This short article will help you put your site into maintenance mode. While it is not necessary, it will at least keep your site a surprise to others.
The website can be set into maintenance mode by logging in, clicking the top right menu with the green dot, and clicking the 'Close Storefront' button or 'Store: Open' button. Alternatively, you can turn on/off maintenance mode under Store Settings > General Settings > Server. The reverse is true for turning off maintenance mode.
If you put your website into maintenance mode, you will have to be logged in to the admin area to be able to see the frontend. If you want to view your website while not logged in, or wish to allow others to view the frontend without logging in, you can use the Store Access Key.
You can view and change your Store Access Key by navigating to Store Settings > General Settings > Website.
The Store Access Key is ?store_access_key= plus your actual key.
For example, if your Store Access Key is ozcart, then simply add ?store_access_key=ozcart to the end of your URL. If your URL is www.example.com then it would become: www.example.com?store_access_key=ozcart
If you're looking to edit your Maintenance page, take a look at our tutorial for editing your Maintenance layout and content.
