Zero-Bloat Maintenance Mode

A high-performance, developer-friendly maintenance and "Coming Soon" mode for WordPress.

Zero bloat. Zero tracking. Zero ads.

Most maintenance plugins are packed with heavy CSS frameworks, unnecessary JavaScript libraries, and aggressive dashboard upsells. Zero-Bloat Maintenance Mode was built for professionals and agencies who need a powerful access-control screen without compromising site performance. It relies strictly on native WordPress APIs and core PHP logic.

✨ Key Features

• Secret Bypass URL: Generate a secure, expiring link to share with clients. It drops a lightweight cookie so they can browse the live site without a WordPress account or static IP.
• SEO Control (200 vs 503): Toggle between a 503 Service Unavailable header (tells search engines to return later) and a 200 OK header (allows indexing for "Coming Soon" pages).
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Granularly select which logged-in user roles (e.g., Editors, Subscribers) bypass the maintenance screen.
• URL Exclusion Rules: Keep specific pages (like /privacy-policy or lead-gen landing pages) completely live and accessible to the public.
• Native Custom Branding: Upload client logos using the native WordPress Media Uploader. Automatically falls back to a clean emoji (🚧) if no logo is provided.
• Vanilla JS Countdown Timer: A launch date timer that uses zero external libraries and gracefully hides itself when time expires.
• Admin Bar Quick-Toggle: Instantly turn maintenance mode ON or OFF from anywhere on the frontend or backend via the WordPress admin bar.
• Raw Custom CSS: Inject direct CSS to style the page exactly how you want it, without loading separate external stylesheets.
• Social Media Ready: Automatically generates Open Graph (OG) tags for rich sharing previews on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

🚀 Installation

1. Download the latest release .zip file from this repository.
2. In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
3. Upload the .zip file and click Install Now.
4. Activate the plugin.
5. Configure your settings under Settings > Maintenance Mode.

🛠 Configuration & Usage

Once activated, navigate to Settings > Maintenance Mode to access the configuration panel.

• Client Reviews: Copy the Secret Bypass URL and set the cookie expiry (in hours). Send this link to your client so they can review the site without hitting the maintenance wall.
• Styling: Use the Custom CSS block to apply specific brand colors. Example:

  body { background-color: #111; color: #fff; }
  .time-block { background-color: #d63638; }

• SEO Toggle: If you are launching a new site and want Google to start crawling your "Coming Soon" page, change the SEO Status Code setting from 503 to 200.
• Public Pages: If you need to run ads to a specific landing page while the rest of the site is under construction, add that page's slug (e.g., /landing-page) to the Excluded URLs text box.

📸 Screenshots

(Add your screenshots here by uploading them to an assets folder in your repository)

• frontend-preview.png - The clean, responsive frontend layout.
• backend-settings.png - The native, bloat-free WordPress settings UI.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Does this plugin slow down my site?
Absolutely not. The plugin loads zero external CSS or JavaScript files on your frontend. It relies purely on native WordPress hooks and core PHP logic to check permissions before routing visitors. How does the Secret Bypass URL work?
When you share the generated bypass link with a client, visiting that exact URL places a secure, temporary cookie in their browser. They can then navigate your entire site normally without logging in. You define exactly how many hours this cookie remains active in the settings. Will search engines index my "Coming Soon" page?
Yes, but only if you want them to. By default, the plugin serves a `503 Service Unavailable` header, which protects your SEO by telling search engines your site is temporarily down. If you want them to index the page, simply change the "SEO Status Code" setting to `200 OK`. Can I keep my Privacy Policy or Terms of Service live?
Yes. Use the "Excluded URLs" text box in the settings. Simply type the relative paths (like `/privacy-policy`), and those specific pages will remain fully accessible to the public while the rest of the site is locked down. Why are there no visual color pickers or drag-and-drop builders?
To maintain absolute "Zero Bloat." Visual builders require massive amounts of code, React libraries, and complex database saving routines. Instead, we provide a "Custom CSS" box. You can instantly change the background color or text styling using standard CSS, keeping your site's codebase pristine.

📝 Changelog

Version 1.5.2

• Fixed false-positive WordPress Plugin Check warnings by adding strict PHPCS ignore flags for intentional raw CSS output and guest-facing nonce bypasses.

Version 1.5.1

• Added SEO Status Toggle (Switch between 503 Maintenance and 200 Coming Soon).
• Added Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to dictate which user roles bypass the screen.
• Added Excluded URLs capability to keep specific pages live.
• Added automatic Open Graph tags for rich social media sharing previews.

Version 1.5.0

• Added a custom cookie expiry duration field for the Secret Bypass URL.

Version 1.4.0

• Added Secret Bypass URL capability using a lightweight browser cookie.

Version 1.3.0

• Integrated the native WordPress Media Uploader for custom branding and logos.
• Added fallback layout logic to default to an emoji if no logo is selected.

Version 1.2.0

• Added a 1-click status toggle directly to the WordPress Admin Bar.
• Added a Raw Custom CSS field for quick styling overrides.

Version 1.1.1

• Fixed strict PHP warnings regarding undefined superglobals.
• Added output buffer clearing to prevent white screens on strict server environments.

Version 1.1.0

• Added vanilla JS Countdown Timer.
• Added IP Whitelisting functionality.
• Implemented proper 503 SEO status headers.

Version 1.0.0

• Initial stable release.

👨‍💻 Author

Developed and maintained by Sapthesh V.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the GPL-2.0+ License - see the LICENSE file for details.