Tips for List Building for Website Maintenance Pages

So, what should you do when your website is going to be down for maintenance? You certainly don’t want your users to see a 404 or other error page, and you’d really like to encourage them to come back to your site soon rather than “later,” right? If this is the case, you will need to create a custom maintenance page. Below we have prepared a list of tips for creating an effective maintenance page that will help retain your visitors, both new and returning.

1. Keep your maintenance page simple and useful

The whole function of a maintenance page is to let users know that your site is still up and running and that the maintenance is only temporary . No need to do anything beyond this. Make sure it's clear at a glance what your page is about and provide visitors with information they're interested in.

Another useful feature for simple maintenance pages is to display your maintenance information in multiple languages. Websites are international, and although many of your visitors may speak some English, it is helpful to offer multiple languages. Please be careful when using online translation tools, as many times they are very inaccurate. The last thing you want your maintenance page to do is to further confuse people — or worse — turn them off.

The Twitter maintenance page provides minimal information directly and maintains a simple design, while still being attractive and user-friendly.

Google's Adsense page provides concise maintenance information in multiple languages.

And sometimes, Google Adsense just explains in clear language what happened and when the page will be back online. Note that Google also reassures users that revenue will be tracked as usual and ad targeting will not be affected during downtime.

This maintenance screen from an Apple store captures the point.

MobileMe uses a visually appealing, multi-language maintenance screen.

2. Recognize that this is an inconvenience for your users

When your website is down, it will be very inconvenient for your regular users. This is a simple fact. But don't let inconvenienced users become alienated users. Simply acknowledging that your site's downtime is painful for your users will often satisfy them. Apologize for the outage, provide them with useful information, and make them feel that you realize what this means to them.

Last.fm placed a prominent apology on the top right side of their maintenance page.

Twitter offered a less cumbersome approach, but still apologized because users might not be able to tolerate the downtime.

3. Don’t be afraid to use humor

There's no need to take it too seriously just because your website is down. Using a little humor may make your maintenance page interesting and help improve your site's impression in the eyes of visitors who are inconvenienced by the downtime. Imagine that little angels related to the content of your website could be depicted in a humorous way. Whether it’s a little play on your logo or mascot, or even something that’s not remotely related to your website, there’s bound to be an angel out there that can spice up your maintenance page.

Etsy indicates Halm is currently dealing with technical issues. Idea Etsy also communicated what was happening and the estimated time for recovery.

Soundcloud promised to be back soon and used a pun to highlight the maintenance page. ( Source… ).

Ning uses a cute illustration and states that experienced technicians (picture) are working hard to get Ning online. ( Source… ).

Reddit 's maintenance page uses more information, Redditors may not stop using Lisp...

YouTube seems to be busy coming up with some new combinations and recipes. ( Source… )

Mozilla : Under maintenance… ( source… ).

Revver ( Source… ).

Flickr 's maintenance page doesn't seem very informative, but it is interesting. Flickr is getting a massage.

FlashDen announces a 10-second downtime and provides a cartoon character doing maintenance to make visitors smile.

Bloglines used a picture of a plumber to explain when the site was down.

Apartmentguide.com : There is an example of using a maintenance worker on the maintenance page.

4. Give the maintenance page the same look and feel

You want visitors to immediately know that they’ve come to the right place, even if your site looks very different than usual. If your maintenance page bears no resemblance to your normal site, many visitors will feel like they have arrived at the wrong URL and may not pay attention to what your page has to say.

Make sure your maintenance page includes your logo and uses the same colors as your website. Even just these two things can make visitors feel more relieved when they encounter an unexpected page.

Grooveshark kept their head and basic colors intact.

StumbleUpon also kept their header and logo intact, and even the illustrations used their signature colors.

Naturalinstinct uses the same color scheme and provides users with alternative contact options.

5. Tell visitors when your site will be back online

Maintenance times may vary significantly. Sometimes a website may only be down for a few minutes, or it may be down for an hour or two, or even longer. Let users know when you expect the site to be back up and running. This way they will know when and when they can come back for a visit. A public maintenance page can encourage users to check back after a few hours or even days to see if the site is back up. Something like you will resume in 5 minutes will encourage them to do so.

iStockPhoto 's maintenance page informs visitors of the estimated time when the site may be back up and running.

Blogger uses a simple page that includes an estimated time for the site to be restored.

Linkedin lets users know what websites are suitable to be launched online ( source… ).

StudiVZ advises users to have a cup of tea (wait a minute) and then informs visitors that the website will be online at 8 o'clock. ( Source… ).

6. Provide recommended content

Saving some of your site's articles as static pages while your site is down is a way to provide your users with something to read while you perform maintenance. Some other websites even recommend content on other websites, usually because they think that content may be of interest to their browsers. Providing your visitors something else to do while they wait for your site to come back up is a great way to show them that you care and that you realize this is an inconvenience for them (number 2 above).

This image of Librarything downtime suggests reading something during downtime ( source… ).

Digg provides a list of content from other websites that they think the user may be more interested in.

Github provides users with a fun YouTube video to watch during an outage.

Mixx offers users some of their most popular Mixx stories

Sears had to close on Black Friday to enhance its website. This maintenance page provides users with more navigation options - such as Lands' End, Parts Direct and Sears Credit ( source… ).

7. Invite your visitors to come back when your site is back up

Because your users did access your service during the outage, they will of course use your service. Therefore it is effective to remind them when the site is restored. Obviously, you may not want to inform all users of your service when your site is back up. Therefore, it is a good idea to notify users who need it when the website is restored. Notifications can be sent via e-mail, text message or Twitter.

Soindustry allows users to submit their email address to get notification when the site is restored.

8. Keep your visitors informed of ongoing maintenance

Of course, many unexpected things will happen during maintenance, so it's a good idea to keep your users informed of progress. A timely feedback is important to let users know that everything is fine and that someone on the other side is working on solving the problem and everyone needs to be more patient... and so on.

Habbo , a virtual world where you can meet up with friends or make friends, provides a cute illustration on its maintenance page and informs users of the current maintenance progress.

37signals also allows users to follow the status of maintenance. ( Source… ).

About the original author

Cameron Chapman is a web and graphic designer with six years' experience. She also writes blogs, including her own blog Cameron Chapman On Writing .