Although Maintenance Pages do not remain visible to users for a very long period of time, they certainly have a huge impact on the way users see your brand. Your brand image may get badly affected by unsightly error pages generated by servers. To avoid such circumstances, you can integrate a creative maintenance page which can be memorable and also works towards strengthening the identity of your in the user’s mind.
Listed below are some creative ideas used by popular brands for maintaining mode pages:
1. Keep It Short and Sweet
You don’t need to provide detailed explanations to your users about what’s going on. In fact, it really helps to keep the entire thing as brief and simple as possible. This kind of approach avoids any confusion among users. Also the message gets delivered effectively. Twitter’s famous ‘Fail Whale’ is one of the best examples for the same. In fact, Twitter has used the Fail Whale as their overcapacity page and even 404 error page. This created confusion with users because the error message did not communicate the issue properly. So it is always better to use a different page as your 404 error template.Atlassian’s maintenance page is an example you may follow for having a short and sweet maintenance page.
2. Familiar Look and Feel
This trick always works. When you use a logo, colors, and style of your brand, it makes a maintenance page very effective and leaves a positive impact on users. The user attention is more focussed on the message which makes for an excellent opportunity to build brand recognition. Apple does it really well.
3. Being Compassionate is Important
There’s nothing more frustrating than the users unable to land their favorite website when they actually have to. You must make dedicated and instant efforts towards acknowledging the inconvenience caused. This is best done through maintenance page. Simply apologize for the trouble caused. Also promise that you are working really hard and the website will be up and running soon. Some of the reputed and famous websites use an apology message for their Maintenance Page and even provide a way for users to check the status regularly.
4. A Little Humour and Entertainment
Downtimes can be extremely annoying. Also the users may feel angry and irritated about it. Adding a little humor can certainly go a long way. Try placing interesting puns on maintenance page, some cute / entertaining graphics depicting the inconvenience. These things impress visitors and they know that you are concerned. Follow this link to more information or get the solutions : jiteshmanaktala.com
5. Progress and Updates
Many of the popular websites uses Twitter for scheduled maintenance. This helps their users stay updated on the progress of your website. Another idea is to add regular status updates on the maintenance page. This keeps your visitors on toes and they will eagerly wait for the site to be operational soon.
6. The Countdown for Return
A countdown timer added to your maintenance page will make it look alive and kicking. It will also build a kind of anticipation among potential clients and existing customers.
