How to Hide a WordPress Blog Under Development

1. Click the 'Plugins' heading on the left side of the WordPress dashboard then click 'Add New.'
2. Type 'WP Maintenance Mode' in the search box and press 'Enter.' Click the 'Install Now' link under 'WP Maintenance Mode' on the result page then click 'OK' and 'Activate Plugin.'

3. Click the 'Settings' link under 'WP Maintenance Mode' upon returning to the 'Plugins' page to view the configuration options for the plugin.
4. Click the drop-down menu under 'Plugin Activate' and change the value to 'True.' Click the 'Update' button to begin displaying an 'Under Construction' page for website visitors. Scroll down the window to see 'Title' and 'Text' boxes that you can use to type a custom message to display for visitors. Continue to the next step if you also want to hide your website from search engines.
5. Click the 'Settings' heading on the left side of the WordPress dashboard then click 'Privacy.'
6. Click the second radio button on the 'Privacy' page to block search engines from indexing your website.
7. Click 'Save Changes.'