WooCommerce Coming Soon Mode

Coming soon mode allows you to control the visibility of your site or store while it’s under construction. This feature is managed through the “Site Visibility” tab in the WooCommerce settings, providing flexibility and control over who can access your store during the setup phase.

In the Site Visibility Settings located under WooCommerce > Settings > Site Visibility, two options are available to manage how your site appears to visitors.

When Coming soon mode is enabled, your site is in a development state and not accessible to the general public. The site is hidden from visitors behind a “Coming soon” landing page. Only authorized users or those with a private link can view the store.

The following additional settings become available:

1. Apply to Store Pages Only:
   • This setting is ideal for merchants who are installing WooCommerce on an existing site. Enabling this option ensures that only the WooCommerce store-related pages are protected by the Coming soon mode.
   • This means that visitors will not be able to access the store pages without permission, while other parts of the site remain accessible.
   • With this option enabled, WooCommerce store pages that will display the “Coming Soon” landing page are:
     • Cart page (Assigned at WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced)
     • Checkout page (Assigned at WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced)
     • Terms and conditions (Assigned at WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced)
     • Shop page (Assigned at WooCommerce > Settings > Products > General)
     • Privacy Policy Page (Assigned at Settings > Privacy)
2. Share Your Site with a Private Link:
   • This feature allows you to easily share access to your under-construction site with friends, family, and colleagues.
   • A private link is generated for you to provide selective access to your site, facilitating feedback and collaboration during the setup phase.

When live mode is enabled, your site is fully accessible to all visitors, indicating that it is open for business.

1. Existing Stores: Stores that are already live will default to live mode, meaning they will not be affected by the Coming soon mode unless manually changed.
2. New Stores: Stores that complete the WooCommerce onboarding will default to the Coming soon mode. The mode’s application, whether to the entire site or just store pages, follows specific logic:

Apply to Entire Site

• This is the default setting for new sites, determined by the fresh_site WordPress flag. The fresh_site WordPress flag is an option which can be accessed via https://yoursitename.com/wp-admin/options.php
• If the first admin user registration date is less than a month ago.
• You can share your site privately using the “Share Your Site with a Private Link” option.

Apply to Store Pages Only

• For sites that do not meet the criteria for whole site protection, the “Apply to store pages only” toggle will be enabled by default.
• This ensures that only the store pages are protected, allowing other parts of the site to remain accessible.

The Coming soon page template is fully customizable in the Site Editor, allowing you to tailor its appearance to match your brand. You can adjust colors, fonts, and layout to create a unique coming soon page that reflects your store’s style. To edit the Coming soon page template in the site editor, you’ll need to have a block theme active on your site.

To edit the Coming soon page template in the site editor, please follow the below steps:

1. Enabled the Coming soon mode under WooCommerce > Settings > Site Visibility.
2. Go to WooCommerce > Home.
3. The badge at the top should show Site coming soon .
4. Click on the ellipsis menu.
5. Two Dropdown options will appear: Manage site visibility and Customize “Coming soon” page.
6. Click on the Customize “Coming soon” page

After you’ve launched your store, you may not see your live storefront displayed immediately on your site’s front-end. This is due to server caching, which temporarily stores frequently accessed data to speed up your site for visitors. Your launched store will be ready to view as soon as your server’s cache gets updated. You can wait for that to happen on its own, or contact your web host to find out how to do this manually.

Server caching not only enhances the user experience with faster page loading, but also lightens the load on your server, boosting your store’s efficiency and reliability. However, you may need to clear the server cache from time to time to ensure your visitors are seeing the latest updates to your store.

Clear your server cache 

We’ve listed some common hosts below and their support articles for managing caching on their platforms. Find your host below and follow the instructions provided on their website to clear your server cache. If your host is not listed, you can contact their support team for assistance.

• Bluehost
• Cloudflare
• Hostinger
• Ionos
• Nexcess
• Pressable
• Siteground
• WordPress.com
• WPEngine

Third-Party Optimization Tools 

If you use third-party software such as WordPress plugins or services like a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for site optimization, refer to their respective documentation for guidance. For more information, please visit the WordPress Developer Documentation on caching.

Do you still have questions and need assistance? 

• If you’re looking to extend the core functionality shown here, we recommend reviewing available extensions in the WooCommerce Marketplace.
• Need ongoing advanced support, or a customization built for WooCommerce? Hire a WooExpert agency.
• Are you a developer building your own WooCommerce integration or extension? Check our Developer Resources.

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