index.html over index.php precedence

Often when creating a website for a client it is useful to have a simple index.html page acting as a holding page to hide the websites development behind. Some web hosts have index.html set to take precedence over index.php but increasingly it is the other way round which generally is good except for times of development and routine maintenance...

To change precedence simply add this line to the top of your .htaccess file:

DirectoryIndex index.html index.php

That should do it...

PS - See the excellent Smashing Magazine for examples of best practice in creating a maintenance page!