Setting a posting schedule in WordPress is a fantastic feature that allows you to plan your content in advance, ensuring a consistent and timely publication schedule.
However, frustration sets in when you encounter the “Missed schedule” error. If you've ever wondered why scheduled posts don't get published as expected, you're not alone.
In this guide, we'll dive into the potential reasons why the “Missed schedule” error in WordPress can occur, followed by six effective troubleshooting methods to fix the problem of posts not being published and prevent it from happening again.
Table of Contents
What are the Causes of Missed Schedules?
The WordPress “Missed Schedule” error occurs when a scheduled post fails to publish at the specified time.
This can happen if your server experiences interruptions, such as downtime or full memory issues, as WordPress relies on server resources for scheduled tasks, including publishing posts.
Also, conflicts with plugins can interfere with the scheduling process, resulting in posts not being published on time.
When scheduling posts in WordPress, it uses ‘Cron' or ‘WordPress Cron' to set up automatic publication at set times.
WP-Cron relies on site visits to trigger tasks, so low-traffic sites may experience missed scheduled posts. Sites with high traffic may face competition among multiple WP-Cron instances, resulting in missed schedules.
Another potential cause is incorrect time zone selection, which can cause posts to go live at the wrong time.
As a website owner or blogger, spending time on repetitive tasks or fixing WordPress errors instead of creating content is not ideal.
So, to fix the Missed Schedule post error in WordPress, let's explore various common solutions.
How to fix missed schedules?
In this section, we'll try up to six solutions to help fix the ‘Schedule Missed' error in WordPress posts.
1. Check the Time Zone in WordPress
Setting the correct time zone should be the first step after installing your WordPress website. However, website users often overlook this important task.
To set the time zone, go to Settings → General in your WordPress dashboard. Scroll down to the ‘Time Zone' section and select the time zone you want for your website.
click save, and try to schedule a post again.
2. Clear WordPress Cache
Clearing your WordPress cache can often resolve this error. If you have a cache plugin, make sure it's configured according to the settings that should be appropriate for your website.
If you don't have a cache plugin installed, consider installing one. Once installed, activate the plugin and navigate to the settings to configure it properly.
After proper configuration, use the ‘Clear cache' option to clear your site's cache.
3. Disable Problematic Plugins
Plugin conflicts can interfere with scheduled tasks. To identify conflicting plugins without affecting the front-end of your website, you can use the Health Check & Troubleshooting plugin.
Install and activate the plugin on your website, then go to Tools → Site Health and click the Troubleshooting tab. Next, click on Enable Troubleshooting Mode to start the process.
Enabling Troubleshooting mode will automatically deactivate all your WordPress plugins. You can then systematically reactivate them one by one to identify problematic plugins.
Some reports state that incorrect configuration of WordPress cache plugins, such as W3 Total Cache, can cause a Schedule Missed error.
If you're using this cache plugin, try deactivating it and trying to schedule posts again. If this resolves the error, you should reconfigure the plugin correctly or consider other alternatives such as Seraphinite Accelerator atau WP Super cache.
4. Increase WordPress memory limit
Another troubleshooting approach involves increasing your WordPress website's memory maximum. Before proceeding, check your site's PHP memory limit to make sure it meets the recommended limit.
To do so, log into your WordPress dashboard, go to Tools → Site Health, and click on the ‘Info' tab. Then, scroll down to the ‘Server' section. Then look at the “PHP memory limit.”
If your PHP memory limit is below 256M, consider increasing it. Access the wp-config.php file using an FTP client or the File Manager application within the panel on your WordPress hosting dashboard. Find the file inside your WordPress root folder.
Don't forget to back up your wp-config.php file before making any changes, ensuring easy recovery in case of any unforeseen issues.
Then, add the following code to your wp-config.php file right before the line that says, ‘That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing.' or at the top after “<?php.”
define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' ); //tambah ke 256 MB
Save and try again to schedule a post.
5. Use WordPress Missed Schedule Plugin
If the previous solutions don't solve the problem, consider using Missed Scheduled Posts Publisher.
Install and activate this plugin, which monitors your website every 15 minutes to identify scheduled WordPress posts that have missed their schedule.
When it detects missed items, the plugin updates their status from scheduled to published, effectively triggering scheduled posts across different content types on your WordPress website.
Once activated, the plugin starts working automatically with no manual configuration required.
6. Disable WP-Cron and Set a New Cron Job
As mentioned earlier, the WP-Cron system relies on visitor requests to initiate scheduled tasks.
If regular traffic is lacking on your website, scheduled tasks may be delayed or even missed completely.
By disabling wp-cron and configuring server-level cron jobs, you can have better control over when these tasks run reliably, independent of your website's visitor traffic patterns.
To turn off wp-cron add the following code in wp-config just like when adding wp memory.
define ('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);After that, go to your panel and create a new cron (for your own server/host) with a time you can set. Enter the following command for the cronjob:
wget -q -O - https://hadezuka.dev/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&1Here are mine in Aapanel:
After that, you should be able to schedule posts again without any missed schedule problems.
Conclusion
Dealing with missed schedule errors can be frustrating, especially for WordPress users who rely on scheduling. However, with the solutions outlined in this article, you can proactively prevent this issue in the future.
Implementing these fixes ensures your scheduled posts are published on time, maintains your website's credibility, and keeps users reading fresh content.
Always back up your website before modifying files, and don't hesitate to contact your hosting provider if you can't resolve the error.
Remember that WordPress scheduling requires regular maintenance to ensure smooth operation. So, monitor server resources, clear cache regularly, and verify scheduled post dates to avoid Schedule Missed errors.
Credit: Image by pikisuperstar
