How to schedule a post or page
Learn how to schedule WordPress content to publish automatically at a future date and time — without having to be at your computer.
WordPress lets you write content now and publish it later, automatically, at the exact date and time you choose. This is called scheduling. It's perfect for planning a content calendar, publishing at peak times, or preparing announcements in advance.
Quick summary
Write your post or page, then click the date/time shown next to "Publish" in the right-hand panel. Set the date and time you want, click Schedule, and WordPress will publish it automatically. You don't need to be logged in when it goes live.
What you'll need
Beginner 5 minutes- A page or post ready to schedule (fully written and ready to go live). See how to write & publish a blog post or how to create a new page.
- An Editor or Administrator role. Authors can also schedule their own posts.
Schedule the finished version
Only schedule content when it's completely ready. Once it's scheduled, it will go live automatically at the set time. If you need to make changes afterward, see the section below on editing a scheduled post.
Schedule a post or page
Open the post or page for editing. Make sure the content is complete and you've added a featured image, categories, and anything else needed.
Open the right-hand panel. Click the settings icon in the top-right corner if the panel isn't visible. Click the Post tab.
Find the "Publish" setting. Under the "Status & Visibility" section at the top of the panel, you'll see "Publish" followed by the current date and time. Click it.
Set your desired date and time. A calendar and time picker appear. Click the date you want, then adjust the hour and minute fields. WordPress uses your site's configured timezone — see below if the time zone seems wrong.
Click the blue Schedule button in the top-right corner. A confirmation panel slides in.
Click Schedule to confirm. The post is now scheduled and the button changes to show "Scheduled."
Post scheduled!
Your content is queued and will publish automatically at the date and time you set. You can close WordPress entirely — it will go live without any action from you.
Check and manage scheduled posts
To see all your upcoming scheduled content:
Go to Posts → All Posts (or Pages → All Pages) in the dashboard.
Look for the "Scheduled" filter link near the top of the list. Click it to view only scheduled items.
Each scheduled post shows the date and time it will publish.
Edit a scheduled post before it publishes
You can make changes to a scheduled post at any time before it goes live.
Go to Posts → All Posts and open the scheduled post.
Make your edits.
Click Update to save the changes. The scheduled publish date stays the same unless you change it.
To change the date or time, go back to the Post panel, click the publish date, and adjust it.
Unschedule a post (turn it back into a draft)
If you want to cancel the scheduled publish and return the post to draft status:
Open the scheduled post for editing.
In the right-hand panel under "Status & Visibility," click the "Scheduled" status. A dropdown appears.
Choose "Draft." Click Update. The post is now a draft again and will not publish automatically.
Backdating a post
You can also set a publish date in the past. When you publish a post with a past date, WordPress will publish it immediately but show the older date. This is useful for importing older content or backdating a post so it appears in the right place in your blog's chronological order.
What time zone does WordPress use?
WordPress uses the timezone configured in your site settings. Go to Settings → General in the dashboard and look for the Timezone field. If your scheduled posts are going live at the wrong time, check that this is set to your local timezone.
Check the timezone before scheduling
If you schedule posts infrequently, it's worth double-checking your timezone setting once before using the scheduler. A wrong timezone can mean your post goes live at the wrong hour.
Common questions
Related guides
- Drafts, previews, and publishing
- How to write & publish a blog post
- How to create a new page
- Undo mistakes with revisions
- WordPress general settings explained
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