{"id":11637,"date":"2021-04-01T09:41:49","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T13:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/?page_id=11637"},"modified":"2026-02-08T15:20:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T20:20:21","slug":"publish-states","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/webguide\/userguide\/getting-started\/i-have-a-site\/publish-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Publishing States"},"content":{"rendered":"

WordPress uses publishing states<\/strong> to manage whether content is public, private, or still in progress. This page explains what each option does, when to use it, and how it affects the visibility of site content.<\/p>\n

Although pages are what is used in the examples, the publishing states also apply to other content types such as News Posts, Events, Directory Profiles, and more.<\/p>\n

Covered In This Tutorial<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Publishing panel overview<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Publishing states<\/a>\n
      \n
    1. Draft<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. Pending review<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Published<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    4. Unpublishing content<\/a><\/li>\n
    5. Preview<\/a><\/li>\n
    6. Visibility<\/a>\n
        \n
      1. Public<\/a><\/li>\n
      2. Password protected<\/a><\/li>\n
      3. Private<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      4. Scheduling content<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n

        <\/a>Publishing Panel Overview<\/h2>\n

        \"screenshotThe publishing options can be found in the Publish<\/strong> panel.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Save Draft<\/strong> \u2014 Save changes without publishing.<\/li>\n
        2. Preview<\/strong> \u2014 Opens a preview in a new tab to let you see what the finished page will look like before saving changes.<\/li>\n
        3. Status<\/strong> \u2014 Shows current state (Draft or Published).<\/li>\n
        4. Visibility<\/strong> \u2014 Controls who can see the content (everyone, only people with a password, or only site editors\/admins).<\/li>\n
        5. Publish Immediately<\/strong> \u2014 Controls when the page goes live (now or at a scheduled time).<\/li>\n
        6. Publish \/ Update<\/strong> \u2014 Makes the page visible to the public and saves any changes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n

          <\/a>Publishing States<\/h2>\n

          WordPress provides a couple of states for content: Draft<\/strong>, Pending Review<\/strong>, and Published<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

          <\/a>Draft<\/h3>\n

          Draft content is material you\u2019re still working on and haven\u2019t yet made public.<\/p>\n