WordPress added support for automatic updates in version 3.7 which allows WordPress to update to minor versions. A common problem when upgrading on shared WordPress hosting is that the upgrade process can time out, leaving your site in maintenance mode and inaccessible. In this article, we will show you how to fix “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance” error in WordPress.
The maintenance mode page is not technically a bug. It is a notification page. During the update process, WordPress downloads the necessary update files to your server, extracts them, and installs new files. WordPress also puts your site into maintenance mode and displays the "Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance" notice during the process.
If everything worked normally, then this prompt will probably be displayed for only a few seconds. However, sometimes, due to a slow response from a web server or a low memory issue, the upgrade script may time out or be interrupted. When this happens, WordPress doesn't get a chance to take your site out of maintenance mode.
The first thing you'll want to make sure is that your site is properly updated to the latest version of WordPress. An unfinished or interrupted update can cause problems when your site comes out of maintenance mode. Check out our guide on how to update WordPress manually using FTP.
Once you've updated WordPress, all you have to do is remove .mantenimiento file from the root folder of your site using FTP. If you can't see the .maintenance file in the root directory of your site, be sure to check your FTP client to show hidden files. In Filezilla, you can force it to show hidden files by clicking Server »Force showing hidden files from the menu bar.
WordPress creates a .mantenimiento file during the upgrade process indicating that your site is in maintenance mode. Unless this file is removed, your site will remain in maintenance mode and your users will continue to see the notification.
An easier solution to avoid displaying the default maintenance mode notification in WordPress is to redirect visitors to a temporary maintenance page in WordPress. You will need to put your site into maintenance mode before upgrading or making any changes that might make your site inaccessible to users.
However, if you don't want to go through manually putting the site into update mode, you can create a maintenance mode page in WordPress without using a plugin. Just create a new file mantenimiento.php on your desktop and paste this code inside it.
Estamos actualizando el sitio, por favor vuelva en 30 minutos..
Upload this file to your WordPress site wp-contenido directory. Now every time you update your site, WordPress will display this page during maintenance mode. You can use CSS to style this page however you like.
We hope this article helped you to briefly fix scheduled maintenance error in WordPress. For comments and questions, you can always leave us a comment below or join us on Twitter.
