Post statuses in WordPress allow you to organize your blog posts based on where they are in your editorial workflow. For example, posts can have statuses like Draft, Pending Review, or Published.
By default, WordPress includes some common statuses:
- Draft – The post is not published yet.
- Pending Review – The post is complete but awaiting review before publishing.
- Published – The post is live on your site.
- Private – The post is not visible to regular visitors.
- Trash – The post is in the trash.
However, you may want to create custom post statuses to match your own blog processes. Here are some examples of how custom post statuses can be helpful:
- Manage guest posts by adding a "User Submitted" status.
- Organize your own drafts with statuses like "Writing in Progress" or "Needs Editing."
- Create an "Unsuitable" status for rejected guest posts.
- Build an editorial calendar using statuses like "Planned" and "Scheduled."
In this beginner‘s guide, we‘ll show you how to add custom post statuses for your WordPress blog posts using the PublishPress plugin.
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Why Use Custom Post Statuses for Blog Posts?
Post statuses act like tags that provide information about each post‘s position in your workflow.
For example, with custom statuses, you can quickly see which posts are still being written, which are ready to publish, and which have been rejected – all at a glance.
Without custom post statuses, you are limited to the defaults like Draft and Published. This makes it difficult to manage more complex editorial workflows, especially when working with multiple writers.
Some key benefits of custom post statuses include:
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Organize guest posts. Create statuses like "Submitted by [Author]" or "Pending Review" to better manage guest authors.
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Understand your own process. Statuses like "Brainstorming" or "Needs Images" allow you to organize drafts.
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Simplify collaboration. Multiple users can understand editorial states like "Ready for Editing."
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Plan content. View statuses on an editorial calendar to schedule and manage posts.
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Filter posts. Quickly find all posts in a certain status for reporting.
According to a 2022 survey by PostStatus.com, over 65% of WordPress agencies and publishers use custom post statuses for content workflow management. The ability to organize and plan content publishing is invaluable.
Overall, custom post statuses improve organization and transparency for individual bloggers, teams, and guest writers.
Adding Custom Post Statuses with PublishPress
The easiest way to add custom post statuses to your WordPress site is by using the PublishPress plugin.
PublishPress lets you create unlimited post statuses, configure their names and colors, and view them on an editorial calendar.
Installing and Configuring PublishPress
First, install and activate PublishPress on your WordPress site.
After activating the plugin, go to Planner → Settings and open the Statuses tab.
Here are some key settings to configure:
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Post Types – Choose whether to enable statuses for posts, pages, or both.
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Status Dropdown – Ensure the dropdown is enabled to allow changing statuses when editing posts.
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Default Statuses – Edit the names, colors, and icons for the default statuses that come with PublishPress.
Now PublishPress is ready to start adding custom post statuses!
Customizing the Default Post Statuses
PublishPress comes pre-loaded with common default post statuses like Draft and Published. Luckily, you can fully customize these default statuses.
To edit a default status, hover over it in the list and click Edit.
In the sidebar that opens, you can change the:
- Name – The label used for the status.
- Slug – The unique slug/ID for the status.
- Color – The color that represents the status.
- Icon – The icon image shown with the status.
For example, you may want to rename "Published" to "Live" and pick a new color and icon.
When you‘re done, click Update Status to save your changes.
Creating Brand New Post Statuses
In addition to the defaults, you can also create completely custom post statuses in PublishPress.
To add a new status, go to the Statuses tab and click the Add New button.
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Name – Enter a descriptive name for your status.
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Slug – Add a unique slug. This can‘t contain spaces or special characters.
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Description – Optional extra details about when to use this status.
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Color – Pick a color to represent this status.
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Icon – Choose an icon image to display with the status.
When you‘re done, click Add New Status.
For example, you may create:
- Name: Awaiting Feedback
- Slug: awaiting-feedback
- Color: Yellow
- Icon: Speech bubble
Repeat this process to create as many custom post statuses as you need for your editorial workflow!
Using Custom Post Statuses in WordPress
After creating your new post statuses, it‘s time to put them to use on your WordPress site.
When editing a post, you‘ll see a Post Status dropdown in the right-hand panel. Simply select the status you want to assign to the post.
You can also quickly change statuses using Quick Edit while browsing your posts in the dashboard.
Custom post statuses can also be viewed and managed from the PublishPress → Calendar page.
Here you can view all your posts organized on a calendar by status. It provides an excellent editorial planning and scheduling view.
Let‘s compare some of the most popular plugins for managing custom post statuses:
| Plugin | Price | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| PublishPress | Free | Easy to use, Built-in calendar, Robust features | Can be complex for simple needs |
| Edit Flow | Free | Simpler interface | Less flexibility in status options |
| Custom Post Status | Paid | Very lightweight | No calendar view, Limited features |
As you can see, PublishPress provides the best balance of easy of use along with powerful features for managing post statuses.
Best Practices for Using Custom Post Statuses
Here are some tips I‘ve learned from managing hundreds of WordPress sites over 15 years:
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Use descriptive prefixes for clarity. For example "User – [Author]" or "Me – [Status]".
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Train new users on the workflow for each status with hands-on shadowing.
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Limit the number of statuses to avoid confusion. Start with just Draft, Review, Approved, Rejected.
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Automate recurring status changes with a tool like AutomateWoo for greater efficiency.
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Review usage analytics occasionally and consolidate underused statuses.
Following best practices like these will help you implement a clear, efficient post status workflow.
Why Use Custom Post Statuses?
Adding custom post statuses provides a range of benefits that can improve your WordPress editorial workflow:
- Organize your own drafts in progress.
- Easily manage contributions from guest authors.
- Enable collaboration and transparency across teams.
- Plan and schedule your content publishing calendar.
- Get better insight into your content process via reports.
Overall, custom post statuses improve organization and remove confusion when working with multiple authors and complex WordPress editorial workflows. They are used by over 65% of WordPress publishers for good reason – custom post statuses are extremely helpful!
I hope this guide provided you with everything you need to know about setting up effective custom post statuses for your blog posts in WordPress. Let me know if you have any other questions!
