Scheduling posts in WordPress
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I didn’t learn about this until recently, but scheduled posts are native to WordPress. I think it may have been around for quite a while now, but I’m sure at least that it’s a feature of WordPress 2.1 Ella.
I had heard from Jayvee and Rico that they would sometimes schedule their posts, but I didn’t realize how simple it was. I had always thought they used some plugin or other 3rd party application - and today I set out to find it.
Okay, I actually set out to find it yesterday, but I’m writing this post today to come out tomorrow, so today is actually tomorrow, so by the time you read this, today will be yesterday, and what I mean is that I set out to find the scheduling app a few minutes before I started writing this post. Did that confuse you? I hope it did - I enjoy doing that.
Getting back on track, scheduling posts in WordPress is surprisingly easy. Do you want to know how? Read on.
The first step is setting your post timestamp to a future date. For most WordPress users, you should see that little box over to the right and a bit below the Publish button. It typically sits below the Post Status box. Make sure you check the “Edit timestamp” box - otherwise, setting the date won’t do a thing.
The next step is publishing your post. You can simply click on Publish to do this. If you want, you can set your Post Status to Published then save your post.
That’s it! You’ve made a scheduled post. That wasn’t too hard, was it? I posted this entry following these instructions - and if things go right, you’ll read on my post footer below that I “posted this entry at 7:40 AM on Monday, the 5th of March 2007.”
If that’s what you see, then you know this works. Now, if you’re hit with a sudden burst of inspiration, you can write half a dozen posts in a few hours then set them to show up on your site over the next week or two. Heck, if you want to go on vacation without telling anybody, you can schedule your posts for the next month or so. Of course, if some blog-worthy event comes up and you’re not around to write about it, that’s your loss.
As for me, I think I’ll post most of my entries as I write them. I’m not saying I’ll avoid scheduled posts though. I’ve got a few things lined up over the next couple of weeks already, but they still might need some polishing. Some of you may get an idea of what it is - that is, if you know where to look.
Tags: WordPress, tips, scheduled posts
DBS posted this entry at 7:40 AM on Monday, the 5th of March 2007. He may have also posted related entries in the following categories: blogging; tips, tricks, & tidbits.
March 5th, 2007 at 8:53 am
I schedule my posts in Wordpress, but mostly for birthday entries and reviews. I want my birthday entries to appear at midnight of that day so it’s technically the first greeting for that person, and for the reviews, I sometimes write too many reviews in a day that I don’t want to make my site’s front page full of reviews.
Aha, I now remember what I call these posts. Fillers! Haha. They make my blog look updated even if it’s already been pre-posted for a few days.
March 5th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Future Posts have been around for a long, long time. Still, finding it for the first time is always a delight, isn’t it.
March 5th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Tina: I’ve scheduled some posts already - stuff that I had in my drafts but I wasn’t ready to publish just yet. I think I’ll do this too when I write more posts than usual on a given day. As for birthdays, that’s a good idea!
Lorelle: I figure the feature has been around for a while, but yes, finding out about something “new” is always a delight.
March 7th, 2007 at 8:11 am
[…] Finally, in a bit of self-promotion, but I have a little something on scheduling posts in WordPress. […]
April 16th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
So you hit SAVE instead of PUBLISH? Ok I shall remember that. Thanks.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Jenny: I usually just press “Publish.” It’s one less click than clicking on the “Published” radio button then pressing “Save.” The most important part of this feature is that you edit the timestamp on the post.
April 16th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
[…] you ever wanted to write a post or two, and have them posted at future dates? Well now you can! This post will teach you […]
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:36 am
[…] you ever wanted to write a post or two, and have them posted at future dates? Well now you can! This post will teach you […]
June 2nd, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Yeah, this is a fantastic. But I’m embarrassed to say that I blogged with WordPress for 2 years before discovering this feature.
June 4th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Jeff: Don’t worry - you’re not alone on that boat. This featured is considered one of the best unknown features of WordPress.
June 25th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
[…] Scheduling posts in WordPress written by Luis. […]