How to Schedule Posts in WordPress? (3 Methods Explained)

Scheduling posts in WordPress is a powerful feature that allows you to plan and manage your content publication effectively. This feature is particularly useful for bloggers and content managers who want to keep their audience engaged with fresh content regularly.

Using this feature, you can manage posting in different time zones with plugins like SchedulePress. You can also schedule posts in WordPress directly from the Block Editor and Classic Editor.

Additionally, we’ll learn how you can use plugins to manage scheduled posts more effectively with more flexibility. But before that, let’s understand why WordPress developers use the feature.

Why Schedule Posts in WordPress?

Scheduling posts in WordPress allows you to stay organized and consistent. For example, if you start a blog site and you want to post a blog at some specific time of the day, but you are busy with other work. That’s when scheduling posts in WordPress becomes a valuable feature.

This feature is particularly helpful for people who work on multiple tasks during the day hours. Scheduling is the solution to all of it, keeping up with posting automatically as per the set time. Here is a dive into the benefits this feature offers:

• Batch Creation: Write multiple blog posts in a focused writing session, improving efficiency and quality. Then schedule it whenever you want.
• Consistent Publishing: Maintain a regular posting schedule, building constant anticipation and reader loyalty.
• Peak Performance: Schedule posts to coincide with your most productive times, freeing up your schedule for other tasks.
• Optimal Reach: Publish content when your target audience is most active online, maximizing visibility.
• Social Media Synergy: Coordinate posting schedule with social media campaigns to maximize reach.
• Data-driven Optimization: Experiment with different publishing times to identify peak engagement periods.
• Editorial Calendar: Plan and organize content in advance, ensuring a cohesive and strategic approach.
• Seasonal Content: Prepare and schedule content in advance for holidays or specific events so you don’t miss out on them.

By understanding and leveraging the benefits of post-scheduling, WordPress development experts streamline their workflow and increase audience engagement. Now, let’s understand how you can schedule posts in WordPress by yourself.

How to Schedule Posts in WordPress?

WordPress makes it incredibly easy to schedule your posts for publication at a later date. Here’s a simplified process to schedule posts in WordPress:

Method 1: Using the WordPress Block Editor

Scheduling posts in WordPress using the Block Editor (Gutenberg) is simple and efficient. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Log in to your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to “Posts” and click “Add New” to create a new post or edit an existing draft.

Step 2: Use the Block Editor to add your content, including text, images, and other media. The Block Editor allows you to use various blocks to structure your content.

Step 3: On the right-hand side of the Block Editor, you’ll find the settings panel. If it’s not visible, click the gear icon in the top-right corner to open it.

Step 4: Locate the publish setting under “Status & visibility”. There you will find the section labeled “Publish immediately”. Click “Publish immediately”, and a calendar and time picker will appear.

Step 5: Select the date and time when you want the post to be published. This time will be based on the timezone settings configured in your WordPress site (under “Settings” > “General”).

Step 6: After selecting the date and time, the “Publish” button at the top of the editor will change to “Schedule”.

Step 7: Click on the “Schedule” button. That will confirm your scheduling, and the post will be queued to go live at the specified time and you will see a message like:

Now, you have the scheduled post in WordPress, which will be live on-site at the time and date you have fixed. This was the method where we used a Block Editor, but if you are using a Classic Editor, jump to the next method.

Method 2: Using the WordPress Classic Editor

For those who are using WordPress Classic Editor, the process of scheduling is similar to the previous method, with slight changes. First, add the content for your post in the classic editor. Then follow the process shown below to schedule the posts:

Step 1: Once you’re in the post editor, look for the Publish panel on the right-hand side of the screen in your WordPress dashboard. As a default option, it is set to Publish immediately.

Step 2: Click on the Edit link next to the Publish immediately option. This will bring up a drop-down menu with a few different scheduling options.

Step 3: Select the date and time you want your post to go live. Click on the OK button to set your post schedule. Once you click on OK, the Publish button will change to the Schedule button.

Step 4: Click on the Schedule button, and your post will be scheduled and go live automatically on the date and time that you selected.

Using the Classic Editor to schedule posts in WordPress allows you to maintain a consistent publishing schedule. Now, let’s dive into the last method, which is using a plugin to schedule posts in WordPress.

Method 3: Using SchedulePress Plugin

Although WordPress provides the default feature to schedule posts, it has limited flexibility. To overcome this problem, we can use one of the popular WordPress plugins called SchedulePress to schedule posts.

It helps you create an editorial calendar to manage your WordPress posts more easily. Plus, it also offers the option to share posts directly on social media platforms by scheduling them.

Here is how you can install and use SchedulePress to schedule posts in WordPress:

Step 1: In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New and search for SchedulePress. Click download to install the plugin and then activate it.

Step 2: To manage your editorial calendar, go to Dashboard > SchedulePress > Calendar. There, you can see the scheduled post on the calendar, and you will find an Unschedule Posts option on the leftmost side of the screen.

Step 3: For scheduling any new post, you can just hover over the post and click on ‘Edit’. You can use the editor to schedule your post. After you have set the scheduled posts, they will appear on the SchedulePress calendar.

Step 4: If you want to reschedule the post, just hover over the box in the calendar and click on the ‘Edit’ button to change the time. That will redirect you to the post editor.

Step 5: Here, you can click on the ‘New Draft’ button to add a new article without specifying the date and time. The alternate option is to click on the Add New link on the date you want to schedule a post for, and it will be done.

If you want to leverage additional features, go to your WordPress dashboard and select SchedulePress > Settings. There, you will be able to upgrade the plugin to a premium version that has features like auto and manual scheduler, missed scheduler handler, and premium support.

Pricing plans for SchedulePress Pro

• Individual ($49): This plan is typically designed for individual bloggers or small websites. Provides access to all pro features for a single website
• Business ($149): Suitable for businesses and agencies that need to manage multiple websites or have a larger team. It often includes more advanced features and increased usage limits.
• Lifetime Unlimited ($399): This plan provides lifetime access to the plugin with unlimited features and websites. It’s usually a one-time payment.
• WPDeveloper Agency Bundle Lifetime ($799): This plan is often part of a larger bundle offered by WPDeveloper, the company behind SchedulePress. It includes SchedulePress Pro along with other plugins and might offer additional benefits or discounts.

You can choose any of the above plans as per your needs and reference.

If you want help with any of these methods, you can also consider hiring our WordPress development services who can help you with any development needs of your site.

Tips to Manage Scheduled Posts in WordPress

Here are some tips for managing scheduled posts in WordPress with a focus on setting the time to un-scheduling a post and everything in between:

Setting the Time Zone

Before scheduling posts, ensure your WordPress site’s time zone is set correctly. This ensures that your posts are published in the intended time zone.

Steps to Set Time Zone:

Step 1: Go to Settings > General in your WordPress dashboard.

Step 2: Scroll down to the Time Zone section.

Step 3: Select the correct time zone from the dropdown menu (e.g., city names or UTC offsets).

Step 4: Click Save Changes to apply the settings.

The time zone you select will be applied to all scheduled posts, so it’s crucial to set it correctly based on your target audience’s location.

Viewing all Scheduled Posts

To view all scheduled posts, navigate to Posts > All Posts in your WordPress dashboard. Here, you can filter posts by their status to see only scheduled ones. You can also manage scheduled posts from this page, including editing, deleting, or publishing them early.

Publishing Scheduled Posts Early

If you need to publish a scheduled post before its scheduled time, you can do so manually:

Step 1: Go to Posts > All Posts and find the post you want to publish.

Step 2: Click Edit to open the post in the editor.

Step 3: In the Publish meta box on the right, click the Publish immediately link. Then, click the Publish button to make the post live.

Once done, your post will be live regardless of the time and date it was scheduled.

Un-scheduling a Scheduled Post

If you want to unschedule a post, you can change its status or publication time:

Step 1: Go to Posts > All Posts and find the post you want to un-schedule.

Step 2: Click Edit to open the post in the editor.

Step 3: In the Publish meta box, click on the Edit link next to the scheduled date.

Step 4: Change the date to the current time or set it to “Draft” to un-schedule the post. Click Save Draft to remove it from the schedule.

Once you are done, the post will be removed from the queue and will not be posted on the scheduled date it was set to.

Pro Tip: If you have multiple posts to un-schedule, you can use the Bulk Actions dropdown in the All Posts view to change their status to “Draft”.

By understanding these practices, you will be able to manage your scheduled posts in WordPress easily and effectively. If you want more help with maintaining your site, get in touch with WordPress development company.

FAQs About Scheduling Posts in WordPress

Conclusion

Scheduling posts in WordPress is an effective way to manage strategic publishing. By utilizing this feature in both the editors, you can maintain a consistent posting schedule. That will ensure your content reaches your audience at the right time.

If you are looking for more control, you can use a plugin like SchedulePress which will enhance the scheduling capabilities furthermore. It provides you with a schedule calendar and drop down feature so you can organize content easily.

Need help with streamlining the content publishing workflow on your WordPress website? Then hire our WordPress developers.