
Managing your WordPress site can feel like juggling too many tasks, especially when you post content regularly. That’s where scheduling posts in WordPress comes to the rescue. With WordPress, you don’t have to hit the Publish button when you want to share new content. Instead, you can plan your posts ahead of time and let WordPress handle the publishing for you.
Why is scheduling of posts important? First, it helps ensure consistent content delivery. Your readers will know when to expect fresh posts, whether weekly, daily, or even a few times a month. This consistency builds trust and keeps your potential audience engaged. Second, scheduling saves you time. Instead of rushing to publish at the right moment, you can prepare multiple posts in advance and set them to go live automatically.
This tutorial gives you step-by-step instructions on how to schedule a post in WordPress. You’ll learn how to do it using the built-in WordPress website tools, plugins, and even advanced options for bulk scheduling. By the end, you’ll know how to take full control of your posting schedule and stay ahead of your content calendar.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- When you schedule a post in WordPress, it keeps your content consistent and saves time.
- You can easily schedule a post in WordPress using Block Editor or Classic Editor.
- Plugins like SchedulePress offer advanced tools, like editorial calendars and social media integration.
- Setting the correct timezone ensures your posts go live at the right time for your audience.
- Monitoring scheduled posts helps you spot and fix any issues before they affect your schedule.
- You can reschedule or cancel scheduled posts anytime if plans change.
- Using scheduling effectively organizes your blog and keeps your audience engaged.
Table of Contents
Methods to Schedule a Post in WordPress
Scheduling posts in WordPress can be done in two ways: using the built-in WordPress Editor and plugins for advanced features.
The WordPress Editor makes scheduling straightforward. You can set a specific date and time for your blog post to go live while creating or editing it. This method is perfect for most WordPress website users.
For those who want more control, plugins offer enhanced scheduling features. They allow you to manage an editorial calendar, schedule multiple posts, or even sync posts with social media. Both methods help you stay consistent. Let’s learn each of them below.
WordPress includes a built-in scheduling feature in Block Editor (a.k.a. Gutenberg Editor) and Classic Editor. Let’s follow these steps to schedule a blog post using this feature for both editors.
Schedule WordPress Posts Using Block Editor
Log into your WordPress Dashboard. Go to Posts → Add New Post or select an existing post draft to edit. This will open the Block Editor. Now, click on the Settings button to open the right-hand side panel.

Under this section, click on Immediately next to Publish text. A calendar will pop up. Choose your desired date and time for your post to go live.

Once you’ve set the date and time, wait for Publish to turn into Schedule, confirming that WordPress has set the post to go live on the chosen future date. Click Schedule. WordPress will now queue your post to publish at the scheduled time.

Important: Your WordPress post will be scheduled based on the time zone set in your WordPress settings. If you haven’t adjusted your WordPress time zone, it will default to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This could lead to unexpected scheduling times if you’re in a different time zone. You can adjust time zone settings by navigating to Settings → General in your WordPress Dashboard; however, your previously scheduled posts will automatically readjust to the new time zone settings.
Schedule WordPress Posts Using Classic Editor
Like with WordPress’ block editor, navigate to Posts → Add New Post or modify an existing post. This will open the Classic Editor. The Publish box is visible on the right-hand side of the editor. This section controls when and how your post will be published.
In the Publish section, find the text that says Publish immediately. Click Edit next to it.

A small input box will appear. Enter the date and time you want your post to go live. Double-check your time zone settings in WordPress. After setting the date and time, click OK.

Then, click Schedule. Your post is now queued to publish automatically at the specified time.

Schedule Posts Using WordPress Plugin
Using plugins to schedule posts in WordPress makes managing your content much easier. While the built-in scheduling tool works well, plugins add extra features that save time and boost productivity.
Plugins are helpful if you need more control over your content plan. They let you see all your scheduled posts in one place, manage multiple posts efficiently, and sometimes even automate tasks like sharing on social media.
When choosing a scheduling plugin, look for features like an editorial calendar, ease of use, good reviews, and compatibility with your WordPress version. Plugins should also offer updates and support to ensure smooth functionality.
One popular scheduling plugin is SchedulePress. Here’s how to set it up and use it:
Go to WordPress Dashboard → Plugins → Add New Plugin. Write “SchedulePress” in the search bar. When the plugin appears, click Install Now.

Once installed, click Activate to start using it.

After activation, go to SchedulePress → Calendar. The plugin displays scheduled posts on the calendar, while unscheduled posts are listed on the right-hand side.

To schedule an unscheduled post, navigate to Posts → All Posts, hover over the post marked Draft, and click Edit.

Then, in the post editor, set the desired publish date and time. Once scheduled, the post will automatically appear on the calendar.

To re-schedule a post in WordPress, drag the orange box representing the scheduled post to a new date in the calendar. Click ⋮ → Edit on the box to update the publish time or make further changes.

To create new drafts, click New Draft on the right to add a post without setting a date or time. Alternatively, click Add New on a specific calendar date to create and schedule a post directly.

To bulk schedule posts, drag the unscheduled post from the list and drop it onto the desired date in the calendar. Ensure you set the exact time for the post to go live.

If you have a following on various social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest, use SchedulePress to share your blog posts and articles on your connected social media platforms. This will keep your audience updated.
Make every post count by mastering scheduling techniques in WordPress, ensuring that your content reaches its audience at just the right moment!
With secure WordPress Hosting from Hosted.com, you can focus on what matters most—your creativity and connection with readers.
To use this feature, navigate to SchedulePress → Settings. Click on Social Profile. Enable your platform for social sharing (we’re using Facebook in this tutorial example). Choose whether to connect a Facebook page or group, then click Add New.

Fill in your details and click Connect Your Account.

Next, navigate to Social Templates to set up your social media post settings.

Choose your desired Content Type and Content Source. Now customize the Status Template Settings to suit your needs. As a default, the template includes elements like the title, content, URL, and tags. Once done, click Save Changes.

This integration ensures your content reaches your audience on multiple platforms as soon as it’s published.
To keep yourself informed about scheduling activities, click Email Notify.

Here, you may enable notifications to receive updates about scheduled posts. You can track any changes made to the publishing schedule. It’s useful for websites with multiple admins to ensure everyone is on the same page. Don’t forget to click Save Changes to update your preferences.

To explore more features, go to SchedulePress → Settings. Here, you can set up your preferences, like a default schedule time, post types for scheduling, and show scheduled posts in the Dashboard widget.

Remember: you need to upgrade SchedulePress to use premium features like automatic and manual scheduling, priority support for troubleshooting, and a missed scheduler handler to ensure WordPress scheduled posts go live as planned. Upgrade by navigating to SchedulePress → Settings.

Now that you’ve learned why to schedule a post in WordPress and how to schedule WordPress posts, let’s find out more about scheduling posts.
Pros & Cons of Scheduling Posts
Scheduling posts in WordPress is a great way to manage your content efficiently, but like any tool, it has pros and cons. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of Scheduling Posts
Scheduling posts ensures your content goes live at the right time, even if you’re not there to upload the post. This maintains a consistent publishing schedule, which keeps your target audience engaged and builds trust over time. For example, if your readers expect new content every Monday, you can set posts to go live exactly when they expect them.
Instead of rushing to publish posts daily or weekly, you can batch-create content and schedule everything in advance. This saves time and allows you to focus on other important tasks like responding to WordPress comments, analyzing website performance, or planning and creating future content.
Also, scheduling lets you publish posts when your audience is most active, even if inconvenient. For instance, if your target readers are in a different time zone, you can schedule posts to go live at their peak browsing times, increasing engagement and visibility.
Disadvantages of Scheduling Posts
While scheduling is usually reliable, technical glitches occasionally cause posts to miss their scheduled time. Issues like server downtime, plugin conflicts, or incorrect settings can prevent your post from going live as planned. It’s always good to monitor your scheduled posts or use a plugin with a missed schedule handler, like SchedulePress Pro, to avoid these problems.
Depending too much on automation can make your content less dynamic. For example, if breaking news happens or a topic becomes irrelevant before your post is published, the content you previously scheduled can feel outdated. To avoid this, regularly review your scheduled posts to ensure they remain timely and relevant.
If you understand the advantages and disadvantages of scheduling posts, you can use this feature to your best advantage. Scheduling can save you time, improve consistency, and help you reach your audience at the best times, but it’s important to check for potential issues and adjust your schedule as needed.
Best Practices for Managing Scheduled Posts
It’s important to stay consistent when you schedule a post in WordPress. However, managing them effectively is just as important. Here are some best practices to help you ensure everything runs smoothly.
Set the Time Zone Correctly
One of the first steps in scheduling posts is ensuring your website’s time zone matches your target audience. For example, if most of your readers are in New York, but your WordPress site is set to UTC, your posts may go live at odd hours for your audience. Aligning your site’s time zone ensures posts are published correctly for maximum engagement.
Here’s how you can adjust the time zone:
Go to WordPress Dashboard → Settings → General. Find Timezone and select your audience’s timezone from the dropdown menu. Then, click Save Changes to apply the settings.

Monitor Scheduled Posts
Keep track of your scheduled posts to avoid missed opportunities or errors. WordPress makes it easy to view and manage your upcoming posts.
If using a built-in tool, go to Posts → All Posts in your Dashboard. Here, you’ll see a list of all your posts, including ones marked Scheduled.

WordPress plugins like SchedulePress provide an editorial calendar where you can visually see your scheduled posts. This makes it easier to manage multiple posts and even reschedule them with a drag-and-drop feature.

Regularly checking your scheduled posts ensures everything is on track and ready to go live.
What to Consider Before You Modify/Cancel Scheduled Posts
Sometimes, you may need to change a scheduled post or cancel it entirely. WordPress makes this simple, but it’s important to consider a few things before making changes.
When modifying or canceling a scheduled post in WordPress, it’s important to consider the potential impact on your content strategy and audience. WordPress scheduled posts are often planned to align with specific goals, such as engaging readers during peak traffic hours or supporting a marketing campaign.
Before making changes, consider how rescheduling or canceling may affect these plans. For instance, if the post was timed to coincide with a product launch, missing that window could reduce its effectiveness.
You should also ensure that any changes made keep your content relevant and timely. If you’re rescheduling a post due to delays or updates, review the content to confirm that it’s still accurate and appropriate for the new publication date. This is especially important for time-sensitive topics, like news or seasonal promotions, as delays could make the content outdated or irrelevant.
Another key factor to consider is your audience’s expectations. If your readers anticipate regular updates at specific times, frequent cancelations or changes could disrupt their trust in your consistency. Ensure that modifications are necessary and not the result of oversight or poor planning. If a post must be canceled altogether, replace it with another piece of valuable content to maintain your schedule.
Finally, think about the technical aspects. If you use plugins like SchedulePress to manage your posts, ensure the changes are reflected accurately in the editorial calendar. Double-check the new schedule to avoid publishing during low-traffic times and ensure no conflicts exist with other scheduled content. Taking these steps helps you manage changes effectively without disrupting your overall content strategy.
![Enjoy the benefits of reliable WordPress Hosting designed to help you grow and engage Strip Banner Text - Enjoy the benefits of reliable WordPress Hosting designed to help you grow and engage. [More Info]](https://www.hosted.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/schedule-a-post-in-wordpress-2-1024x229.png)
FAQs
Can I schedule a post in WordPress without plugins?
Yes! WordPress has a built-in scheduling tool that lets you automatically set the date and time for your posts publish. You can do this directly from the Block Editor or Classic Editor. This method works perfectly for most users without additional tools.
What happens if a scheduled post doesn’t publish?
Scheduled posts may fail to publish due to server downtime, timezone misconfiguration, or plugin conflicts. To fix this, ensure your timezone is set correctly in Settings → General, and consider using a plugin like Scheduled Post Trigger to publish missed schedules automatically.
Can I edit the schedule after setting it?
Absolutely! You can easily edit the schedule by going to the Posts → All Posts in your WordPress Dashboard, clicking Edit on your desired post, and adjusting the date and time under the scheduling settings. Don’t forget to save the changes to update the schedule.
What plugins are best for scheduling posts?
Plugins like SchedulePress and Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future are great tools for managing your content schedule. They offer features like drag-and-drop editorial calendars, social media integration, and better control over multiple scheduled posts.
Why should I schedule a post in WordPress?
Scheduling helps maintain a consistent posting routine, saves time, and allows you to reach your audience during peak activity hours, even when you’re not online. It’s a valuable feature for bloggers and businesses aiming to engage their readers effectively.
Other Related Tutorials:
– WordPress Blocks Features and Site Customization Options
– WordPress Widgets: How To Add & Use Them For Maximum Impact
– How to Add WordPress Custom CSS: 5 Easy Methods
– How To Embed Video In WordPress: 3 Methods And Tips
– How To Add Google Analytics To WordPress: A Step-by-Step Guide