If i want a user to be unable to access any part of the site while i do critical uploads how can i accomplish this WITHOUT having to do a redirect in every single directory?

try protecting the top critical directory with password, from cpanel (if u have linux hosting) and you can put a message in the login dialog saying "SORRY IM UPDATING, COME LATER"... not a clean solution but....

Doesn't work.

CPanel doesn't let me password protect the "public_html" directory.


I need another solution.

You can upload temporary index.html file into you public_html directory and nobody will see other content.

no i don't think that's what i'm looking for.

people have pages bookmarked all over.

just because i close the hyperlinks off from the index page, they'll have other pages bookmarked.

other suggestions?

You can try to create .htaccess file at your public_html directory with the following code:


where xx.xx.xx.xx is your IP address.
In that case only you will able to see pages.

And if you make a little php script and add it in all your pages ?

Some like


and you can write a little php ifupdating.php script in your / like



Then, when you are updating, you only need set the variable "updating" in the script /ifupdating.php !