Service unavailable pages

Use a service unavailable page to tell users when a service is temporarily down for planned maintenance or known outages.

When to use this pattern

Show a service unavailable page when:

• the service is down for scheduled maintenance
• you know the service will be back at a specific time
• you need to temporarily take a service offline

How it works

A good service unavailable page should:

1. Explain the service is temporarily unavailable
2. Tell users when it will be available (if known)
3. Suggest alternatives if possible
4. Apologise for the inconvenience

Planned maintenance

Unplanned outage with estimated time

When time is unknown

Alternative contact methods

If users might need to complete urgent tasks, provide:

• Phone numbers
• Email addresses
• Physical locations
• Alternative online services

HTTP status code

Return a 503 (Service Unavailable) HTTP status code. You can also include a Retry-After header to tell browsers and search engines when to try again.

Monitoring

Track how often users see this page and for how long. This helps you:

• measure the impact of outages
• identify patterns in service issues
• report on service availability

What not to do

• Don't show a generic error page
• Don't use technical jargon like "503 error"
• Don't forget to update the page when the service is back
• Don't leave users without any way to get help

Accessibility

• Use a clear heading
• Keep the page simple and focused
• Ensure contact information is accessible
• Use the standard page layout