Fix a stuck WordPress: Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.

WordPress creates a .maintenance file in the root folder of the WordPress installation when a website is being updated.

Till the time the .maintenance file is available in the root folder of your WordPress installation the “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance” notice on your website will continue to be displayed.

If WordPress timed out for whatever reason while making updates the .maintenance file would not have been deleted.

Deleting it via FTP will bring your website back to normal status.