What is the proper workflow in Webflow for having a coming soon page while building the full website without overwriting it? Can this be done within one project or should multiple projects be created?
TL;DR
- Create a “Coming Soon” page in a single Webflow project and set it as the temporary homepage.
- Build the full website in the background, then switch the homepage back and unpublish the placeholder when ready.
To show a "Coming Soon" page while building the full site in Webflow, you can manage this using a single project. There's no need to create multiple projects—Webflow allows you to manage this cleanly with some publish settings.
1. Use a Single Webflow Project
- Webflow supports staging and publishing controls, allowing you to show only select pages on the live domain.
- There’s no benefit to creating separate projects unless you need drastically different design systems, which isn’t the case here.
2. Create a “Coming Soon” Page
- In the Pages panel, create a new static page named Coming Soon (e.g.,
/coming-soon). - Design it with messaging, branding, and optionally a signup form.
3. Set the "Coming Soon" Page as the Homepage Temporarily
- Rename your original homepage (currently index) to something else (e.g., Home (in progress)).
- Then, go to the “Coming Soon” page settings and check “Set as Homepage”—this makes it the default landing page.
- Webflow will serve this page as / (root domain) when published.
4. Build the Full Website in the Background
- Continue developing your actual site pages (Home, About, etc.) within the same project.
- They won’t be visible at your live domain unless you actively link to them or set them as the homepage.
5. Replace the “Coming Soon” Page When Ready
- Once the full site is complete, set your actual homepage back to be the index.
- Then optionally delete or unpublish the “Coming Soon” page.
6. Optional: Use “Password Protection” or Staging
- To allow team/client preview before launch, keep full site pages visible only on the webflow.io staging domain (via manual publishing).
- You can also enable Password Protection for extra privacy under Project Settings > Hosting > Site Protection.
Summary
Use a single Webflow project by temporarily setting a “Coming Soon” page as your homepage. This allows you to build your full site in the background without publishing it, and later switch to the full version seamlessly. No need for multiple projects.