Create a Static Splash Page in WordPress

I know, splash pages are wrong, evil, and will probably bring about the downfall of society. But what if you need one anyway? Say, for example, you are preparing to launch a site based on wordpress but while you’re still putting it all together you don’t want visitors poking around. How can you create a static splash page to tell people that your site is coming soon (whatever that means?)

I found myself in just that situation recently. I looked around for a plugin to let me replace my index with a simple html document for a little while. I may write one yet, but for now a beautifully simple solution is doing the trick. Here’s what to do:

Create a blank file in your theme directory and call it something like splash.php.
Make it a page template by pasting in the following:
```
<?php
/*
Template Name: Splash Page
*/
?>
```
Write your static HTML. If you need to link to images or stylesheets, I suggest putting them in a subdirectory of your theme called something like splash. You can then reference them in your HTML using a bit of code like <img src="/img/spacer.gif"> . Notice the php which finds your theme directory for you so your theme remains portable.


 Create a blank page and set it to use the custom page template you’ve created. You’ll find it under the Page Attributes menu. As of WordPress 3.1 it’s on the right side of the admin and looks like this image.
Under Settings > Reading set the front page to use a static page and select the new page you’ve created. The index of your website will now be your page template with no dynamic content and no other theme files included. Easy-peasy.


Because you never called get_header(), get_sidebar(), or get_footer() you can now have a totally static splash page while you’re tweaking a theme, editing content, and doing your WordPress business in secret behind the scenes. If you still want to pull in some content from WordPress (like the title and page content) you can even grab the loop from your existing page.php and use it in your splash page.



	
											Posted on March 11, 2011  by  Scott Nellé				
			in WordPress



						
	
	
			
			9 thoughts on “Create a Static Splash Page in WordPress”		

		
		
				
		
			
				
					 rajesh on March 15, 2011 at 8:40 am said:
									

				
			

			thanks, good tutorial


			
							
		

	
	
		
			
				
					 Bard on April 12, 2011 at 2:56 am said:
									

				
			

			Please help,

I’m stuck at the 3rd point

– Write your static HTML…

It doesn’t show the splash image

Can anybody post the complete code?

Thank you


			
							
		

	
	
		
			
				
					 Hafiz on June 6, 2011 at 4:00 am said:
									

				
			

			Can any one help me that what the purpose of PAGE.PHP in wordpress rather than single.php
.

.

.

waiting ur sweet reply


			
							
		

	
	
		
			
				
					 Scott Nelle on June 6, 2011 at 9:55 am said:
									

				
			

			Single.php is for individual blog posts and page.php is for content created under the Pages portion of admin.


			
							
		

	


	
		
			
				
					 Alicia Ross on August 3, 2011 at 9:27 pm said:
									

				
			

			Hi, my name is Alicia. I am applying for a job that requires me to make a static splash page for a game art, so they know how my mind works and such. I’m new to static splash page. How do I make one? I have the art skill, I just need to know how to make one, and if there is a program out there to help me out. I tried word press, but it doesn’t seem to want to download properly. I need help! Any suggestions?


			
							
		

	
	
		
			
				
					 Alan Kmiecik on October 22, 2011 at 9:45 am said:
									

				
			

			What if I need to have something in the header to make the page work?  Like CSS or JavaScript.
Thanks.


			
							
		

	
	
		
			
				
					 Alan Kmiecik on October 22, 2011 at 9:47 am said:
									

				
			

			one other thing:  What if I want to keep this page out of my themes directory so I can easily change themes?


			
							
		

	
	
		
			
				
					 Debra on December 20, 2011 at 9:47 pm said:
									

				
			

			Hi, thanks for the post, but I’m a little confused.  How do you reference an external stylesheet?  Do you put it in between the head tags of the HTML file or does it go in the header.php?  Also what would be the code?  Thanks


			
							
		

	
	
		
			
				
					 Eoin Redmond on January 12, 2012 at 8:02 am said:
									

				
			

			Thanks Scott, I was wondering what the best way to do this was!
Eoin


			
							
		

	
		

		
				Comments are closed.