How to Build a WordPress Editorial Workflow That Scales With Your Site

A content-heavy WordPress site can be a bit of an organizational nightmare. You’re supposed to know where every piece of content stands, but it’s easy to lose track when pitches, drafts, edits, revisions, comments, and approval requests are coming at you from all directions.

That’s when mistakes happen: you miss publication deadlines, editorial standards slip, and errors that should be caught in editing find their way onto public-facing pages. 

If that sounds familiar, it’s time to take charge with an editorial workflow tailored to your site’s needs. A thorough editorial and approval process will help you streamline and organize content production, whether you’re publishing blog posts, news articles, documentation, or educational courses. 

In this article, we’ll explore editorial workflows and why you need one. Then, we’ll describe how to implement a typical approval and publishing workflow on WordPress using the Edit Flow plugin. Finally, we’ll look at some alternatives to Edit Flow.

What Is an Editorial Workflow?

An editorial workflow is a series of stages that content goes through before publication. You can think of it as an editorial assembly line. Each step has associated actions and approval processes. 

For instance, an editorial workflow for a marketing website could involve a “promotion” phase. One of its tasks might be creating content and images to promote the post on Instagram and Facebook. The site’s content manager will move the content to the next phase only after the “promotion” tasks have been completed. 

Each stage also has an owner, someone responsible for completing the associated tasks or verifying that someone else has completed them. In our example, a social media manager might be tasked with creating images and posts, while the content manager ensures the work is complete and approves the content for progression to the next phase. 

 Editorial workflows promote consistency, quality, and accountability across large content teams. Everyone involved can track what has been accomplished and what remains to be done.

What a Good Editorial Workflow Looks Like in Practice?

The best way to organize an editorial workflow depends on the type of content you are creating, the size of your team, and the project’s goals. A small business with one site and a couple of employee writers needs a relatively simple workflow. A large digital publisher with multiple websites, dozens of freelance contributors, and several editors requires a more complex and detailed publishing and approval process. 

Here’s an example of an editorial workflow that, with a bit of customization, could serve as the foundation for a mid-sized digital publication or business website’s publishing process:

• Pitched: A contributor submits an idea via a form or internal document.
• Assigned: An editor assigns the task to a writer, adding a due date, topic description, word count, and other requirements. 
• Draft in Progress: The writer begins work in WordPress or Google Docs.
• Ready for Review: The editor reviews the completed draft and makes notes. 
• Needs Edits: The writer implements the requested changes and returns it to the editor for further review. These two stages may be repeated several times until the editor is satisfied. 
• Ready for Final Review: The completed draft is passed to a managing editor or fact-checker.
• Approved: The content is ready to go live on the WordPress site.
• Scheduled/Published: No further changes are necessary. 

This workflow establishes practical hand-off points and clear ownership at each stage. Everyone involved can see the content’s status and understand what needs to be done to prepare it for publication. 

Planning a Custom Publishing Workflow

Our example provides a solid foundation, but every WordPress site has unique needs. A one-size-fits-all editorial workflow is likely to overlook important steps relevant to your project. If a process doesn’t work for the people using it, they’ll make mistakes, get frustrated, and eventually ignore it. Then, you’re back where you started. 

Before you implement an editorial workflow, take some time to reflect on how your content team works, how you’d like it to work, and the processes necessary to produce top-quality content, however that is defined for your organization. 

• Audit your current content production process: What works and what doesn’t? Where do delays or errors occur? What steps are unclear or redundant?
• Define editorial stages according to your project’s goals: What must happen to prepare content for publication? Begin with content ideation and proceed through to post-publication checks. Organize individual tasks into stages that align with your workflow.
• Outline roles and responsibilities: You know what needs to be accomplished; now you need to figure out who should be responsible. Roles will vary from site to site, but common examples include writer, editor, copyeditor, fact checker, SEO strategist, managing editor, and content manager. You might also need a generic role for other content stakeholders, such as executives who want to review content or creative partners involved in producing assets like images. 
• Establish rules and expectations for each stage: What qualifies as “Ready for Review?” What checks must be performed before content is approved for publication?

It is often useful to capture your plans in a workflow diagram or a shared document before proceeding to implement it in WordPress.

Implementing Your Custom Editorial Workflow in WordPress

WordPress is a multi-user content management system, which means it already has some of the tools you need to build an editorial workflow. For example, you can assign users to groups that include editors, authors, and contributors, each with permissions tailored to their roles. For a small business site, that might be enough, but publishers working on a larger scale need more flexibility to customize their publishing process. 

That’s where Edit Flow comes in. Edit Flow is an open-source plugin for WordPress, backed by Automattic, the company behind Pressable, WooCommerce, WordPress.com, and WordPress VIP. 

Edit Flow upgrades WordPress with publishing workflow features that include:

• Content calendar and story budget interfaces.
• Custom statuses for editorial workflow stages. 
• Custom user groups.
• Editorial metadata to attach information to posts. 
• Editorial comments and notes
• Change notifications to keep stakeholders informed.

Let’s work through implementing a custom editorial workflow with Edit Flow.

Step 1: Install and Activate Edit Flow

First, you’ll need to install Edit Flow on your WordPress instance. 

1. Log in to your site’s admin dashboard and navigate to Plugins->Add New. 
2. Type “Edit Flow” in the search bar and find it in the results. 
3. Click “Install Now” 
4. Click “Activate” once the installation is complete. 

Once installed, you’ll see a new “Edit Flow” menu item. Click on it to begin configuring your workflow. 

Step 2: Define Custom Post Statuses

Edit Flow allows you to create custom post statuses that mirror the stages of your editorial workflow. Instead of relying solely on WordPress’s default “Draft,” “Pending Review,” and “Published” statuses, you can add statuses like “Pitched,” “Assigned,” “Ready for Edits,” and “Approved.”

To define custom post statuses in Edit Flow:

1. Navigate to Edit Flow -> Custom Statuses.
2. Delete unwanted statuses in the table to the right. 
3. Click on the “Add New” tab.
4. Enter the name of your status, such as “Pitched.”
5. Add a description so it’s clear what each stage is for. 
6. Select a color to visually represent the status in the Edit Flow calendar and interface.
7. Click “Add New Custom Status.”

Repeat this process for each stage in your editorial workflow.. Once you have defined your custom statuses, they will appear as options in the “Status” dropdown menu when you are creating or editing a post, so it’s easy to track the progress of each piece of content through your workflow.

Step 3: Set Up User Groups

Custom user groups help you organize your team and assign specific roles within the editorial workflow. This helps to streamline communication and clarify responsibilities.

To set up user groups in Edit Flow:

1. Navigate to Edit Flow -> User Groups.
2. Click on the “Add New” tab.
3. Enter the name of your user group, such as “Writers,” “Editors,” or “Fact Checkers.”
4. Add a description to clarify the group’s responsibilities and purpose.
5. Select the WordPress users you want to include in the group. You can also add and remove members later. 
6. Click “Add New User Group.”

Repeat this process to create all the necessary user groups for your editorial workflow. You can use user groups to filter content in the Edit Flow content calendar and assign tasks to specific groups. Groups keep everyone organized and ensure that the right people are involved in each stage of the process.

Step 4: Configure Editorial Metadata

Custom metadata fields are used to track additional information related to your editorial workflow. Examples include due dates, word count, SEO keywords, instructions, and any other details relevant to your publishing process.

To configure editorial metadata fields:

1. Navigate to Edit Flow -> Meta Data.
2. Click on the “Add New” tab.
3. Enter a name for your metadata field, such as “Due Date” or “Word Count.”
4. Select the type of field you want to create. Options include text, textarea, date, and checkbox.
5. Add a description to explain the purpose of the metadata field.
6. Click “Add New Meta Field.”

Once created, these fields will appear in the post editor so you can add information to each post. 

Step 5: Enable Editorial Comments

Editorial Comments help editors and contributors to communicate within the WordPress post editor. They streamline internal communication, collect revision notes and feedback in one location, and make it easier for large content teams to collaborate. 

It’s important to note that editorial comments are not the same as standard WordPress comments. They are entirely separate and will not appear on public-facing pages. 

To enable Editorial Comments:

1. Navigate to Edit Flow in your WordPress dashboard.
2. Find the Comments or Editorial Comments section.
3. Enable editorial comments and save changes.

Step 6: Use Your New Custom Editorial Flow

Now that you’re done with the configuration, you can get to work creating and managing content. Let’s take a quick look at two of the main ways Edit Flow changes your WordPress content management experience. 

First, the editorial calendar. This is where you visualize your content schedule, track the status of each piece of content, and manage deadlines. You can see which posts are in which stage of the workflow, who is assigned to them, and when they are due. You can filter the calendar by custom statuses, user groups, or metadata fields to focus your attention on content at a particular stage in your editorial workflow. 

Second, the post editor is enriched with information and tools to help you manage content throughout the editorial workflow. You can assign posts to users and user groups, change the status as the content develops, leave and respond to editorial comments, and view and edit editorial metadata. 

Edit Flow Alternatives

Edit Flow is a free and open-source WordPress-native editorial workflow solution, but it’s not the only way to take charge of your publishing process. You may also want to consider:

• Oasis Workflow: Advanced workflow automation with visual workflow design, automated email notifications, and task assignments.
• Multicollab: Real-time collaborative editing within WordPress, similar to Google Docs, with commenting and version control.
• PublishPress: A suite of plugins for managing editorial workflows, content calendars, and user permissions in WordPress.

Partner With Pressable for High-Performance Online Publishing

Whether you’re running a digital magazine, managing a high-volume blog, or building out a resource-rich content hub, your editorial workflow is only as strong as the hosting that supports it. Pressable delivers 100% uptime and the performance, reliability, and WordPress-specific tools you need to keep content moving and your site running smoothly.

Explore our WordPress managed hosting plans or schedule a demo to see how Pressable can support your editorial goals.

Zach Wiesman

Zach brings a wealth of knowledge to Pressable with more than 15 years of experience in the WordPress world. His journey in WordPress began with creating and maintaining client websites, fostering a deep understanding of the intricacies and challenges of WordPress. Later, his knack for problem-solving and commitment to service led him to pursue a role at Automattic, where he excelled in providing customer support for WooCommerce. His expertise extends beyond technical proficiency to encompass a deep understanding of the WordPress community and its needs. Outside of work, Zach enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, and working on projects around the house.