"This page is under construction" message or no page at all?

Question

From a **Design** point-of-view, if a page is not ready yet, but the rest of the site is; would it be better to: 1. Have a 'this page is under construction' message, or 2. Not have the page at all, *until* it is ready? I'm interested in how each design decision will affect the site's performance (popularity). Will having the 'under construction' message affect the users' likelihood of enjoying the site? When designing a site, which decision is more user-friendly etc.?

Answer 1

Hi!

If you foresee people visiting the site before it is live, then I would highly suggest using a page to capture leads. Setup the page so people can input their email addresses with a message saying the site is under construction, but if they leave their name and email, they will be alerted when the site is live. This way you don't turn people away and can regain those visitors when ready!