CE Phoenix Cart Forum

Hello,
Following the User Guide to hide site from visitors, I have edited and uploaded the stated 503.php and the .htaccess file which works well.
I added my IPV4 address to the .htaccess file, however I am also redirected to the maintenance page even from the Administration page in the user guide!
Any ideas?
I am on a shared IP.
Regards Shaun

Has the line got a # at the front? It shouldn't.

If it doesn't then probably your IP address isn't what you think it is. Use a site like whatismyip.com to check

Hello BrockleyJohn.
Yes I did check my IP address and all is correct.
I did have an index.php page up, this I have now taken down.
My 503.php is still showing up on my admin page, but on my website I have now got a 403 Forbidden.

# redirect to maintenance page
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{REMOTE_ADDR} !^***.**.**.***
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !/503.php$ [NC]
RewriteRule .* /503.php [R=302,L]
Options +FollowSymLinks -Indexes

Web server error log

2026-02-13 07:25:09.223580 [INFO] [2950961] [T0] [57.141.20.33HTTP2-1#APVH_retro-antiques-curios.co.uk:443] File not found [/home/shaun1d/public_html/406.shtml]

OK, it seems that as I am on a shared server, the Phoenix maintenance mode does not work.

I've checked the IP address from whatsmyip, which is different to the last login ip address, which again is different to the shared ip address.

So does anyone have an alternative?

Where I can have a landing page for customers giving them contact details and info, and be able to see my development store ONLY from my admin side.

Your IP address changes often. Thus what you put in the htaccess might not match your actual IP, which would lead to the scenario you describe (you seeing the 503 page when you should not).

RAC wrote: ↑Mon Feb 16, 2026 9:13 am OK, it seems that as I am on a shared server, the Phoenix maintenance mode does not work.

We are on shared server and we get this module to work when we need it.

If I am not mistaken this modules requires your IP address to allow access. Your IP address will change depending on your broadband provider, it has nothing to do with your hosting. Just do a google for 'My IP address' and it will find it for you. I use the IPv4 version with no problems, but I may be using an older module. We just check before shutting the store and enter the new IP if its changed. We have the same problem with a payment method which relies on IP address so only we can use it, so it only takes a few seconds to enter the new one.

Another option might be to create a hook that checks for admin session and redirects non admin sessions to a maintenance page.

Or try this:
https://phoenixcart.org/forum/app.php/ ... store_mode