Schedule Posts for Future Publishing
Pro. This feature requires WB Member Blog Pro. The free plugin must be installed and active first. See the Pro index for every Pro module.
Post Scheduling lets members write posts now and publish them automatically at a future date and time. Perfect for maintaining consistent publishing schedules.
What You’ll Learn
How to enable post scheduling Scheduling posts as a member Managing scheduled posts Setting role-based scheduling permissions
Enable Post Scheduling
Go to Member Blog → Features & Modules Toggle Post Scheduling to On Click Save Changes New Scheduling tab appears
Configure Scheduling Settings
SettingDefaultDescriptionEnable SchedulingOffMaster toggleDefault Publish Time09:00Default time for scheduled postsMinimum Schedule Hours1Posts must be scheduled at least X hours aheadAllowed RolesAllWhich roles can schedule postsSend Publish EmailYesNotify author when post publishes
How Members Schedule Posts
Member writes their post as usual Instead of clicking “Publish Now”, click Schedule Date/time picker appears Select the future date and time Click Schedule Post Post saves with “Scheduled” status Post auto-publishes at the scheduled time Author receives email confirmation (if enabled)
Date/Time Picker Features
Calendar view for date selection Time picker with 15-minute intervals Shows site timezone Validates minimum schedule time
Managing Scheduled Posts
Members can manage their scheduled posts from the dashboard.
View Scheduled Posts
Go to Author Dashboard Click Scheduled tab See all upcoming posts with dates
Reschedule a Post
Find the post in Scheduled tab Click Edit or Reschedule Select new date/time Save changes
Cancel Scheduling
Find the scheduled post Click Cancel or Revert to Draft Post returns to draft status Can be edited and rescheduled later
Publish Immediately
Find the scheduled post Click Publish Now Post bypasses schedule, publishes immediately
Role-Based Scheduling
Control which roles can schedule posts:
Go to Member Blog → Scheduling Find Allowed Roles Check roles that can schedule Unchecked roles see only “Publish Now”
Example configuration:
RoleCan ScheduleSubscriberNoContributorNoAuthorYesEditorYes
Minimum Schedule Time
Prevent scheduling too close to current time:
SettingEffect1 hourMust schedule at least 1 hour ahead24 hoursMust schedule at least 1 day ahead0No minimum (can schedule any future time)
This is useful for content review workflows or preventing accidental immediate publishes.
Publish Notification Email
When a scheduled post publishes, the author receives an email:
Subject: “Your scheduled post is now live!”
Content: Your post “[Post Title]” has been published. View it here: [Post Link]
Shortcode
Display a list of the user’s scheduled posts:
[bp-member-blog-scheduled]
Shows scheduled posts with date/time and Edit/Cancel/Publish Now buttons.
Use Cases
Content Calendar
Write a week’s content on Monday Schedule posts for each day Consistent publishing without daily work
Time Zone Optimization
Schedule for peak audience times Morning posts for business content Evening posts for lifestyle content
Vacation Mode
Queue content before vacation Maintain posting schedule while away Return to engaged audience
How Scheduling Works (Technical)
WordPress handles the actual publishing via WP-Cron:
Post saved with “future” status Post date set to scheduled time WP-Cron checks for posts to publish At scheduled time, status changes to “publish” Notification sent to author
Note: WP-Cron requires site traffic to trigger. For reliable scheduling on low-traffic sites, configure a server-level cron job.
Troubleshooting
IssueSolutionPost didn’t publish on timeCheck WP-Cron is running; consider server cronCan’t select past datesBy design - can only schedule future timesSchedule option not showingCheck if user’s role is in Allowed RolesWrong publish timeVerify site timezone in Settings → General