TL;DR
To schedule a product to go live at a future date in WooCommerce, set its Publish date to a time in the future when editing the product. WooCommerce will automatically make it visible in your store when that time arrives.
Why Schedule Product Publishing?
Scheduling products is useful when:
- You’re preparing for a product launch or fundraising campaign.
- You want to time donations or limited editions to go live at midnight or on a specific date.
- You’re planning ahead for holiday offerings or promotions.
Instead of manually publishing products at a specific time, WooCommerce lets you schedule product visibility using the built-in scheduling tools from WordPress.
Step-by-Step: How to Schedule a Product in WooCommerce
1. Create or Edit a Product
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Products > Add New or edit an existing draft.
- Fill in your product details: name, price, description, and images.
2. Open the “Publish” Settings
- Look for the Publish panel on the right-hand side of the product edit screen.
- Next to Publish immediately, click the blue “Edit” link.
3. Set the Date and Time
- Use the date and time picker to select when the product should go live.
- Choose a future date and time in your local time zone.
- Click OK to confirm.
4. Click “Schedule”
- The “Publish” button will now say Schedule instead.
- Click Schedule to save your changes.
The product will remain in Scheduled status until the chosen date/time. At that moment, WooCommerce will automatically publish it and make it visible in your store.
How to View Scheduled Products
To see a list of all products that are scheduled to go live:
- Go to Products > All Products in your WordPress dashboard.
- Click the Scheduled link at the top of the product list (next to Published, Drafts, etc.).
Common Questions
❓ Will scheduled products be visible before the scheduled time?
No. Scheduled products won’t appear in the shop, product categories, search results, or direct links until they are published.
❓ Can I schedule donation products?
Yes! If you’re using Donation Platform for WooCommerce, you can create a donation product and schedule it just like any other WooCommerce product. This is great for timed donation campaigns or recurring giving windows.
❓ Can I change the schedule later?
Yes, simply open the product again, edit the date/time under the “Publish” box, and click Update.