Documentation · Pro scheduling
Put every WordPress publication on a timeline you can verify.
Create a calendar-based publishing plan and use Add Approved to Queue. The schedule is calculated and validated in the background before articles are generated and sent to WordPress as future posts. SitePublisher AI then monitors the destination and can safely recover an overdue schedule.
SitePublisher AI Pro · Local calendar planning · UTC verification · Ten-minute recovery grace period
Choose the right workflow
Only one mode creates future WordPress posts automatically
Scheduling is a Pro feature inside Bulk Automation. Distinguish the WordPress publication schedule from the queue timing used to pace generation.
Direct WordPress schedule
Generate now — schedule directly on WordPress starts generation after approval and sends every finished non-empty article to WordPress with its calculated future publication time.
Open the complete bulk guide →Manual interval
Start and interval — manual publication controls when generation jobs become due. It does not create a future WordPress publication by itself and keeps the human review workflow.
Compare both modes →Single Article
Single Article offers separate draft and immediate publication controls. To schedule that result, save it as a draft and set the publication date in WordPress, or use an approved Bulk Automation plan.
Review Single Article →Timezones first
One moment can appear as two different local times
The scheduling form starts in the timezone of the WordPress installation running SitePublisher AI. WordPress receives an absolute GMT publication time, while each destination can display that moment in its own configured timezone.
Check the SitePublisher AI timezone
Open WordPress → Settings → General → Timezone on the central installation. Prefer a named city or region so seasonal daylight-saving changes are handled automatically.
Check the destination timezone
Review the same WordPress setting on the destination website. Different display times are normal when the central and destination installations use different zones.
Enter the first time locally
First WordPress publication is interpreted in the central installation’s current timezone. It defaults to two hours from now to leave generation time.
Approve against UTC
The schedule is calculated when you use Add Approved to Queue. Check the resulting publication times in the queue and compare them with the intended times on the destination website.
When websites serve different regions, check the planned local timezone and the resulting queue times against the intended audience time for that destination.
Build the publication schedule
Let the title count fill a controlled calendar rule
Choose Generate now — schedule directly on WordPress in Bulk Automation. The number of titles determines how long the plan continues.
First publication
Set the earliest permitted WordPress publication. Every calculated slot must be at least five minutes in the future when the plan is validated.
Frequency
Select between 1 and 30 articles for each period. A larger frequency uses more publication slots inside that period; it does not make generation wait until those dates.
Day, week or month
Choose a local calendar day, a seven-day period or a monthly period anchored to the selected start. Short months are handled by using their final available day.
Evenly spread
Places the calculated slots across the complete available period. The first day can be a partial day beginning at your selected start time.
Random distribution
Varies publication times across the complete period. The same inputs produce a stable distribution, but any hour in that period can be selected.
Later schedule blocks
Add a new block when the frequency must change from a later unique date and time. A plan supports up to 12 blocks.
Duration and distribution
The final block continues until every title has a slot
A later schedule block replaces the earlier rule from its own start time. If titles remain after the last change, the final frequency continues automatically.
Start with the title count
A plan contains between 1 and 50 titles. SitePublisher AI calculates exactly one publication slot for each title.
Use one block for a steady rhythm
For example, 12 titles at three per week use the same weekly rule until all 12 titles have been placed.
Use later blocks for phases
A launch can begin with a higher frequency and change to a slower maintenance rhythm on a later date. The next block becomes authoritative at its start.
Check the calculated finish
The queue displays the accepted publication times after the schedule has been calculated. If the schedule would exceed five years, increase the frequency of the final block.
Even and random modes can distribute slots across the complete period. Inspect the resulting queue times and adjust individual future posts later in WordPress when an exact editorial hour is required.
Add Approved to Queue
Check your scheduling rules, then follow the queue
There is no separate Preview plan button or table. Review the schedule form, then click Add Approved to Queue. Validation runs in the background; accepted jobs can start paid OpenAI requests and the chosen publication workflow.
Check the current form
- Review the title list, destination and scheduling settings
- Confirm the number and order of titles
- Check the start time, frequency and timezone
- Choose the distribution and any later schedule blocks
- Verify destination, priority and AI requests
Change the rule when needed
- Edit the first publication or frequency
- Switch the period or distribution
- Add, change or remove a later block
- The current form is used when you add the plan to the queue
- Use Add Approved to Queue after checking the current settings
Queue the current settings
- Click Add Approved to Queue
- Read the direct-publication confirmation
- Generation begins automatically and immediately
- Future posts are created as results finish
- No additional Run button is normally needed
Allow enough generation time
A publication date does not delay article generation.
The complete approved batch starts processing after queueing. If a calculated publication time has already passed by the time its article is ready, SitePublisher AI publishes it immediately and labels the schedule as missed instead of creating an invalid future post.
What happens on WordPress
The destination owns the future post and its normal publication event
SitePublisher AI creates or updates the destination post with status future and its approved GMT date. WordPress then becomes responsible for publishing it at that time.
The final post write is serialized
SitePublisher AI handles final scheduled-post writes to the same destination one at a time. Article and image generation can continue independently.
WordPress registers a future post
The destination receives the article, category and available featured image together with the approved absolute publication time.
WP‑Cron activates due events
WordPress explains that its built-in scheduler checks due tasks on page loads rather than running continuously. A low-traffic or blocked destination can therefore publish late.
A server scheduler improves timing
For time-sensitive commercial publishing, ask the hosting provider to trigger WordPress cron reliably, for example every five minutes.
Read the official WP‑Cron explanation and system scheduler guidance. Server configuration remains the responsibility of the website owner or hosting provider.
Scheduled Publication Reliability
Pro verifies what WordPress actually did
The watchdog adds a recovery layer without overriding deliberate changes made on the destination website.
Check after the ten-minute grace period
When an approved future post becomes overdue, SitePublisher AI retrieves its actual status from the destination.
- Publish is recorded as published normally
- An overdue post still marked future is published safely
- A failed connection check retries every 15 minutes
- Automatic connection retries stop after five attempts
- Manual recovery remains available afterwards
Never override a deliberate editorial decision
The destination’s current state remains authoritative when an editor has changed the post.
- A later future date becomes the new observed schedule
- Draft, private, pending or trashed content remains untouched
- A normally published post is never published again
- Recovery applies only to an overdue post still marked future
- The destination URL and status remain visible in the queue
Queue controls and status
Know which actions affect WordPress—and which do not
The SitePublisher AI queue controls future processing. A post already stored on a destination is a separate WordPress record.
Check & recover schedules
Runs an immediate verification of eligible overdue automatic schedules. It never publishes before the approved or observed time plus the ten-minute grace period.
Stop or resume processing
Stop process prevents a new Automation job from starting and blocks automatic delivery of an in-flight result. Already-created future WordPress posts remain scheduled.
Cancel a waiting job
Cancel is available before a queue job starts. It does not cancel a future WordPress post that has already been created.
Change a future post
To postpone or cancel a post already on the destination, edit its date or change its WordPress status there. Keep the queue record so the watchdog can record that change.
Delete a queue record
Deleting removes the recoverable SitePublisher AI record only. It never deletes destination posts or media, and that deleted record can no longer be monitored or recovered.
Read the reliability label
Look for scheduled, published normally, recovered after missed schedule, still scheduled, changed on WordPress or a recovery error.
Troubleshooting scheduled content
Check the destination before creating another post
A delayed local queue update does not prove that the remote write failed. Confirm the destination post and its status before retrying or requeueing.
Compare local time with UTC
- Check the central WordPress timezone
- Check the destination WordPress timezone
- Check the publication times shown in the queue
- Remember that distribution can use the complete period
- Check timing changes before adding the batch to the queue
Verify scheduling and cron
- Wait until the scheduled time plus ten minutes
- Run Check & recover schedules
- Review WordPress Site Health for late events
- Check loopback or firewall restrictions
- Ask the host about a reliable server scheduler
Inspect the destination first
- Search WordPress by the exact article title
- Check Published, Scheduled, Draft and Trash
- Read the queue’s remote status and error
- Do not retry when a destination write already succeeded
- Use the recorded edit URL when available
Scheduling FAQ
Practical answers before you approve the calendar
A small test plan is the safest way to confirm a new timezone, destination and publishing rhythm.
Which timezone does the scheduling form use?
It uses the timezone configured on the WordPress installation running SitePublisher AI. The schedule calculator converts each accepted slot to UTC, and the destination can display that absolute moment in its own timezone.
Can I restrict every publication to business hours?
Not with the current schedule-block calculator. Even and random modes distribute across the complete selected period. Review the resulting queue times and adjust individual future posts in destination WordPress when an exact hour is required.
Does Random change after I approve the plan?
No. Its distribution is stable for the same inputs, keeping the accepted schedule stable for the queued plan. Changed form values are recalculated when a new batch is queued.
What happens when generation finishes after a publication time?
The article is published immediately instead of being saved with an invalid past future date. The queue marks that its schedule was missed. Leave more generation time when a large batch also creates images.
What happens if I reschedule the post directly in WordPress?
A later date is respected and becomes the observed schedule for subsequent checks. A non-future status such as draft or private is treated as an editorial change and remains untouched.
Does Stop process cancel posts already scheduled on WordPress?
No. It stops new SitePublisher AI Automation processing. Future posts already created on a destination remain under that WordPress website’s control and must be changed there.
Is a server cron still recommended?
Yes for time-sensitive publishing. The reliability watchdog can recover eligible overdue future posts, but both normal WordPress publishing and the watchdog benefit from dependable cron execution.
Continue with diagnosis
Know where to look when a workflow does not finish.
The next guide brings generation, connection, queue, image and scheduled-publication checks together in one troubleshooting route.