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screenshot of the Publish panel.Once you’ve created a Page, Post, Event, Profile, etc., you’ll need to know how to save, publish and preview your content. The Publish panel is where you’ll find these options. The panel is found in the right column when editing a Page/Post/Event/Profile.

Let’s first look at the buttons in the Publish panel.

  • Clicking the Preview button will show you a preview of the current Page/Post. This does not save your changes. It simply gives you a preview of the page with any changes that you made. After clicking the Preview button, the post or page will open in a new browser window. When you’re done with the preview, close that browser window to return to the editing screen.
  • Clicking the Save Draft button will save your Page/Post in Draft mode. You can think of this as your “working draft.” It’s a Page/Post/etc. that is being worked on and is not yet ready to be Published (not yet ready for the general public to see). When editing a Draft page, you will click the Save Draft button to save your changes and leave the Page/Post in Draft mode. Only when you are ready to make the Page/Post available to the public will you Publish it.
    • Not viewable by the general public.
    • Only viewable and/or editable by logged in user with the proper role.
  • Screenshot of the Update button, located within the Publish options.Clicking the Publish button will save your Page/Post and publish it on your website.
  • Once a Page/Post is published, the Publish button will be replaced by the Update button. After editing a published Page/Post, use the Update button to save your changes.
  • Users with a limited role, who don’t have the capability to publish content on a site will see the Submit for Review button instead of the Publish button. Site editors who have the capability to publish content will need to review these Pages/Posts. They can either publish it or set the status back to Draft if they don’t think it’s ready for publication.

The Publish panel also has Status and Visibility options that will affect who can see your content.

Most users will generally only use the the Draft and Published Status states and will not need to modify the Visibility state. However, all options are explained below since there are always exceptions to the rule.

Status Options

Draft

Draft status allows you to save your work without publishing it.

  • Not visible to site visitors.
  • Only logged in site Editors with the proper role will be able to view/edit this content.
  • Once a Page/Post is published, the status can be set back to Draft to un-publish it.

How to Find Drafts

You created a draft page at some previous time and are now ready to work on it once again. How do you find it?

To return to a Draft page, select Pages in the Dashboard. You should see a list of all pages in the site. Draft pages will display a red “Draft” box to the right of the page title to make them easy to find. Find the page you’re interested in and click on its name to edit it.

Follow this same process for other types of content except start by selecting the corresponding content in the Dashboard. For example, to find a Draft Post, click on Posts in the dashboard. To find a Draft profile, select Directory in the dashboard.

Example screenshot of where to find pages in the Draft state.

Pending Review

Pending Review is used by site editors with the Contributor role. They can create Posts and Events but can’t publish them. Site editors with the ability to publish content, will need to review these Posts and Events. They can either Publish it or set the status back to Draft if they don’t think it’s ready for publication.

A post in the Pending Review status is not published and is not visible to the public.

Example Scenario

A site manager has a new work-study student who is going to help them with their website. The student is assigned the role of Contributor. This limited role allows the student to create new Posts and Events but does not allow them to publish them. When the student creates a Post that they feel is ready to be published, they will click the Submit for Review button. This places the Post in the Pending Review status. A site editor with the ability to publish content, will need to review and publish the Post.

When a Contributor creates a post, they only see the Save Draft and Submit for Review options. Here’s a little clarification on the difference between these two statuses:

  • Draft means “I’m still working on this Post. It’s not yet ready to publish.”
  • Pending Review means “I think this Post is ready to be published. I need someone to review and publish it.”

This image shows the choices a Contributor has when saving a Post or Event:

Screenshot of publishing options of a Contibutor.

How to Find Content That is Pending Review

If a Contributor submits an item for review, an Administrator or Editor can moderate the post. Select Posts or Events in the Dashboard. You’ll see a list of all the Post/Events in the site, including the ones Pending Review. Alternatively, you can select the Pending option at the top of the list to view only those Posts or Events.

Example screenshot of where to find posts in the Pending Review state.

Published

Published content is viewable by everyone, including site visitors. An exception to this is when you use the Password Protected option (explained below).

How to Un-publish a Page

Do you have old, outdated content on your website that you no longer wish site visitors to see? If so, you can un-publish this content. You can do this by changing the status from Published to Draft.

screenshot of how to convert published content to draft.

Visibility Options

Public

Public visibility means that the content will be visible by all as soon as it is published.

Password Protected

Password Protected allows you to assign a password to a published page. Only people who have the password will be able to access the page.

  • No sensitive information, including PHI, is allowed in a School of Medicine WordPress website. 
  • Setting the Visibility to Password Protected will automatically change the Status to Published.
  • A site visitor will see the Title of the password protected Page/Post and will be prompted to log in before they are allowed to see more.
  • Password protected pages are indexed by search engines, they just don’t show the body content.
  • A password protected page only protects that individual page, not any content that may be linked off the Page/Post.
  • Sharing a single password with multiple people is not a recommended method to restrict access to documents or content that should not be publicly available.
  • Alternative ways to protect non-public content include using SharePoint or OneDrive. Access can then be controlled through permissions.

Images, Files and Links on Password Protected Pages/Posts

Please be careful with the media and links added to Private Pages and Posts. The web system only restricts access to the Page/Post, not the images and files added to them or linked off of them. Images and files on Private Posts/Pages will be publicly visible.

Private

In the School of Medicine web system, the Private state works much the same as the Draft state. As such, most users should use the Draft state in lieu of Private.

Private actually publishes the page then hides it from public view. Only people who log in will be able to view this content. Private content is intended for internal communications and documentation that regular customers might not need to see.

  • Changing the visibility to private will automatically change the status to Privately Published. Private posts are automatically published but not visible to anyone but those with the appropriate permission levels.
  • A post in the Private status is only viewable by users with the Administrator and Editor user roles.
  • If you have pages/posts that are still in development, they should be left in Draft status until you are ready to Publish them.

Set a Future Date for Publication

By default, when you publish a Page/Post, your content is published immediately. To publish an item at a future date/time, select the Edit link located to the right of Publish.

screenshot showing where to edit the publishing date.

Change the settings to the desired time and date and click OK.

You must also select the Publish button for the Page/Post to be published at the desired time and date.

screenshot of where the date and time options are for publishing content are located.