activate the ‘Enable No Index’ toggle. Just remember to disable this option when you launch your complete website!
If you have installed popular SEO plugins like All in One SEO, SeedProd integrates smoothly with them.
Monitor Your Website Visitors
Finally, switch to the ‘Scripts’ tab to add any third-party scripts you wish to utilize.
For instance, you might want to include Google Analytics code, Meta pixel, or other tracking codes on your coming soon page. This enables you to monitor visitors and collect data even before your website goes live.
Once you’re done, remember to click the ‘Save’ button at the top to secure your advanced page settings.
Step 5: Launch Your Coming Soon Page
After you have completed your coming soon page, it’s time to make it live.
First, click the dropdown arrow next to the ‘Save’ button and then select ‘Publish.’
Once your page is live, simply activate it by returning to your main WordPress dashboard and navigating to SeedProd » Pages.
Locate the ‘Coming Soon Mode’ section and toggle it to ‘Active.’
Even while your website is in coming soon mode, you can still log into your WordPress dashboard to continue working on your site.
However, users who are logged out will only see the coming soon page.
After publishing the page, take a moment to review it and ensure everything appears as intended. Preview your website on mobile, desktop, and tablet to confirm that the page is responsive across all devices.
How to Disable SeedProd’s Coming Soon Page
When you’re ready to launch your website, SeedProd allows you to easily disable the coming soon mode.
Simply navigate to SeedProd » Landing Pages and switch the ‘Active’ toggle to ‘Inactive.’
Now, when you visit your website, you’ll be able to view all of your posts and pages.
Maintenance Mode vs Coming Soon: Which Page Should You Choose?
If your site is under maintenance, it’s best to display a maintenance mode page rather than a coming soon page.
A coming soon page is designed for websites that are being developed or launched, while a maintenance mode page is intended for sites that are undergoing updates or repairs.
To understand the differences between these two types of pages, check out our article on coming soon and maintenance mode: what’s the difference.
The good news is that SeedProd also enables you to create stunning maintenance pages. Just navigate to SeedProd » Landing Pages and select ‘Set up a Maintenance Mode Page.’
You can now customize your page using the same process outlined earlier. Additionally, you can control who sees this page and easily disable maintenance mode once your work on the site is complete.
For further details, refer to our guide on how to enable maintenance mode for your WordPress site.
Frequently Asked Questions About Coming Soon Pages
Having assisted thousands of users in launching their websites, we have addressed numerous questions about coming soon pages. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions.
What elements should be included on a coming soon page?
An effective coming soon page should feature an engaging headline that captures attention and a brief message outlining what visitors can expect from your upcoming site.
It’s a great idea to include an email signup form to begin building your subscriber list, along with a countdown timer to generate excitement and urgency.
Does having a coming soon page negatively impact SEO?
No, a coming soon page does not harm SEO if it is configured properly.
By using a plugin like SeedProd alongside All in One SEO, you can ensure your page has an appropriate SEO title and description. This helps search engines start indexing your domain even before your full site is launched.
Can I create a coming soon page at no cost?
Absolutely! The free version of SeedProd enables you to build a straightforward and effective coming soon page.
However, the Pro version includes advanced features such as email marketing integrations, which are essential for gathering leads prior to your launch.
What distinguishes a coming soon page from maintenance mode?
A coming soon page is intended for a brand new website that has yet to be launched.
Conversely, maintenance mode is for an existing website that is temporarily offline for updates or changes. While both types of pages conceal your work, they convey different statuses to search engines.
We trust this guide has equipped you with the knowledge to design eye-catching coming soon pages in WordPress. Additionally, check out our comprehensive guide on editing WordPress websites and explore our top recommendations for the best WordPress plugins tailored for theme builders.
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