Description

• WordPress stamps every blog post with a date and time. By default, it publishes a new post immediately using the current date and time as set in the blog control panel. However, the author of the blog post can change the date stamp before and after initial publishing. If you elect a date in the future for a blog post, this delays its publication until the specified date and time. WordPress automatically publishes a post on the appointed date down to the very minute -- you do not have to be logged in to your administrator account at that moment.
  
  

Scheduling

• To schedule a blog entry for future publishing, create a new post by clicking "Add New" under Posts. Or, you can go to "Posts" and click "Edit" below the title of an existing post if you want to change the date for that post. Look under the "Publish" box which is usually located on the right of the post you are editing. Click "Edit" next to "Publish immediately." Select the month, day, year and time of the post from the menu, and click the 'OK" button. If you selected a date in the future, the blue "Publish" button will change to "Schedule." Click that button to schedule your blog entry for future publication.
  
  

Backdating

• The date delay feature in WordPress also works with backdating entries. Backdating sets the date of a post to one earlier than the present. You can change the date on new and existing posts alike. To backdate a post, do the same as when scheduling posts for a future date, except you should choose a date in the past. A backdated post will be published immediately with the date and time you set. Note that even if you backdate a new post, it may still appear in a "Recent Posts" plugin widget if you install one, regardless of how old its date stamp may be.
  
  

Uses

• Delayed posting is useful when you write several posts at the same time, but you want to stagger their publication over days, weeks or even months. On the other hand, you may want to use backdating when you need to "fill in" inactive periods in your blog archives with newly added posts. Scheduling is also desirable when you want posts to coincide with certain dates, such as holidays and anniversaries. Keep in mind that backdating your posts does not make your site appear older than it really is in the eyes of search engines.