Recently, one of our users asked us how they can list scheduled or future upcoming posts in WordPress. Showing upcoming posts can be helpful in getting people to subscribe to your blog. In this article, we will show you how to display future upcoming posts in WordPress sidebar.
What is Scheduled or Future Upcoming Posts in WordPress?
If you have been blogging for a while, then you have probably noticed that publishing posts on a certain time gets more people to read it. If you are new to blogging and don’t know what time you get the most visitors, then you should start using Google Analytics to track this information.
The problem is that you cannot just sit around and wait for that time to hit the publish button. That’s why WordPress comes with built-in scheduling feature. It allows you to schedule your posts to be published later.
Using scheduling you can focus on creating content and managing your editorial calendar like a pro.
Having said that, let’s see how you can show off your upcoming posts in WordPress and use it to get more subscribers.
To make it easy, we have created a video tutorial on how to list future upcoming scheduled posts that you can watch below.
However if you just want to follow text-instructions, then you can follow our step by step tutorial on how to list future upcoming scheduled posts in WordPress.
Method 1: Showing Scheduled or Future Posts with Plugin
First thing you need to do is install and activate SOUP – Show off Upcoming Posts plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to visit Appearance » Widgets page. There you will find ‘Upcoming Posts’ widget under the list of available widgets. Simply add the widget to your sidebar where you to display scheduled posts.
The widget settings allow you to choose the number of scheduled posts you want to show. You can also show dates next to them, link to your RSS feed, or link to a page where users can signup for your email list.
Click on the save button to store your widget settings.
You can now visit your website to see the widget in action.
Method 2: Showing Scheduled or Upcoming Posts Manually
Simply add this code to your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin.
function wpb_upcoming_posts() { // The query to fetch future posts $the_query = new WP_Query(array( 'post_status' => 'future', 'posts_per_page' => 3, 'orderby' => 'date', 'order' => 'ASC' )); // The loop to display posts if ( $the_query->have_posts() ) { echo '<ul>'; while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) { $the_query->the_post(); $output .= '<li>' . get_the_title() .' ('. get_the_time('d-M-Y') . ')</li>'; } echo '</ul>'; } else { // Show this when no future posts are found $output .= '<p>No posts planned yet.</p>'; } // Reset post data wp_reset_postdata(); // Return output return $output; } // Add shortcode add_shortcode('upcoming_posts', 'wpb_upcoming_posts'); // Enable shortcode execution inside text widgets add_filter('widget_text', 'do_shortcode');
Now you can visit Appearance » Widgets page. Add a text widget to your sidebar where you want to display upcoming posts and add this shortcode inside the widget.
[upcoming_posts]
Click on the save button to store your widget settings.
You can now visit your website to see the upcoming scheduled posts in your sidebar. You can also use this shortcode in a post, page, or a template in your child theme.
We hope this article helped you learn how to show scheduled posts in your WordPress sidebar. You may also want to see our list of these 25 most useful WordPress widgets for your site.
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Patrick says
Hello,
it was a very useful article! I used to code for a long time because it was exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be working anymore, and I haven’t found a way to fix it.
WPBeginner Support says
From testing the code is still working, you would want to use the shortcode block if you are not currently and that should allow the shortcode to work in your widget area again.
Admin
Patrick says
I stand corrected! The code is indeed still working PERFECT. I’ve made a mistake in the way I added it to the functions.php of the theme!
WPBeginner Support says
Glad to hear you solved the issue!
Susanne Tamir says
Great function exactly what i need but one thing missing the title is not linked to the post. How do i link the title to the post in this code? Thanks a lot
WPBeginner Support says
We do not have a recommended method for that as this would show the upcoming posts that are not published yet so there is nothing to send the users to.
Admin
rashid says
it is great and exactly what I needed,
now i am thinking about, making the Post test a link, and on hover can give extra info,
plus is it possible to add a url behind them (example: register for an upcoming event.)
Antuan says
I have to do couple to leave me in a normal page all future events with their titles, dates and featured images? Thank you.
kimberly says
thanks, looks super easy
shabir says
thanks for sharing such a wonderful stuff.
Rogier says
Thanks for sharing this manual code. I wonder how it could be modified for Custom Post Types? For example for an ‘event’ post type? Is that something you could reveal? (None of the scheduled post plugins work for custom post types.)
may says
i think you can do that by adding (‘post_type’ => ‘addcustomposttype’,) this in array im not sure but this one is working in my custom post type btw thank you wpbeginner for the tut
Cecilio says
I have found a problem in code:
For exclude sticky posts to add this line to query:
‘ignore_sticky_posts’ => 1,
Useful article
MarkDeafMcGuire says
I like to use the Editorial Calendar. It allows you to drag and drop posts from a calendar point of view. Useful for trending topics and seeing gaps in scheduling posts.
Editorial Calendar says
Is that a plugin??