Scheduling Posts for Future Publication

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.

Write posts now and schedule them to publish automatically at a future date and time. Perfect for maintaining a consistent content calendar and batching your writing sessions.

What You’ll Learn

How post scheduling works Enabling scheduling for members How members schedule their posts Admin settings for scheduling

Before You Start

WB Member Blog Pro active with Scheduling module enabled WordPress timezone configured correctly (Settings → General)

How Scheduling Works

The scheduling flow is simple:

Member writes their post Instead of “Publish Now”, they click Schedule A date/time picker appears Member selects when to publish Post saves with “Scheduled” status At the scheduled time, post auto-publishes Author receives email notification (optional)

Enabling Scheduling

Go to Member Blog → Pro Modules Enable the Scheduling module Go to Member Blog → Scheduling for settings

Scheduling Settings

SettingDefaultDescriptionEnable SchedulingOffMaster toggle for the featureDefault Publish Time09:00Pre-selected time in the pickerMinimum Schedule Hours1Must schedule at least X hours aheadAllowed RolesAllWhich roles can schedule postsSend Publish EmailYesNotify author when post publishes

The Date/Time Picker

When members click Schedule, they see:

Calendar view - Click to select a date Time picker - Select time in 15-minute intervals Timezone display - Shows your site’s timezone Validation - Prevents scheduling past dates or too close to now

Role Restrictions

Control which user roles can schedule posts:

Go to Member Blog → Scheduling Find Allowed Roles Check the roles that should have scheduling access Unchecked roles will only see “Publish Now”

Example Configuration

RoleCan ScheduleReasonSubscriberNoBasic membersContributorNoNeeds admin reviewAuthorYesTrusted to self-publishEditorYesFull content control

Minimum Schedule Time

The minimum schedule setting prevents posts from being scheduled too close to the current time:

SettingEffect1 hourMust schedule at least 1 hour ahead24 hoursMust schedule at least 1 day ahead0No minimum (any future time allowed)

This helps when you want time to review content before it goes live.

Publish Notification Email

When enabled, authors receive an email when their scheduled post publishes:

Subject: “Your scheduled post is now live!”

Content: Includes post title and a link to view it.

Technical Note: WP-Cron

Scheduled posts rely on WordPress cron (WP-Cron) to publish on time.

How It Works

Post saved with status “future” and the scheduled date WP-Cron checks for posts to publish At the scheduled time, status changes to “publish”

Important Notes

WP-Cron runs when someone visits your site Low-traffic sites may have delayed publishing For reliable scheduling, set up a real server cron job Missed schedules publish on the next cron run

Use Cases

Content Calendar

Write a week’s content on Monday and schedule posts for each day. Consistent publishing without daily work.

Timezone Optimization

Schedule posts to publish when your audience is most active, regardless of when you write.

Vacation Mode

Queue content before vacation. Your site stays active while you’re away.

Troubleshooting

IssueSolutionPost didn’t publish on timeCheck WP-Cron is working; consider server cronCan’t select past datesBy design - can only schedule future timesSchedule option not showingCheck user’s role is in Allowed RolesWrong publish timeVerify site timezone in Settings → General