# How to publish a document to WordPress for the first time

A document that is not on WordPress yet has no post to update. The first time you send it, Workover creates the post, with the status you choose, and links the document to it. From then on you update that post with **Push**. If the post already exists on your site, do not publish a second copy: update the existing post instead (see below).

**Before you start:** the document must be in a project connected to your WordPress site (see [Connecting your WordPress site](/docs/connecting-your-wordpress-site/)), and your workspace needs an active plan or trial.

## Create the post on WordPress

1. Open the document and select the **WP** tab in the side panel. The status at the top reads **Not on WordPress yet**.
2. Under **Content type**, choose where the post goes, for example **Posts (site default)**, **Pages** or one of your site’s custom post types. Choose carefully: once the post exists, changing its type moves it on your site. See [Content types and collections](/docs/content-types-and-collections/).
3. Under **Status**, choose what the post should be on WordPress. The button at the top of the tab changes to match:

> **Warning:** With **Status** set to **Published**, the button publishes the post live on your site immediately.

| Status | Button | What happens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Draft** | **Save draft to WordPress** | Creates the post as a draft. Nothing goes live. |
| **Pending review** | **Send for review** | Creates the post as pending review. Nothing goes live. |
| **Published** | **Publish** | Publishes the post live on your site. |
| **Private** | **Save as private** | Creates a private post, visible only to logged-in site editors. |

New documents start as **Draft**. The line under the button repeats what it will do.

1. Optional: fill in **Permalink**, **Excerpt**, **Publish Date**, **Categories**, **Tags**, **Author**, **Featured image** and, if your site uses Yoast or Rank Math, the SEO fields.
2. Select the button, for example **Save draft to WordPress**.

Workover uploads the document’s images to your media library, rewrites links to other Workover documents, and creates the post. The document is now linked to it. To send later edits, use **Push**. See [How to push a document to WordPress](/docs/pushing-to-wordpress/).

If the document links to documents that are not live yet, a dialog asks what to do with those links before anything is sent. See [Linking to other documents in a WordPress post](/docs/linking-between-documents/).

## Publish later

To have Workover publish the document at a set time, select **Schedule publish** in the **WP** tab, choose a time under **Publish at**, and select **Schedule**. Workover sends it at that time, even if nobody is online. It sends the version you scheduled: edits made afterward are not included unless you schedule again.

## If the post already exists on your site

Do not publish a second copy. When you connect a site, Workover imports its existing posts and pages as documents that are already linked to them. Open that post’s document, edit it and select **Push**. See [How to update your existing content with Workover](/docs/how-to-update-your-existing-content/).

## If it does not work

- **The button is disabled.** The document has suggestions nobody has accepted or rejected. Resolve them first, so their tracked changes do not reach your site.
- **The tab shows “WordPress did not accept this”.** WordPress refused the request, and the message says why. See [How to fix a push to WordPress that failed](/docs/push-failures/).
- **The tab says “We cannot reach this WordPress site”.** Something in front of your site is blocking Workover. See [Let Workover reach a site behind a firewall or Cloudflare Access](/docs/whitelist-ips/).
- **The tab says “Not connected to WordPress”.** The project is not connected to a site. Connect it in **Project settings**.

## Related

- [How to push a document to WordPress](/docs/pushing-to-wordpress/)
- [How WordPress sync works](/docs/how-wordpress-sync-works/)
- [Content types and collections](/docs/content-types-and-collections/)
- [Sync status and conflicts](/docs/sync-status-and-conflicts/)