WST Date Simulator

WordPress already lets you preview a single scheduled post through the editor’s Preview button. But that only shows the post on its own — it doesn’t tell you how your homepage, category archives, search results, or “Recent Posts” widgets will look once the post actually goes live.

WST Date Simulator fills that gap. Set a base date and time, and scheduled posts up to that point are shown as published — anywhere your theme normally lists them — to logged-in users with a chosen permission level. No more guessing what the page will look like until after it’s published.

Key features

• Set a base date and time; scheduled posts up to that point are shown as published
• Choose who can view the preview: Administrators only, Editors and above, or Authors and above
• Choose which post types the preview applies to (posts, pages, and custom post types are all supported)
• Automatically disables page caching while previewing, so cached scheduled content is never served to regular visitors
• Shows a banner in both wp-admin and the front end while the preview is active
• REST API requests are excluded, to avoid unintentional exposure through headless setups

About permissions

• Viewing the preview and changing the plugin’s settings each use a separate permission check
• Changing the settings always requires an Administrator (manage_options)
• Who can view the preview is configurable from the settings screen: Administrators only, Editors and above, or Authors and above